In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “english”. Today it says “policy of the government of israel to separate the israeli population from the palestinian population in the oc”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2025
Yitzhak Rabin , Israeli Prime Minister from 1992-1995, was the first to advocate for the construction of a physical barrier between Israelis and Palestinians. Following the 1995 Beit Lid suicide bombing that killed 22 Israelis, Rabin stated that separation is necessary to protect the majority of Israeli Jews from Palestinian terrorism . Ehud Barak , Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001, stated that "good fences make good neighbors." Since its first public introductions, the concept-turned-policy or paradigm has dominated Israeli political and cultural discourse and debate. The separation policy was maintained by successive Israeli governments, which constructed the Israel-Gaza barrier and the Israeli West Bank barrier ( Geder Ha'hafrada, Hebrew for "separation fence"). In 2005, Israel carried out the disengagement from Gaza , which included the evacuation of Israeli settlements and the IDF from the Gaza Strip. The West Bank closures have also been cited as an example of the policy. Other names for hafrada when discussed in English include unilateral separation or unilateral disengagement. Aaron Klieman has distinguished between partition plans based on "hafrada", which he translated as "detachment"; and "hipardut", translated as "disengagement." The Hebrew word Hafrada can imply both "separation" and "segregation." Critics have linked the Hafrada policy to apartheid , and others argue the word "hafrada" bears a "striking similarity" to the South African use of the term. Falk used the term repeatedly in his "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967". According to the Milon and Masada dictionaries, hafrada translates into English as "separation", "division", "disengagement", "severance", "disassociation" or "divorce". The barrier is thus sometimes called gader ha'hafrada (separation fence) in Hebrew. The term Hafrada has striking similarities with the term apanheid, as this term mean 'apartness' in Afrikaans and Hafrada is the closest Hebrew equivalent." Gideon Levy (4 November 2000). "Republished as an excerpt of the original 28 October 2000 article in the Courrier International, under the title Au fil des jours, Périphéries explore quelques pistes – chroniques, critiques, citations, liens pointus : Israël-Palestine, revue de presse " . The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary . Obviously the [Peace] Process moves in the opposite direction: separation. Actually, one of the most popular arguments use by the government to justify its policy is the "danger" ("the demographic bomb", "the Arab womb") of a "bi-national state" if no separation is made: the Process is thus a measure taken to secure the Jewish majority. The term ‘separation’ ‘’hafrada’’ has become extremely popular during the Process referring to fences built around Palestinian autonomous enclaves, to roads pave in the Territories exclusively for Israelis to the decrease of the number of Palestinians employed in Israel or allowed to enter into it altogether. The stereotypes of the Palestinian society as backward" have not changed either." Eric Rozenman (April–May 2001). Jeff Halper , Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). " "The Result of the Hafrada Policy is Quiet in Hebron, But All Await the Storm" (Hebrew)" . Nana.co.il Magazine (original from Channel 10 News). Common Dreams (originally published in The Baltimore Sun ). The Times of Israel . Rights envoy points to apartheid in Palestinian areas" .
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1292006521.
The opening as it stood in 2010
In Israel , the term is used to refer to the concept of separation, and to the general policy of separation the Israeli government has adopted and implemented over the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip . The Israeli West Bank barrier , (in Hebrew, Geder Ha'hafrada or "separation fence") the associated controls on the movement of Palestinians posed by West Bank Closures ; and Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza have been cited as examples of hafrada. Other names for hafrada when discussed in English include unilateral separation or unilateral disengagement . Since its first public introductions, the concept-turned-policy or paradigm has dominated Israeli political and cultural discourse and debate. "Republished as an excerpt of the original 28 October 2000 article in the [[Courrier International]], under the title Au fil des jours, Périphéries explore quelques pistes - chroniques, critiques, citations, liens pointus : Israël-Palestine, revue de presse " . Périphéries. : URL–wikilink conflict ( help ) According to the Milon and Masada dictionaries, hafrada translates into English as "separation", "segregation", "division", "severance", "disassociation" or "divorce". The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary . "Today's Arab Israelis, Tomorrow's Israel: Why "Separation" Can't Be the Answer for Peace in [[Policy Review]] " . Jeff Halper , Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). " "The Result of the Hafrada Policy is Quiet in Hebron, But All Await the Storm" (Hebrew)" . Nana.co.il Magazine (original from Channel 10 News). Common Dreams (originally published in The Baltimore Sun ). : Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= ( help ) James Bowen (28 September 2006). Center for Research on Globalization. : Text "22 March 2004" ignored ( help ) Jonathan Cook (11 May 2006). Aaron Klieman has distinguished between partition plans based on "hafrada", which he translated as "detachment"; and "hipardut", translated as "disengagement." Aaron S.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 357071536.
The opening as it stood in 2015 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
In Israel , the term is used to refer to the concept of "segregation" and "separation", and to the general policy of separation the Israeli government has adopted and implemented over the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip . The Israeli West Bank barrier , (in Hebrew, Geder Ha'hafrada or "separation fence") the associated controls on the movement of Palestinians posed by West Bank Closures ; and Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza have been cited as examples of hafrada. Other names for hafrada when discussed in English include unilateral separation or unilateral disengagement. Since its first public introductions, the concept-turned-policy or paradigm has dominated Israeli political and cultural discourse and debate. Falk used the term repeatedly in his "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967".Cultural Autonomy in Contemporary Europe , edited by David J.Smith, Karl Cordell, "The Hebrew term Hafrada is the official descriptor of the policy of the Israeli Government to separate the Palestinian population in the territories occupied by Israel from the Israeli population, by means such as the West Bank barrier and the unilateral disengagement from those territories.The barrier is thus sometimes called gader ha'hafrada (separation fence) in Hebrew.The term Hafrada has striking similarities with the term apanheid, as this term mean 'apartness' in Afrikaans and Hafrada is the closest Hebrew equivalent." Gideon Levy (4 November 2000). "Republished as an excerpt of the original 28 October 2000 article in the Courrier International, under the title Au fil des jours, Périphéries explore quelques pistes - chroniques, critiques, citations, liens pointus : Israël-Palestine, revue de presse " . The named reference "Gideon Levy" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page ). According to the Milon and Masada dictionaries, hafrada translates into English as "separation", "segregation", "division", "severance", "disassociation" or "divorce". The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary . Obviously the [Peace] Process moves in the opposite direction: separation.Actually, one of the most popular arguments use by the government to justify its policy is the "danger" (“the demographic bomb”, “the Arab womb") of a “bi-national state" if no separation is made: the Process is thus a measure taken to secure the Jewish majority.The term ‘separation’ ‘’hafrada’’ has become extremely popular during the Process referring to fences built around Palestinian autonomous enclaves, to roads pave in the Territories exclusively for Israelis to the decrease of the number of Palestinians employed in Israel or allowed to enter into it altogether.The stereotypes of the Palestinian society as backward" have not changed either." Beyond the Two-State Solution: A Jewish Political Essay , Yehouda Shenhav, "Israel's present separation policy - known in Israel as hafrada, a Hebrew Word which can mean both segregation and separation - is a natural continuation of the cultural-political position designed by the new nostalgia and of the demographic project, which constitutes the continuation of the war through other means." Esther Zandberg (28 July 2005). Jeff Halper , Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). " "The Result of the Hafrada Policy is Quiet in Hebron, But All Await the Storm" (Hebrew)" . Nana.co.il Magazine (original from Channel 10 News). Common Dreams (originally published in The Baltimore Sun ). : Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= ( help ) James Bowen (28 September 2006). Aaron Klieman has distinguished between partition plans based on "hafrada", which he translated as "detachment"; and "hipardut", translated as "disengagement." Aaron S.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 665528568.
The opening as it stood in 2020 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Policy of the Government of Israel to separate the Palestinian population in the occupied Palestinian territories from the Israeli population Hafrada ( lit. separation) refers to the policy of the Government of Israel to separate the Palestinian population in the occupied Palestinian territories from the Israeli population."Hafrada" as a policy was shortened from gader ha'hafrada, " separation fence ".It refers to the general Israeli policy of separating Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank in areas controlled by Israel under the Oslo Accords. In Israel , the term is used to refer to the concept of "segregation" and "separation", and to the general policy of separation the Israeli government has adopted and implemented over the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip . Primary concerns Final borders Israeli settlements Palestinian enclaves Jewish state Palestinian political violence Palestinian refugees Security concerns Status of Jerusalem Zionist political violence Secondary concerns Israeli West Bank barrier Places of worship Fatah–Hamas conflict Water Electricity International brokers The "Quartet" ( United Nations United States European Union Russia ) Arab League Egypt Jordan United Kingdom France Proposals One-state solution : Isratin Elon Peace Plan Two-state solution : Fahd Plan Allon Plan Arab Peace Initiative Geneva Initiative Lieberman Plan Israeli Peace Initiative Palestinian Prisoners' Document Trump Peace Plan Three-state solution Israeli unilateral plans: Hafrada Disengagement Realignment Others Palestinian Emirates Plan Projects / groups / NGOs Peace-orientated projects Israeli–Palestinian economic peace efforts Valley of Peace Middle East economic integration Alliance for Middle East Peace Peres Center for Peace v t e The Israeli West Bank barrier , (in Hebrew, Geder Ha'hafrada or "separation fence") the associated controls on the movement of Palestinians posed by West Bank Closures ; and Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza have been cited as examples of hafrada. Other names for hafrada when discussed in English include unilateral separation or unilateral disengagement. Aaron Klieman has distinguished between partition plans based on "hafrada", which he translated as "detachment"; and "hipardut", translated as "disengagement." Since its first public introductions, the concept-turned-policy or paradigm has dominated Israeli political and cultural discourse and debate. Falk used the term repeatedly in his "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967". Cultural Autonomy in Contemporary Europe , edited by David J. Smith, Karl Cordell, "The Hebrew term Hafrada is the official descriptor of the policy of the Israeli Government to separate the Palestinian population in the territories occupied by Israel from the Israeli population, by means such as the West Bank barrier and the unilateral disengagement from those territories. The barrier is thus sometimes called gader ha'hafrada (separation fence) in Hebrew. The term Hafrada has striking similarities with the term apanheid, as this term mean 'apartness' in Afrikaans and Hafrada is the closest Hebrew equivalent." Gideon Levy (4 November 2000). "Republished as an excerpt of the original 28 October 2000 article in the Courrier International, under the title Au fil des jours, Périphéries explore quelques pistes – chroniques, critiques, citations, liens pointus : Israël-Palestine, revue de presse " . According to the Milon and Masada dictionaries, hafrada translates into English as "separation", "division", "disengagement", "severance", "disassociation" or "divorce". The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary . Obviously the [Peace] Process moves in the opposite direction: separation. Actually, one of the most popular arguments use by the government to justify its policy is the "danger" ("the demographic bomb", "the Arab womb") of a "bi-national state" if no separation is made: the Process is thus a measure taken to secure the Jewish majority. The term ‘separation’ ‘’hafrada’’ has become extremely popular during the Process referring to fences built around Palestinian autonomous enclaves, to roads pave in the Territories exclusively for Israelis to the decrease of the number of Palestinians employed in Israel or allowed to enter into it altogether. The stereotypes of the Palestinian society as backward" have not changed either." "Archived copy" . Jeff Halper , Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). " "The Result of the Hafrada Policy is Quiet in Hebron, But All Await the Storm" (Hebrew)" . Nana.co.il Magazine (original from Channel 10 News). Common Dreams (originally published in The Baltimore Sun ). "A/HRC/25/67, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967" . 13 January 2014.Rights envoy points to apartheid in Palestinian areas" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 959769384.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 7 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Yitzhak Rabin , Israeli Prime Minister from 1992-1995, was the first to advocate for the construction of a physical barrier between Israelis and Palestinians.Following the 1995 Beit Lid suicide bombing that killed 22 Israelis, Rabin stated that separation is necessary to protect the majority of Israeli Jews from Palestinian terrorism .Ehud Barak , Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001, stated that "good fences make good neighbors." Since its first public introductions, the concept-turned-policy or paradigm has dominated Israeli political and cultural discourse and debate.The separation policy was maintained by successive Israeli governments, which constructed the Israel-Gaza barrier and the Israeli West Bank barrier ( Geder Ha'hafrada, Hebrew for "separation fence").In 2005, Israel carried out the disengagement from Gaza , which included the evacuation of Israeli settlements and the IDF from the Gaza Strip.The West Bank closures have also been cited as an example of the policy. Other names for hafrada when discussed in English include unilateral separation or unilateral disengagement. Aaron Klieman has distinguished between partition plans based on "hafrada", which he translated as "detachment"; and "hipardut", translated as "disengagement." The Hebrew word Hafrada can imply both "separation" and "segregation." Critics have linked the Hafrada policy to apartheid , and others argue the word "hafrada" bears a "striking similarity" to the South African use of the term. Falk used the term repeatedly in his "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967". According to the Milon and Masada dictionaries, hafrada translates into English as "separation", "division", "disengagement", "severance", "disassociation" or "divorce". The barrier is thus sometimes called gader ha'hafrada (separation fence) in Hebrew. The term Hafrada has striking similarities with the term apanheid, as this term mean 'apartness' in Afrikaans and Hafrada is the closest Hebrew equivalent." Gideon Levy (4 November 2000). "Republished as an excerpt of the original 28 October 2000 article in the Courrier International, under the title Au fil des jours, Périphéries explore quelques pistes – chroniques, critiques, citations, liens pointus : Israël-Palestine, revue de presse " . The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary . Obviously the [Peace] Process moves in the opposite direction: separation. Actually, one of the most popular arguments use by the government to justify its policy is the "danger" ("the demographic bomb", "the Arab womb") of a "bi-national state" if no separation is made: the Process is thus a measure taken to secure the Jewish majority. The term ‘separation’ ‘’hafrada’’ has become extremely popular during the Process referring to fences built around Palestinian autonomous enclaves, to roads pave in the Territories exclusively for Israelis to the decrease of the number of Palestinians employed in Israel or allowed to enter into it altogether. The stereotypes of the Palestinian society as backward" have not changed either." Eric Rozenman (April–May 2001). Jeff Halper , Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). " "The Result of the Hafrada Policy is Quiet in Hebron, But All Await the Storm" (Hebrew)" . Nana.co.il Magazine (original from Channel 10 News). Common Dreams (originally published in The Baltimore Sun ). The Times of Israel . Rights envoy points to apartheid in Palestinian areas" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1152567840.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “english”. Today it says “policy of the government of israel to separate the israeli population from the palestinian population in the oc”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
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Oct '23
2025
terror
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apartheid
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
english
Now
policy of the government of israel to separate the israeli population from the palestinian population in the oc
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.