I've long thought that Israel, at least since becoming a state in 1948, has been far more "sinned against than sinning". To either confirm or contradict this I began reading a book on the history of the Middle East conflict but read to about page sixty. I'm still looking for the Cliff's Notes version. The fact that I'm not that well-informed should disqualify me from commenting but... (here's where you say 'that never stopped you before!').
Thanks, you are right. So from my perspective the Wall was long overdue given that Israel has a right to exist and Israelis have a right not to have their limbs removed by a bomb while shopping at a supermarket or riding on a bus. And if a wall helps, then go for it.
What prompts this post was this, which reminded me of this article in a magazine of a charity giving aid to the Middle East, which points out the negatives of said wall. It seems rather one-sided given the lack of explanation why Israel would go to the great length of building it. One may quibble where it was built, but the relentless provocation of Israel by the Palestinians has been this side of surreal. And Israel won the West Bank in the Six Day War in 1967, after Egypt prompted a pre-emptive strike by (from here): "ordering the withdrawal of the United Nations Emergency Forces stationed on the Egyptian-Israeli border, thus removing the international buffer between Egypt and Israel which had existed since 1957...[then] Egypt announced a blockade of all goods bound to and from Israel through the Straits of Tiran."
It seems to me there are far greater grounds for the United States to give Texas & part of California back to Mexico than for Israel to give back the West Bank.
So in a perfect world, the article might've included these paragraphs:
Palestinians inconvenienced by the wall say that they understand the need for Israel to protect itself and know that a wall, in possibly helping to prevent terrorist attacks, will also prevent retalitory bombings by Israel.
"I think the wall is a necessary evil," said one Palestinian woman, "I might not have to worry as much about Palestinian homes being hit by Israeli bombs now. And think of all Israeli children and civilians saved by this wall! No one wants the suicide bombers and if this wall is going to stop one suicide bomber, why then the inconveniences and hassles are worth it!"
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