Although it is not a new phenomena, I am getting more annoyed of late at the one-sided portrayal of events in Israel designed to cast Israeli as the evil, apartheid, hate-driven society that seeks to oppress the peace-loving Muslims who “just want to get along”. Here is a recent example, from a seed by Keld on Newsvine (titled “Apartheid looks like this“).

As a result (of the many checkpoints put by Israel in the West Bank – Y), moving goods and people from one place to the next in the West Bank has become a nightmare of logistics and costly delays. At the checkpoints, food spoils, patients die, and children are prevented from reaching their schools. The World Bank blames the checkpoints and roadblocks for strangling the Palestinian economy.

Pretty clear cut case, right? Jimmy Carter sure knows what he is talking about!

Now please read the same paragraph again, this time with my comments inserted (in italics):

As a result, moving goods and people from one place to the next in the West Bank has become a nightmare of logistics and costly delays. Thus, the checkpoints accomplish their primary goal. Terrorists have had a much harder time transporting their supplies and personnel in order to set up attacks on Israeli civilians. Other terrorists gangs have been thwarted in their attempts at kidnapping and murdering Israeli citizens by these checkpoints. The existence of these checkpoints is credited with saving dozens if not hundreds of Israeli lives (Jew and Arab alike) and many more injuries. At the checkpoints, food spoils, patients die, and children are prevented from reaching their schools. Though the reader may be surprised as to why these people and items are stopped at checkpoints when there should obviously be no reason for this, Israels motive become clearer when one is made aware that in the past, Hamas, the PLO and their brother organizations have used ambulances (with patients and without), women (pregnant or not), food and medical shipments, and children as delivery vehicles for terrorists on their way to murder Israelis, or for explosives being sent to their final destination. It in reaction to this type of unconscionable behavior on the part of the terrorist organizations that the Israel security forces have responded by being cautious of all traffic crossing the checkpoints. The World Bank blames the checkpoints and roadblocks for strangling the Palestinian economy. However, many people who have read of the civil war between the PLO and Hamas over the past few months, as well as the destructive behavior of the Palestinian population in Gaza following Israel’s surrendering the Strip a year and a half ago blame the leaders of the various Palestinian terrorist organizations for choosing to war over the needs of their own people and thus strangling of their own economy.

I have seen checkpoints with my own eyes. I drive through them all the time. I would be lying if I said that they are not disruptive to the Palestinian population living in Judea and Samaria. However, I would also be lying if I said something along with the one-sided rubbish quoted by the Electronic Intifada or Jimmy Carter and pretended that Israel was not actually trying to defend itself from daily threats against its infrastructure and civilian population by groups that want Israel’s destruction. Israel is not completely innocent. But to pretend that they are completely guilty by painting a false picture accomplishes nothing, misinforms other people and only leads to more hatred.

(Cross-posted on Newsvine)