Australia One of the longest separation barriers in the world, the dingo fence is a
pest-exclusion fence to keep
dingoes out of the relatively fertile south-east part of the continent. In addition, it was initially established so that landowners could lawfully keep
Australian Aboriginal people
off the land. Although the fence has helped reduce losses of sheep to
predators, this has been countered by holes in fences found in the 1990s through which dingo offspring have passed. Laws were appointed to protect the fence;
jail terms of three months for leaving a crossing gate open, and six months for
damage or removal of part of the fence. Introduced in 1946, these penalties still apply today. In 2009 as part of the
Q150 celebrations, the dingo fence was announced as one of the
Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as an iconic "innovation and invention". The fence staff consists of 23 employees, including two-person teams that patrol a section of the fence twice every week.
Central Europe Communities in the
Czech Republic,
Romania and
Slovakia have long built
Roma walls in urban environments when a
Roma group is in close proximity to the rest of the population.
Cyprus Since the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Turkey has constructed and maintained what economics professor Rongxing Guo has called a "separation barrier" of along the 1974 Green Line (or ceasefire line) dividing the island of
Cyprus into two parts, with a
United Nations buffer zone between them.
Egypt Egypt-Gaza barrier The
Egypt–Gaza barrier is often referred as "separation barrier" in the media or as a "separating wall". In December 2009, Egypt started the construction of the Egypt–Gaza barrier along the
border with Gaza, consisting of a steel wall. Egypt's foreign minister said that the wall, being built along the country's border with the
Gaza Strip will defend it "against threats to national security". Though the construction paused a number of times, the wall is nearly complete.
Sharm el-Sheikh barrier According to Julia Sonnevend, the anti-terrorist barrier around the Sharm el-Sheikh resort in Egypt is in fact a separation barrier.
India The
Line of Control (LoC) refers to the military control line between the Indian and Pakistani controlled parts of the former princely state of
Kashmir and Jammu—a line which, to this day, does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but is the
de facto border. Originally known as the
Cease-fire Line, it was redesignated as the "Line of Control" following the
Simla Agreement, which was signed on 3 July 1972. The part of the former princely state that is under Indian control is administered as the
union territories of
Jammu and Kashmir and
Ladakh. The two parts of the former princely state that are under Pakistani control are known as
Gilgit–Baltistan and
Azad Kashmir (AJK). Its northernmost point is known as the
NJ9842. This territorial division, which to this day still exists, severed many villages and separated family members from each other. A separation fence construction between Indian and Pakistani controlled areas, based on 1972 cease-fire line, was initiated by India in 2003. In December 2013, it was revealed that India plans a construction of a separation wall in the Himalayan area in Kashmir. The wall is aimed to cover 179 km. The other sections of India's borders also have a fence or wall.
Israel and
Abu Dis behind it
Israel began building the
Israeli West Bank barrier in 2002, in order to protect civilians from
Palestinian terrorism such as suicide bombing attacks which increased significantly during the
Second Intifada. Barrier opponents claim it seeks to annex
Palestinian land under the guise of security and undermines peace negotiations by unilaterally establishing new borders. When completed it will be a 700-kilometres long network of high walls, electronic fences, gates and trenches. It is a controversial barrier, because much of it is built outside the
1949 Armistice Line (
Green Line),
de facto annexing potentially 10 percent of Palestinian land, according to the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It cuts far into the West Bank and encompasses Israel's largest settlement blocs containing hundreds of thousands of settlers. In June 2004, the
Israeli Supreme Court held that building the wall on West Bank Palestinian land is in itself legal, but it ordered some changes to the original route, which separated 35,000 Palestinian farmers from their lands and crops. The Israeli finance minister (
Benjamin Netanyahu) replied that it was disputed land, not Palestinian and its final status would be resolved in political negotiation. In July 2004, the
International Court of Justice at
The Hague in an
advisory opinion declared that the barrier is
illegal under international law and called on Israel to dismantle the walls, return confiscated land and make reparations for damages. Notwithstanding, the number of Arab terrorist suicide bombings continued to decrease with the gradual completion of segments of the Security Barrier, just as the Israeli authorities initially asserted that they would. Israel refers to land between the 1949 lines and the separation barrier as the
Seam Zone, including all of
East Jerusalem. In 2003, the military declared that only Israeli citizens and Palestinians with permits are allowed to be inside it; Palestinians have found it increasingly difficult to get permits unless they own land in the zone. The separation barrier cuts off east Jerusalem and some settlement blocs from the West Bank, even as Israelis and Arabs build structures and communities in eastern Jerusalem. Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have continued to protest the separation barrier. The existing barrier cuts off access to the
Jordan River for Palestinian farmers in the West Bank. Owing to international condemnation after the International Court ruling, Israel did not build a stronger barrier and instead instituted permit-based access control. It has been opined that this change was to allow land to be annexed. Israeli settlement councils already have de facto control of 86 percent of the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea as the settler population steadily grows there.
Kuwait Writer
Damon DiMarco has described as a "separation barrier" the
Kuwait-Iraq barricade constructed by the United Nations in 1991
after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was repelled. With
electrified fencing and
concertina wire, it includes a 5-meter-wide trench and a high
berm. It runs 180 kilometers along the border between the two nations.
Lebanon A 2016 separation wall around the
Ain al-Hilweh camp in Lebanon is intended to separate the local
Palestinian-Lebanese population and
Syrian refugee Palestinians from the surrounding society.
Malaysia Renee Pirrong of
The Heritage Foundation described the
Malaysia–Thailand border barrier as a "separation barrier". Its purpose is to cut down on smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, crime and insurgency.
Saudi Arabia In 2004
Saudi Arabia began construction of a
Saudi-Yemen barrier between its territory and
Yemen to prevent the unauthorized movement of people and goods into and out of the Kingdom. Some have labeled it a "separation barrier". In February 2004
The Guardian reported that Yemeni opposition newspapers likened the barrier to the Israeli West Bank barrier, while
The Independent wrote "Saudi Arabia, one of the most vocal critics in the Arab world of Israel's 'security fence' in the West Bank, is quietly emulating the Israeli example by erecting a barrier along its porous border with Yemen". Saudi officials rejected the comparison saying it was built to prevent infiltration and smuggling. The
Syria–Turkey barrier is a wall and fence under construction along the
Syria–Turkey border aimed at preventing
illegal crossings and
smuggling from
Syria into
Turkey. In 2017, The Syrian government accused Turkey of building a
separation wall, referring to the barrier. From 2017, Turkey began construction a barrier along the
Iran–Turkey border aimed at preventing illegal immigration and smuggling.
United Kingdom Over 21 miles of high walling or fencing separate
Catholic and
Protestant communities in
Northern Ireland, with most concentrated in
Belfast and
Derry. The wall was built in 1969 in order to separate the Catholic and Protestant areas in Belfast. An Army Major, overseeing the construction of the wall at the time, said: 'This is a temporary measure ... we do not want to see another Berlin wall situation in Western Europe ... it will be gone by Christmas'. In 2013, that wall still remains and almost 100 additional walls and barriers now complement the original. Technically known as '
peace walls', there are moves to remove all of them by 2023 by mutual consent.
United States The
United States constructed a barrier on the
border with
Mexico of to prevent unauthorized immigration into the United States and to deter smuggling of contraband. The US
President Trump stated that he would replace the wall with an updated
Mexico–United States border wall; some parts of the old wall have been replaced. The
Detroit Wall was erected to enforce
redlining as part of the policies of
racial segregation in the United States.
Western Sahara with chronology of their construction
Morocco has constructed a 2,700 km (1,700 mi) long
sand wall cutting through the length of
Western Sahara.
Minefields and watchtowers serve to separate the
Moroccan-controlled zone from the sparsely populated
Free Zone. ==Past separation barriers==