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Commentary;
Why are we repeatedly fed this leftist propaganda; “checkpoints breed the next generation of bombers?
When will Israelis get the picture; that taking down checkpoints, rather than being seen as a kindness, as “confidence-building” and as an act of peace, is seen by the Islamics in the same vein as Olmert’s plan to release hundreds more terrorists from prison before Ramadan, as further proof of weakness, an act to be laughed at disdainfully? MB
Related report: Defense Min. Sitting on Plan to Lift West Bank Roadblocks for a Year (IMRA)
Excerpts;
Slumped against the concrete slabs of the graffiti-covered security wall, I drifted off to sleep as I waited for the line of Palestinians to shuffle forward toward the checkpoint. The sun shone weakly through the dark early morning clouds, a cold wind did its damnedest to extinguish the cigarettes that hung from almost every pair of lips, and the only sound was the rustle of paper bags as the workers ate their breakfasts al fresco – as if they had a choice…
Welcome to rush hour at the Bethlehem checkpoint, where the difference between a day’s paid work or a wasted morning’s queuing followed by a mournful trudge home all rests on the whims of the bored teenagers manning the turnstiles inside their bullet-proof sentry boxes.
My own presence in the midst of the interminable line of laborers was down to my guides for the day, three Israeli women from Mahsom Watch who had encouraged me to use my British passport to pass through the checkpoint into Bethlehem so I could time how long it took me to return to the Israeli side. A trio of middle-aged Charlie’s Angels, the women come every Thursday morning to the checkpoint at the crack of dawn to keep an eye on the army’s treatment of those crossing the border, and to intervene when required on behalf of the helpless Palestinians whose complaints fall on deaf ears.