We often hear about Israel’s checkpoints making the lives of Palestinians so unbearable.
We often hear complaints that the Israel Defence Forces check Palestinian children, pregnant women, handicapped people and even ambulances.
Recently, we hear daily protest against Israel’s “Apartheid Wall.”
Why?Why does Israel spend so much money and use such manpower?
Is it all really in order to humiliate the Palestinian people, or is it a justified and legitimate security measure
Let’s look at what other democracies did to prevent terror attacks.
If you flew around the world before September 11, 2001, you know the difference yourself.
What used to be a fairly fast and painless security check (a security check which didn’t exist at all until Palestinian groups started to hijack airplanes in the late 1960’s) is now hours of security procedures. Passengers today are required to be at the airport hours before their flight, wait in lines, have their belongings checked and many times confiscated if they have items as “dangerous” as a nail-clipper in their baggage.
But it’s not only the airport’s checkpoints…
All of a sudden we see more and more armed soldiers in international airports -- something we didn’t see before 9/11.
In addition, airlines around the world are now placing armed marshals on board their planes.
The security measures are not restricted to air travel. . .
Cars and people are being checked today at the entrances to public and private places, crowded events and even on the roads.
Crossing international borders after 9/11 takes much more time than before.
Nobody likes all these security measures. Nobody likes to wait in line for hours, to be late for an engagement, to be scrutinized.
But who is to blame for all these measures?
Is it the fault of the country that takes these security measures in order to protect her citizens, or maybe it’s the fault of the terrorists -- the ones who killed innocent people and by doing so, forced the country to take the measures to protect her citizens?
When you stand on line, who do you blame? Which airline would you prefer, one that checks passengers or not?
September 11, 2001
Attack on America
In a horrific suicide attack against the United States, terrorists crash commercial passenger jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands of innocent people.
One horrific terror attack changed the world as we know it.
Unfortunately, security measures are usually put into place only in retrospect. Terrorists exploit “holes” in the system in order to kill as many innocent civilians as they can.
Responsible governments must cover these “holes” in order to prevent such future attacks and protect their civilians.
It’s all a matter of
Cause and EffectIsrael has faced over 20,900 terror attacks since September 2000, when a wave of terror started against Israeli citizens right after Arafat was offered an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital by then-President Clinton. Arafat never even made a counter-offer. Instead he started a terrorist war.
916 Israelis died in these attacks -- a per capita toll equivalent to 14 September 11ths.
To protect her citizens, Israel started to use security measures never used before in the country.
Not only Palestinian lives are influenced by these security measures.
Since Palestinian terrorists attacked innocent Israelis in almost every public place possible -- restaurants, cafés, shopping malls, hotels, buses, etc. -- Israelis are now facing security checks everywhere. You can’t get into a restaurant, a mall, a movie theater, a school, a bus station, in Israel without being checked and having your belongings checked.
The Cause
Suicide bombing in buses
The Effect
A checkpoint for Israeli citizens when they get on a bus.
“Dozens of city buses have been targeted by Palestinian suicide bombers over the last 40 months of violence…As the primary method of transportation in the country, buses have proven to be a traditional target for the bombers. Attempts to employ security guards on the buses to thwart such bombings have proved largely unsuccessful, due to the large number of buses operating through Israeli cities at any given time, and a paucity of guards.”
The Cause
Suicide bombing in restaurants
The Effect
A checkpoint for Israeli citizens when they get into every restaurant, café, school, movie theater. You can’t enter a shopping mall in Israel without having your car and your bags checked.
The Cause
Ambushes on Israeli cars
The Effect
Israel’s anti-terrorist fence and checkpoints for Palestinians
What some “Human Rights” groups call the “Apartheid Wall” will actually consist over 97% of chain-link fence system. Less than 3% of the fence will be constructed of concrete, strictly for security need. The fence will not annex Palestinian lands, nor change the legal status of the Palestinians. It will not establish a border, which is to be determined by
Yes, innocent Palestinian lives are influenced by the checkpoints and anti-terrorist fence, just like any civilian’s life is influenced by security measures. Nobody likes to wait in line and to be checked, but human lives must come first.
The Cause
The Palestinian use of ambulances and medical materials for terror
Since September 2000, Israel’s security forces have witnessed the terror organizations cynically using Palestinian medical resources, including ambulances, to smuggle both arms and terrorists throughout the territories. They do so, assuming medical vehicles are 'immune' to security checks at checkpoints; this cynical use of ambulances emphasizes the need for a security check of medical vehicles. In a document seized during Operation Defensive Shield, it was noted that weapons were concealed in the floor of an ambulance. In another document, it is noted that the Palestinian general intelligence service used an ambulance to transfer a
The Effect
Israel is forced to check Palestinians ambulances
Such searches are conducted in order to ensure that ambulances are not used by terrorists in an attempt to transport terrorists, weaponry and explosive devices. These searches
The Cause
A would-be female suicide bomber intended to hide explosive charges under a maternity dress
In April 2002, Israeli soldiers discovered that 26-year-old Shifa Adnan Kodsi intended to carry an explosive charge camouflaged under a maternity dress. The terrorist organizations behind such attacks want to
primarily within the Green Line. This is under the assumption that a female is thought of as gentle, tender and innocent and therefore will arouse less suspicion than a man. In the cases in which females were involved, the terrorists were aware of their need for camouflage that would help them blend in on the Israeli street. The female terrorists attempted to Westernize their appearance, among other things wearing clothing that was not conservative, such as short skirts, or maternity clothes, and having modern haircuts.
The Effect
Israel is forced to check pregnant Palestinian women
Again, the cynical use by Palestinian terrorist organizations of such tactics affects the lives of innocent Palestinians. Unfortunately, Israel can’t not check…
The Cause
A Palestinian female suicide bomber pretended to be handicapped
(Jan. 14, 2004) The suicide bomber entered the security (checking) area and passed through a metal detector which was set off. The suicide bomber informed security officials that she suffered from medical problems and had a metal plate in her leg. Due to the above-mentioned medical problems, and in order to preserve her dignity, IDF soldiers asked the suicide bomber to enter the terminal area to undergo a private security check by a female IDF soldier. However, upon entering the terminal area, the suicide bomber blew
The Effect
Israel is forced to examine handicapped people more carefully and to close factories
Since the year 2000, terrorist organizations have taken advantage of humanitarian aid granted to the Palestinian population by carrying out terrorist attacks that exploit such assistance. This cost many Israeli civilians lives. It also made Palestinian lives harder. "It's simply stupid," spat 40-year-old Ashur Salha. "Of course I'm angry at her [the bomber]. This is not only the place where we work, but our home."… "Whoever ordered the bombing," said Salha, who is among about 150 Palestinian factory owners at Erez, "must have known that 30,000 mouths depend on our employment here."… Before the first intifada, recalls Malik, there were no checkpoints, and Palestinians could travel anywhere in Israel. "Not anymore, and today pretty much shows why." - By Matthew Gutman, The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 15, 2004
“The Erez checkpoint suicide bombing on Wednesday, carried out in the name of Hamas and Fatah by Reem Salah Riashi, ended the lives of security personnel at the Gaza Strip-Israel crossing point. They were three soldiers and a civilian - Tzur Or, Vladimir Trostinsky, Andrei Kegeles, and Gal Shapira. The attack also foiled efforts Israeli security forces make to reduce suspicions in their encounters with Palestinian civilians. From this point, it's likely that Palestinians most in need of relief and help - women, the sick and disabled - will also come under suspicion at crossing points…
The Erez checkpoint chosen by the terror organizations for the attack is the sole crossing point for masses of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who want to enter Israel to work. The checkpoint represents the front line of Israel's effort to draw a distinction between military activities against terrorists, and a readiness to allow innocent people to earn their daily bread.
These [terrorist] groups, particularly Hamas and Islamic Jihad, operate on the basis of a permanent agenda of opposing any diplomatic solution with Israel. With this doctrine, they not only kill Israelis but also harm their own people and destroy any chance of an agreement materializing for a diplomatic solution with the blessing of the Israeli public.
The terror strike at the Erez checkpoint will probably oblige the security forces to develop more stringent inspections that will further burden entry procedures to Israel. It will certainly aggravate the suspicions of security personnel toward Palestinians, whether they are dealing with an ambulance carrying pregnant women, or sick or injured people seeking medical treatment. This is what happens when terror organizations strike at sites that have tried to make life easier for the innocent civilian population.” ~ Editorial, Haaretz, Jan. 16, 2004 ~
The female terrorist who blew up at the Erez Crossing, killing four Israelis along with herself, was forced to carry out the suicide attack as punishment for cheating on her husband.
“On Wednesday, 21-year-old Reem Salah al-Rayashi left her 18-month-old daughter, Doha, and her 3-year-old son, Obedia. According to a Sunday Times report, her husband drove her to Erez Crossing. IDF sources said that the investigation has already revealed that her husband, an activist in the Hamas organization, not only knew about his wife's plans in advance, but even encouraged her to carry out the suicide attack. Moreover, the person who recruited al-Rayashi to carry out the suicide attack and equipped her with the explosive belt was none other than the lover with whom she cheated on her husband…
Al-Rayashi was the daughter of an established family in Gaza. Her father was the owner of a large battery factory selling mainly to Israel. Both her family and her husband's denied rumours of an illicit love affair…
"If society does not have the courage to speak out on this issue, we could soon see 10-year-olds and pregnant women blowing themselves up," Palestinian commentator Hasan Badtil wrote in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam.” ~ The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 18, 2004 ~
Hasan Badtil was right, as it quickly became apparent…
The Cause
Palestinian terrorist groups are exploiting children
The use of children and youth by terrorist organizations to carry out attacks, including suicide bombings, is well known. As part of the practice of including them in violent activities and in terror-supporting operations, children and youth are sent to participate in
with the army (at times they are taken out of school for this purpose). Terrorist groups also use them for smuggling, digging tunnels, spying and intelligence-gathering. The terrorists exploit their innocent appearance, which allows them to pass more easily through IDF roadblocks and to approach soldiers and Israeli settlements, the fact that they are easy to influence and recruit because of their tender age and the intensive incitement to which they have been exposed, and the tendency of Israeli soldiers to refrain from harming children and youth.
The Effect
Israel is forced to check Palestinian children
On March 15, 2004, IDF soldiers detained a 12 year-old Palestinian boy, Abdallah Quran, while he was attempting to smuggle a powerful bomb through the Hawara checkpoint, south of Nablus. Two Nablus based Fatah-Tanzim terrorists had exploited the boy's innocent appearance, and used him to carry a fully armed explosive device through the checkpoint. The boy, who works as a porter in the area, told the soldiers that he was unaware that he was even carrying the bomb. The terrorists, members of Arafat's own Fatah faction, had planned to use the boy as an unwitting suicide bomber, intending to detonate the explosives with a mobile phone as the boy passed near the
“We condemn those who sent the boy to blow himself up. He was an innocent and quiet boy. He was a short, naive boy who had been struck in the head when he was a child and has been suffering from an illness since then. We always kept an eye on him because we knew he was a small child. Although he's 16, he thinks like a 10-year-old.” - Abdu's uncle, Abu Muhammad
“People do not like me. My friends at school make fun of me. They call me 'Brains ' but they also make fun of me because I'm small and ugly. They call me 'The Ugly Dwarf.' It hurt so much I wanted to kill myself… The people who gave me the suicide belt told me this was my only chance to have sex… We don't have any problems. I have a computer, and I like playing 'Terrorist and the Policeman.' I've heard a lot of music on the Internet” - Hussam Abdo
It can be concluded that Israel’s actions are indeed motivated by security needs.
Israel wouldn’t be checking her own citizens every time they enter a public place if it wasn’t for TERROR.
Israel wouldn’t be checking innocent Palestinians at checkpoints if it wasn’t for TERROR.
Israel wouldn’t be checking Palestinian ambulances, handicapped individuals, pregnant women and schoolchildren, if they weren’t used by TERROR.
Israel wouldn’t have build the anti-terrorist fence if it wasn’t for TERROR.
The facts are on the ground.
None of these security measures existed prior to TERROR.
It’s all a matter of
Cause and Effect
The Cause
3/11
After the March 11, 2004 terror attack on a train in Madrid, in which 202 people lost their lives, countries with no security measures in train stations must rethink their policies.
Not doing so will endanger many innocent lives.
The Effect
Shortly after the 3/11 bombing in Madrid, upgrading of the security in train stations around the world can be clearly seen.
Islamist fundamentalist terrorism cannot be negotiated with, or appeased. The time has come for the West to understand that for terrorist organizations, this is a zero-sum game.
As Hussein Massawi, former head of the Hezbollah, said about the Western world:
“We are not fighting so that you will offer us something. We are fighting to eliminate you.”
Or, as Sheikh Ahmed Yassine, the arch-terrorist head of Hamas, said of Israel:
“Make no mistake, there will be no peace as long as there is a Zionist-Jewish state. Our holy goal is to liberate all of Palestine, and if the Jews do not go, they will die. All of Palestine is Islamic land - every inch.”
We have two choices before us:1) To give in to Islamist terrorism and fulfill their demands, including those articulated by Osama Bin Laden and the head of Jemaah Islamiah, Abu Bakar Bashir, such as returning the extreme form of Islamic rule to Afghanistan, Southern Spain, southern Philippines, southern Thailand, Malaysia, significant parts of China, many of the republics created from the former Soviet Union and, of course, all of North Africa and the Middle East; driving the Jews of Israel into the sea; persecuting homosexuals; banning alcohol; preventing women working or being educated, or appearing in public without full covering dress; requiring women to obey men. Or…
2) To fight to uphold those values which are dear to us, in Western civilization, including freedom, democracy, human rights, women's rights, tolerance, pluralism, and rule of civil law.
The choice is ours.
