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Where is the occupation?
By Haaretz Editorial
The occupied territories and the Palestinians living there are slowly becoming virtual realities, distant from the eye and the heart. Palestinian workers have disappeared from our streets. Israelis no longer enter Palestinian towns for shopping. There is a new generation on each side that does not know the other. Even the settlers no longer meet Palestinians because of the different road systems that distinguish between the two populations; one is free and mobile, the other stuck at the roadblocks.

While the politicians argue over dividing the land between two peoples, the public is apathetic. The people feel that the division has already taken place. The disengagement from the Gaza Strip, the evacuation of Gush Katif, the construction of a separation barrier - the problem is solved to our satisfaction. The settlers are conducting a settlement policy of their own, taking over new areas, expanding settlements, anything to prevent a permanent solution. They are also satisfied with the status quo that relies on the Shin Bet security service and the Israel Defense Forces.

The de facto separation is today more similar to political apartheid than an occupation regime because of its constancy. One side - determined by national, not geographic association - includes people who have the right to choose and the freedom to move, and a growing economy. On the other side are people closed behind the walls surrounding their community, who have no right to vote, lack freedom of movement, and have no chance to plan their future. The economic gap is only getting wider and the Palestinians are wistfully watching as Israel imports laborers from China and Romania. Fear of terrorist attacks has transformed the Palestinian laborer into an undesirable.
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There have recently been reports of a further "upgrading" of the occupation. Sixteen crossing points between the West Bank and Israel are now being controlled by civilians instead of soldiers. On the face of it, this is an act of normalization, similar to the situation at international border crossings. But in this case a country exists only on one side. In the absence of an agreed border, there is only a security border that Israel has unilaterally established. The frustrated and frightened soldiers checking every Palestinian have now been replaced by contractors hired by the Defense Ministry.

Their job is to check people holding permits; in other words, people the civil administration, under the Shin Bet's guidance, has allowed to enter Israel. The checks are being carried out by sophisticated means, almost without human contact, in reinforced, blast-proof structures. The new method has removed a burden from IDF soldiers but has created a distancing. The contact between the soldiers and the Palestinians at the crossings, precisely because it is so traumatic, has driven the Israelis and Palestinians to seek a political solution. The stories the soldiers brought home fueled public debate. Now the soldiers are stationed only at roadblocks in the West Bank, and there is less friction. So the discourse is also minimized.

Can this situation continue indefinitely? The more Israelis see less of the occupation, the easier it becomes to ignore. In September, 33 Palestinians and one soldier were killed in operations against terror and Qassam rockets. Only in the next intifada, or after missiles are fired at Israel from the West Bank, will we once again be reminded of the occupation.
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  1.   Israel will not be changed by guilt tripping it 09:09  |  Rowan Berkeley 03/10/07
  2.   THE OUTCOME, THE REASON: APARTHEID 09:14  |  indrajaya 03/10/07
  3.   If there are no borders how can one call it an ocupation 09:32  |  JC 03/10/07
  4.   Honest editorial and remember this 09:48  |  Svein 03/10/07
  5.   Slow war, until the BIG explosion 09:50  |  spyguy`san francisco 03/10/07
  6.   political apartheid 09:51  |  ron 03/10/07
  7.   How to end the occupation and promote real peace: 09:52  |  Uzi 03/10/07
  8.   Apartheid as fruits of greed based on religious delusion 09:53  |  Ivar 03/10/07
  9.   Slow war until the BIG Exposion 09:55  |  Spyguy 03/10/07
  10.   The acts of the Arabs, anti-Semites and delusional leftists are 10:03  |  Uzi 03/10/07
  11.   Sort out who are the `settlers` and `pals`!!! 10:05  |  lilly 03/10/07
  12.   Whatever happens, there can never be any separate Arab political 10:07  |  Uzi 03/10/07
  13.   more banal tripe 10:09  |  peter 03/10/07
  14.   Whatever happens, there can never be any separate Arab political 10:20  |  Uzi 03/10/07
  15.   This is the only APARTHEID still alive in this world 10:23  |  Khalil Ishabib 03/10/07
  16.   #8ivar chirrups away like the sparrow on a bread crumb 10:23  |  victor hardman 03/10/07
  17.   Well The Easy Solution To Me Would Be... 10:26  |  Yosemite 03/10/07
  18.   #1the ash tree that doesnt bend in the wind 10:27  |  victor hardman 03/10/07
  19.   perceptive article 10:47  |  SD 03/10/07
  20.   perceptive article 10:51  |  SD 03/10/07
  21.   Victor, 1922 Mandate integrated native Palestinians 10:53  |  Ivar 03/10/07
  22.   There goes that Haaretz Editorial person again 10:58  |  Efox 03/10/07
  23.   # 7, # 10, # 14, # 16 The Palestinian State 11:06  |  Andrew Watson 03/10/07
  24.   If Pals can demand LAND for PEACE we can demand LAND for WORK 11:10  |  Gil 03/10/07
  25.   `Apartheid`? 11:12  |  Truth or Myth 03/10/07
  26.   Apartheid started from day one when the early zionists came and 11:13  |  lakshmi 03/10/07
  27.   Khalil Ishabib # 15 11:24  |  ChanahS 03/10/07
  28.   Lying "Haaretz",desiring terror.Let it hit Schocken&Co! 11:28  |  Absolute Sweden 03/10/07
  29.   SOLDIERS DIEING TO CHECK I.D. CARDS--IT`S NOT FAIR 11:35  |  John 03/10/07
  30.   6 MILLION DEAD & YOU HAVE THE ARROGANCY TO TALK ABOUT LAND 11:37  |  JOHN 03/10/07
  31.   thank you haaretz 11:47  |  aron 03/10/07
  32.   Qassams from the West-Bank is the only language... 11:59  |  Dutch Dirk 03/10/07
  33.   # 30 Israel`s policy of ethnic cleansing 12:09  |  Andrew Watson 03/10/07
  34.   And so the settlers. They don`t mix with jews inside Israel 12:22  |  Tamir Palestine 03/10/07
  35.   BETTER FOR ISRAEL TO BE APARTHEID-FREE 12:30  |  Vittorio 03/10/07
  36.   #21 ivar cant read try again the reason for the mandate 12:34  |  victor hardman 03/10/07
  37.   Another dumb, left-wing article 12:42  |  Steven A. 03/10/07
  38.   Some honesty at last 12:42  |  Nick Ferriman 03/10/07
  39.   right to vote 12:50  |  Jo Jo 03/10/07
  40.   The Palestinians Have the Terrorists to Thank 12:53  |  Jane 03/10/07
  41.   lakshmi "israell torched mosque" 13:06  |  sonia gandhi 03/10/07
  42.   lakshmi "israel torched mosque" 13:20  |  sonia gandhi 03/10/07
  43.   a commission of inquiry into the destruction of the babri mosque 13:25  |  sonia gandhi 03/10/07
  44.   God bless Harretz for the courage to tell uncomfortable truths 13:46  |  Clickfool 03/10/07
  45.   #36 Hardhead dips in his recycle bin again 13:51  |  Labhras 03/10/07
  46.   #25 Truth or myth 13:53  |  Boycott 03/10/07
  47.   Israel will never change 13:55  |  Clickfool 03/10/07
  48.   This describes perfectly the so called wannabe peacemakers 14:01  |  Labhras 03/10/07
  49.   John in Chicago gets out his fiddle # 30 14:02  |  Clickfool 03/10/07
  50.   Apartheid 14:10  |  Mitch Cohen 03/10/07
  51.   Jo JO,Right to vote 14:19  |  Anne 03/10/07
  52.   john 30 14:30  |  realism 03/10/07
  53.   For Labhras, on Victor Hardman # 44 14:31  |  Clickfool 03/10/07
  54.   ONLY SOLUTION: GAZA TO EGYPT; W.BANK PARTITION WITH JORDAN 14:32  |  G. Marcus 03/10/07
  55.   #3 THAT`S an easy question to answer, JC 15:00  |  Johnboy 03/10/07
  56.   @51, anne, why are you living in israel? you 15:06  |  v 03/10/07
  57.   Spyguy`s wishful thinking 15:11  |  martyrmaker 03/10/07
  58.   #9 spyguy in San Francisco 15:21  |  John Allen 03/10/07
  59.   #26 Mrs. Jellyby (lakshmi) 15:36  |  Daybreak 03/10/07
  60.   The War has not ended 15:39  |  Jacob Blues 03/10/07
  61.   How quickly we forget... 15:42  |  Jacob Blues 03/10/07
  62.   #55 johnboy returns from walkabaouts with more bad law 15:47  |  victor hardman 03/10/07
  63.   A Must Read 15:52  |  Leser 03/10/07
  64.   "16 Victor Hardhead 16:10  |  Labhras 03/10/07
  65.   Blackwater Inc operating in Occupied Palestine. 16:17  |  Labhras 03/10/07
  66.   #59 JohnAllen in Kansas " All hat and no cattle." 16:20  |  Labhras 03/10/07
  67.   Well done Haaretz. 16:23  |  Labhras 03/10/07
  68.   Haaretz`s last bastion fell: The Editorial. 16:37  |  Fortuna Benmayor 03/10/07
  69.   the visible bloodlust of the rubberneckers 16:38  |  peter 03/10/07
  70.   For Labhras on the bravery of IDF soldiers # 63 16:46  |  Clickfool 03/10/07
  71.   For Fortuna Benmayor # 68 16:53  |  Clickfool 03/10/07
  72.   A Forgotten Occupation? 16:54  |  Bruce 03/10/07
  73.   #55 videogameboy continues his fantasy 16:55  |  peter 03/10/07
  74.   Did you like it better when buses were blowing up? 16:57  |  Shuki 03/10/07
  75.   Fools Gold 17:02  |  Ibrahim 03/10/07
  76.   An example of why Israel`s would be destroyers love haaretz. 17:04  |  Chaim 03/10/07
  77.   #64 the irish comic labarse and more mirth! 17:19  |  victor hardman 03/10/07
  78.   #62 Victor Hardhead wants seance 17:20  |  Labhras 03/10/07
  79.   The visible poverty of blusterers 17:21  |  sh 03/10/07
  80.   #70 the bravery of yellow streak for all not to see 17:23  |  victor hardman 03/10/07
  81.   The WICKED LIE of Occupation 17:32  |  Linda Rivera 03/10/07
  82.   One MILLION JEWISH Refugees & Descendants Must Be Compensated 17:34  |  Linda Rivera 03/10/07