Too often, the violence that has defined the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is defined as a “cycle of violence” – the insinuation being that both sides are equally guilty in this never-ending conflict. The latest incident at the Gaza Erez checkpoint illustrates my point. The Erez checkpoint is the main crossing for thousands of Palestinian workers with jobs in Israel. Israel routinely closes the crossing after violent incidents, leaving the workers idle. Today, 3 Palestinians threw grenades at the Israeli soldiers and opened fire with machine guns. All three were shot dead by Israeli return fire.
The press will simply report that Israel killed 3 Palestinians. The context, of course, is missing. The Israelis don’t “need” inexpensive Palestinian laborers - they allow them to work in Israel for humanitarian reasons. Unfortunately, the Palestinians have used these border crossings – time, after time, after time – to attack Israelis guards.
As a result, the Israelis are “disengaging” from the Palestinians by shutting off the crossings and building border barriers to deter illegal workers - and terrorists - from entry into Israel. Will this pose a humanitarian crisis among the Palestinians? Without a doubt. Is it Israel’s responsibility to ease their suffering? No. Now that Israel no longer “occupies” the Gaza strip, the welfare of the Palestinians is no longer an Israeli concern under international law. Now that the Palestinians people have done away with their attempt to portray themselves as political “moderates” by electing the Hamas terrorist organization, the Israelis no longer have to be concerned with the humanitarian issues either.
The Palestinian people have spoken – now they have to accept responsibility for their decision. With oil at $65 a barrel, the Arab nations that have been provoking this conflict for half a century should pick up the tab – that is if they care about the Palestinians as much as they claim.
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