Is this type of thing really necessary? Raiding East Jerusalem high schools to find kids who were throwing stones (and one look at the picture accompanying this article of the Border Police leaves no doubt as to how little damage stone throwers cause them)? I understand raids into Gaza to catch those who shoot rockets at civilians or attempt to cross the border to kidnap Israeli soldiers, but harassing, intimidating, and arresting unarmed teenagers makes no sense to me at all. This counterproductive bullying is completely pointless from a strategic or security perspective, and it is guaranteed to engender greater resentment of Israel both at home and abroad. It is not going to actually deter Palestinian teenagers from throwing stones, and it is likely to motivate them to move onto genuine violence. And of course the optics of a Christian NGO accompanying Palestinian kids to and from school to protect them from Israeli heavy handedness is wonderful for Israel’s image in the world. Bravo, Israeli Border Police, bravo. Whomever it is that makes the decision to waste time and resources on this should really rethink things.

Advertisement