Al-mahsum, mahsom, checkpoint...being treated like a human. not livestock.

[idontwantaname]

Ha'aretz, December 2, 2004

Al-mahsum, mahsom, checkpoint  
 
By Yitzhak Laor 
  
 
Every so often, ghosts from "the Jewish past" are summoned by a contemptible action in the occupied territories. Someone manages to photograph it. There are dramatic headlines about it, as in the case of the young Palestinian ordered to play the violin, but then the affair quickly becomes "an exception." Most of the soldiers do not compel violinists to play at the checkpoints. Most of the soldiers do not kill little girls. Most of the soldiers do not confirm the killing. But the melodramas help to conceal the larger truths. Israelis do not like the truth. And the truth of the Israelis can be found deep inside the occupied territories.

<snip>

The fact is that the checkpoints are not a product of the intifada. When the truth is written about the history of the checkpoints, and not from the chronicles taken from the desk of the army commanders, it will become clear that the checkpoints gave birth to the intifada. They were born in 1991, two years before the Oslo Accords, and were greatly reinforced after these agreements were signed. Only complete blindness on the part of Israelis - who know more about the chic restaurants in New York than they do about the checkpoints in the West Bank, the checkpoints that divide and slice it, turning its citizens into the victims of good or sadistic soldiers - only this blindness could have begotten the "surprise" of Autumn 2000: What did they want? After all, everything was already OK.

<snip>

The checkpoint system is not part of the intifada, but it did grow and strengthen "thanks" to it. The checkpoint system is also not going to end when the intifada is over. The checkpoint system belongs entirely to the Israeli unwillingness to give up all of the territory of the West Bank, including all of the settlements. The checkpoint system is aimed at ensuring Israeli control over the lives of the Palestinians. Thus, it was strengthened after the signing of the Oslo Accords.

 <snip>

Anyone who knows the West Bank since the Oslo Accords knows how much humiliation tens of thousands of people have experienced at the checkpoints. Anyone who knows the Oslo Accords from the Palestinian side knows how they looked there: Besides the expropriations, the bypass roads and the expansion of settlements, the checkpoints were their nightmare, a nightmare we knew nothing about.

<snip>

  
 
 
 
 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/508703.html
 

[idontwantaname]

1. bump for racists and hypocrites. n/t

[pelsar]

2. checkpoints.....

the article states "that anybody who knows the checkpoints..."

Ok I know the them I manned several years before oslo. And not only were the lines minimum, not only did we simply wave many through, very few actually existed. Those that did we usually at the entrance into the big cities. The IDF presence was not so much population control but to have a presence.

We interfered minimally with the populations. Their growth, the checking, the division of the westbank came about as one of the methods and it may be a nightmare for the palestenians but unfortunatly for them....as part of a layered system for keeping out suicide bombers...they work.

and to help debunk the article: its stating that checkpoints gave birth to the intifada, is an incredibly simplistic statement. The occupation has many levels of frustration and humilation, to reduce it to a soldier checking someones ID and waving them through (as was the case pre oslo) within the few entrance points between cities is simply unrealistic.

[idontwantaname]

3. some things i want to highlight

thanks for the input on checkpoints.

the issue i think wasnt the few checkpoint there use to be pre-oslo... but how they increased with settlement building post-oslo...

"They were born in 1991, two years before the Oslo Accords, and were greatly reinforced after these agreements were signed."

they didnt expect with the oslo agreements israel would build more settlements and erect more checkpoints...


"But from the perspective of someone waiting long hours in line, it does not matter whether the soldiers standing facing you is a sadist or a nice guy. Ask any Israeli who is forced to wait 15 minutes in line at the bank if there is any difference whether the teller is nice or not when his turn finally comes. But something more important can be learned from the Israelis' hatred of lines: they have no idea what the Palestinians experience on a daily basis."

<snip>

The checkpoint system is aimed at ensuring Israeli control over the lives of the Palestinians. Thus, it was strengthened after the signing of the Oslo Accords.

From this perspective, the settlements are not the reason for the checkpoints. The "isolated" settlements and the settlement blocs - part of the "new" consensus of the Oslo era - are the pretext for the checkpoints, but they reveal their real function: We are present everywhere, we will split the Palestinian territory in every way, we will control them.

<snip>

[pelsar]

4. no conspiracy here

i think your reading (and the article) way too much into the checkpoints as if they are part of some great conspiracy. The permanent ones, the temp ones and the spontanious ones had nothing to do with the settlements, or their growth or anything like that. (as part of my service we would decide at the local level where the best place for one was...)

They were meant to disrupt the planning and actions of the suicide bombers which involved several aspects: bomber, the bomb, the handler and the scouts. Screwing up one of these meant one less bomber made it through. No great conspiray simply military actions at the local level. Much of the IDF actions are simply that, military decisions for whatever the reasons...no govt no settlers no settlements involved.

[idontwantaname]

5. "the settlements are not the reason for the checkpoints"

i understand the checkpoints are all about security and not about the settlements...

but if it truly is about israels security why are there checkpoints all through out the west bank/gaza instead of along israels border?

for instance qualandia which leads into jerusalem can be an argument. but hawara near nablus?...

[pelsar]

6. disruption and surprise.....

if there was but one checkpoint before a large city....it would be easy to do the logistics to get past it (the suicde bomber picks up his bomb on the israeli side with his handler)....and go around it. That was shown when the suicide bombers started, only when the checkpoints were increased and moved within between villages (disrupting their life in every direction) did they slow down, for then the logistics for the suicide bomber and handler were also disrupted.

That was actually a "stop gap measure" until other means were developed and many checkpoionts have since been dismantled, though still a lot of temps spring up over night.

they are boring, teadious, cruel and dangerous...but like i meantioned as part of the system, they do play their part......

[idontwantaname]

7. could you get more info on this?

From Machsom Watch

Dear Watchers:
I just received a call from members of the Presidential campaign group
of Dr. Mustafa Barghutti, one of the candidates in the coming
elections and he told me Mustafa had been attacked by soldiers at a
checkpoint near Jenin, had been beaten and thrown to the ground.  This
is an extremely serious matter, just when Israel has declared its
cooperation with the electoral process.  I called Roman Bronfman and
also Carmela Menashe and they are already dealing with this.
As you all see, it is extremely important that we monitor what is
going on at the checkpoints during this campaign.  If the soldiers
harass someone as important and well-known as Mustafa Barghutti, what
will happen to smaller figures?  Will there be any possibility of
carrying out anything that resembles free elections?

[pelsar]

8. i'll try....

but I doubt there will be any news about it. Most of the "goings on" at the checkpoints dont make the news, its really quite rare.....and usually any news that comes out immediatly has two sides claiming justice

[pelsar]

9. politics....

arab politics make the stuff in the US look like a bunch of amatures. You will notice that these guys have been going back and forth for years now, they know the drill, to notify before they go, to identify etc etc etc.

the scuffles get them front page news.....free advertising and without "bad mouthing" their competition.....its a great system.....nothing sinister from the israeli side on this one.

[idontwantaname]

10. i cannot speak the same for Bassam al-Salhi or the others...

but i met several months ago with Dr. Mustafa Barghouti and he would not have been a part this for publicity. he is actually a very spiritual and peaceful person...

youll have to clue me in on the drill that arab politicians run.

[pelsar]

11. i wish i knew......

arab politics are a very very complex entity....we have probably a couple thousand TV/writers/ freelancers all busy trying to interpet what was meant when this or that was said. Its really quite amusing sometimes as the bottom line is that sometimes we have absolutly no idea what they mean.....

its not a matter of being peaceful etc , its a matter of playing a very complex game with constantly "changing teams"....for the palestenian elections were just going to be the pawns as they use us to gain points with their own....look for more "adventures"

I dont mean this in a cynical way....just the way it is (we use them for our own internal consumption and they use us in the same way-were kind attached at the hip so to speak)