The town's proximity to the Green Line (less than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east) and its similar proximity to the Palestinian Arab town of Qalqilyah has made its inclusion on the Israeli side of the West Bank barrier controversial, especially as the looping nature of the barrier's path forms a quasi-enclave of some Arab villages to its south. In September 2005, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the government must consider re-routing the barrier in this area. Work was begun in the summer of 2009 (and is ongoing as of October 2009) to construct a new route for the barrier, which will no longer incorporate the Palestinian village of Ras al-Tira (and several other villages) on the Israeli side.
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