Nick Pretzlik writing from Occupied East Jerusalem | Electronic IntifadaAll Israeli checkpoints are on Palestinian land - under military occupation since 1967 - and incidents like the one I witnessed are commonplace demonstrations of the racism that infects the Israeli armed forces. The contrived sloppiness of soldiers in their dealings with Palestinians in the occupied territories is further evidence of their mindset - a young woman conscript blowing bubbles of gum as she questions Palestinians standing in front of her, her stubble-chinned male counterparts ostentatiously filling their mouths with food while doing the same thing, others drinking coffee and puffing cigarette smoke nonchalantly while yelling at their victims.
This moment in time is the Palestinian equivalent of the hour before dawn - their darkest hour. It is also a moment when the Jewish state itself is imperiled. Israel displays scant inclination to withdraw to the 1967 borders and seems intent on completing the wall without delay. If that is indeed the case, the Palestinians may decide to abandon their aspirations for a two state solution and instead co-opt the global anti-Zionist sentiments aroused by television images of their plight to mount an anti-apartheid style campaign for a single state - incorporating Jews and Palestinians - from the Jordan river to the sea. The campaign would be hard for Israel to counter, particularly if it is accompanied by demands for democracy. One person, one vote is, after all, President Bush's messianic mantra.