REALITY CHECK; ILLEGAL CHECKPOINTS IN PALESTINE NOW OPERATED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES

June 29, 2009 at 08:22 (DesertPeace Editorial, Ethnic Cleansing, Extremism, Israel, Occupied West Bank, Palestine, zionist harassment)

FOOD is now confiscated by those operating these sites. FOOD!!!!

Anyone that has ever visited a Palestinian village or city knows that mealtime is not necessarily just a family event, it is a community event. Especially on Fridays, it is not unusual to share your meal with relatives from both sides of the family, their children, and neighbours. It is a way of life in Palestine, a way of life that the Israelis apparently have a problem with…. a way of life that Israelis do not want us to know about.

A dear friend of mine just spent some time in Ramallah, one of her observations (in part) follows….

It is ILLEGAL for Israeli citizens to go into the West Bank (the occupied Palestinian territories) or Gaza. Illegal. They are not supposed to go there. Even Israeli Arabs are not supposed to go there. Israeli settlers are evidently the exception to this rule, as they LIVE in the occupied territories.

It’s important to understand that Arab family lines cross these arbitrary boundaries. It is illegal for Israeli (Arab) citizens to visit their families if they live in the occupied territories!

This is merely an attempt to keep Israelis from ‘knowing’ the truth of what is happening in the territories. The official government line would be that they don’t want Israelis to be abducted and then have to work to free them. Sounds reasonable, but what if there could be a waiver that Israelis could sign saying they would not hold the government responsible? I think that’s a great idea.

The law is being used to engender fear – Don’t go there… you might not come back. It is also being used to hide the truth from good people who might question their own government if they ‘get to know’ the people on the other side of the wall and the conflict.

You can read the rest of her views HERE.

Amira Hass reported the following today: “The typical Palestinian laborer in Israel has a 12-hour workday, including travel time and checkpoint delays. Many leave home as early as 2 A.M. in order to wait in line at the checkpoint; tardiness to work often results in immediate dismissal. Workers return home around 5 P.M. The wait at the checkpoint can take one to two hours in each direction, if not longer.

The food quantities allowed by Modi’in Ezrahi do not meet the daily dietary needs of the workers, and they prefer not to buy food at the considerably more expensive Israeli stores”

The above was selected BY

The article by Ms. Hass is at the end of this post.

This post is not about food. This post is about the government of Israel systematically destroying the very nature of the Palestinian Nation. Destroy the culture of a people, limit the movements of a people, in reality….. destroy the people!

You might now understand why it is illegal for Israelis to see this. We are led to believe that Palestinians are terrorists. We are led to believe that Palestinians hate us. NOTHING is further from the truth on both counts…… BUT, Israel seems to know that ‘the truth will set us free’, so they will continue hiding it from us.

Israel wants you to believe that it is dismantling the illegal checkpoints…. the reality check is that more are being built….now operated by private companies.

Below is the article I mentioned by Amira Hass…..

Privately run checkpoint stops Palestinians with ‘too much food’

By Amira Hass

A West Bank checkpoint managed by a private security company is not allowing Palestinians to pass through with large water bottles and some food items, Haaretz has learned.

MachsomWatch discovered the policy, which Palestinian workers confirmed to Haaretz.

The Defense Ministry stated in response that non-commercial quantities of food were not being limited. It made no reference to the issue of water.

The checkpoint, Sha’ar Efraim, is south of Tul Karm, and is managed for the Defense Ministry by the private security company Modi’in Ezrahi. The company stops Palestinian workers from passing through the checkpoint with the following items: Large bottles of frozen water, large bottles of soft drinks, home-cooked food, coffee, tea and the spice zaatar. The security company also dictates the quantity of items allowed: Five pitas, one container of hummus and canned tuna, one small bottle or can of beverage, one or two slices of cheese, a few spoonfuls of sugar, and 5 to 10 olives. Workers are also not allowed to carry cooking utensils and work tools.

MachsomWatch told Haaretz that Sunday, a 32-year-old construction worker from Tul Karm, who is employed in Hadera, was not allowed to carry his lunch bag through the checkpoint. The bag contained six pitas, 2 cans of cream cheese, one kilogram of sugar in a plastic bag, and a salad, also in a plastic bag.

The typical Palestinian laborer in Israel has a 12-hour workday, including travel time and checkpoint delays. Many leave home as early as 2 A.M. in order to wait in line at the checkpoint; tardiness to work often results in immediate dismissal. Workers return home around 5 P.M. The wait at the checkpoint can take one to two hours in each direction, if not longer.

The food quantities allowed by Modi’in Ezrahi do not meet the daily dietary needs of the workers, and they prefer not to buy food at the considerably more expensive Israeli stores.

MachsomWatch informed the Israel Defense Forces about the new bans but received no response, the organization said. Modi’in Ezrahi issued a statement saying questions should be directed to the Defense Ministry’s crossings administration.

MachsomWatch activists said a security guard on duty told them the food restrictions were imposed due to “security and health risks.” However, at the nearby Qalqilyah checkpoint, which is still run directly by the IDF, workers have been allowed to carry through all the food items banned at Sha’ar Efraim.

However, responsibility for the Qalqilyah checkpoint is supposed to be transferred to a private company this week, and workers voiced concerns that similar restrictions might be imposed there.

The IDF Spokesman’s office said in a statement: “There are no limits on food quantities. They may take through food necessary for personal consumption during a day’s work. When a worker arrives with a large quantity of goods intended for sale rather than for personal use, he is asked to pass through the goods crossing instead, where the goods are handled appropriately and with the appropriate customs checks. This crossing is intended for pedestrians and not for goods.”