February 7, 2008
Stuck At The Gaza Border
-- By CNN's Ben Wedeman
I'm stuck at the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza. The reason? Apparently my bullet proof jacket has suspicious particles on it. The security personnel here at the israeli terminal couldn't tell me more than that.  In the meantime I've been asked for my cellphone number- I initially refused but relented when it began to look like I would be here forever. Then a beefy security man sat down and asked me about Gaza. Who I worked with, how long I've known them, where I stayed in Gaza, whether I stayed by myself in my room at the hotel (what was he insinuating? I told him Gaza is not Tel Aviv, Israel's sin city). Then he left me to sit for an hour in the passport control area. The Israeli terminal at the Erez crossing is infamous. Colleagues have been detained for hours, strip searched, interrogated. Israelis of course have reason to be security conscious, and the army and police are on high alert after the suicide bombing in Dimona Monday, which left one Israeli dead. Nonetheless it is frustrating when you know you're being held back by mistake. Before leaving CNN's Jerusalem bureau Wednesday, I grabbed a flack jacket on a pile in the back of the office. I never wore the thing on this trip to gaza, since we were doing a story on the American International School there. (More on that later). The children at the school would hardly fit into the category of bloodthirsty fanatics. Another thing I find puzzling. A year and a half ago cameraman Adil Bradlow and I went to a workshop where militants were making rockets to fire into Israel. The cramped rooms where they worked reaked of chemicals which had spilled all over the floor. But when we passed through all the israeli controls, the x-rays, the particle detectors and the like, nothing showed up. Go figure. So I'm still sitting here, passing the time writing for Hala's blog. Apart from the frustration of waiting, I can't complain too loudly. I've been given a cup of coffee, offered food (I'm not hungry) and entertained with such questions as "what was your grandfather's name? What is your email address and what is your home phone number?" No, I haven't been strip searched (yet), or worse. And I'd love to include pictures for the blog but here photography is forbidden. Update: After two and a half hours waiting, a nice woman in civilian clothing gave me my passport with a smile and off I went. Needless to say next time I go to Gaza I'll leave my flack jacket there. The problem is that one of the most dangerous areas in Gaza is the Erez Crossing. I guess that means everytime I go to Gaza, I will have to leave a flack jacket behind. This could start proving costly. 19 Comments
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this happens to CNN employees, can any one Imagine what happened to the poor Palestinians at these crossings?it seems to me that if Israel want peace and security they will have it in no time give back to the Palestinians what belongs to them ,stop stealing their land treat them as humans .the Palestinians accepted Israel right to exist it is for Israel to accept the Palestinian right to live in their country.
Ben, I'm glad you aren't a security guard. Although inconvenient for us civilians, they know what they are doing. If, heaven forbid, you get caught up in a terrorist bombing one day, I promise you'll have a different perspective.It's better to be safe than sorry, after all, we can all see the people you get to hang out with in Gaza. You might trust them but I don't.
Can somebody tell me why half a million israeli civilians are allowed to settle in the west bank in blattant violation of the Geneva Convention and of countless UN resolution and of israels own laws? And why is this obviousely unilateral agression (which is nothing else than state terrorism) tolerated and financed with bio of $ by Israel and the USA?
Israel talks always about its security - but the settlements have nothing to do with their security. To the contrary, why does Israel send these 'innocent' women and children into the occupied territories where it is so dangerouse for them that they have to be protected by the military? Why does Israel complain that the Palestinians defend themselves? Everybody would do it in their place ...
I must say that I can understand why the situation is frustrating. I have been detained several times myself at border crossings. Twice in the US once in Mexico, once in Bulgaria and twice in Israel. It was at no times fun. In each case I was detained for more than a few hours. But I can understand the need for security. I missed being a statistic on 9-11 by about 20 minutes, and in Israel my wife narrowly escaped 2 suicide bombings, my father-in-law barely survived 2 terror attacks (none in the disputed territories).
As a comment to my fellow bloggers on this post: The Israeli/Arab conflict is not simple, it is in fact extremely complex. So complex in fact that I would say that a majority of people on both sides do not have a true understanding of the facts, issues, and motivations that continue to plague these two peoples. I would suggest that before commenting do some true research (not just in news papers and on the internet) into the subject. I myself have studied this issue for almost 8 years and only now do I feel qualified to make any comment on public forums.
big deal so you got stuck at the Erez crossing ,we don't want people that pretend to be reporters but are terrorists trying to enter Israel.
The Palestinians deserve to be locked up in Gaza because they support Hamas and produce rockets to shoot at Israel. Hopefully we will cut out their power so they can't produce rockets.
to anonymous 3 why are there 1 million Arabs in living Israel? Jews also have a claim to the West Bank.
Settlements have everything to do with security. Look at what has happened to Gaza and southern Lebanon since Israel left those areas. How is it that the Palestinians are defending themselves by killing Israeli women and children? Ironically the Palestinians have gained more from Israel than they ever did living under Jordanian or Egyptian rule. I think you should start reading up on history. Today the Palestinians stand to loose a lot if they align themselves with International Islamic fundamentalism. Look at who and what you are defending? Be honest with yourself you hypocrite.
to 11.17.in answer to your question why are 1 Million Palestinian living in Israel?very simple to answer, these people have been there hundreds of years before there was an Israel in another word they are the Natives of the Land.Israel is only sixty years old Jews came from all over the world to Palestine with no ties to the land, stole it from the Palestinians.Israel was the only country in the world that was established by the UN under the condition that they let the Palestinian who the Jews drove out return to their homes.so denying facts will not take you any were. there is no difference between what happened in Palestine and what happened in South Africa and in Algeria.in Algeria and south Africa Justice is done the world is waiting for Justice in Palestine.
Lots of the ignorant folks posting on this board have no knowledge of the region or the situation beyond what there speakers at the weekly "rallies" tell them. I have been on the ground in both Israel and Palestinian territory, I know what is going on. Israel gave up parts of Gaza that it had setteled, it ethnically cleansed thousands of JEWISH families out of there homes in the name of peace. The factories and GreenHouses that had been used by Israel were retained and given to the Palestinians which then burnt them all to the ground including synagogues, the only "peace" that has come out of this is hundreds of Missles being launched by Gaza into Israeli cities such as Sderot. You can make believe in your fantasy mind all you want about the "poor Palestinians' but there is no group on earth that gets dished out more humanitarian aid while funneling all that money to planning and aiding of a mass holocaust of Jews. Why not support someone more worthy of the worlds aid and sympathy such as the hundreds and thousands of Rawandans, Darfurians or Tibetans being murdered each and every day while the world just focuses on the "Palestinians" whos own leadership is educating the young to seek "Jihad" and Murder as a national identity. Wake up sheep.
Its a sad state of affairs for both countries. But the blame lies with Israel, the surrounding Arab countries and the US.
Israel needs to give up occupied land, stop the apartheid and to try to work with its neighbors rather than bombing them. The Arabs need to recognize Israel and stop the threats, hate and support of terrorism. The Palestinians need to realize they will be stuck in this mess for as long as Hamas has support. This is a struggle for freedom not religious ideals, no one can negotiate with a religious extremist, and if you support them in their actions then you can yourself not expect to be supported by the world community. I repeat, this is not a religious struggle, a Jehad or anything to do with ideology. Both sides have the right to practice their religion as they please, but instead, against their own religious teachings they bomb, kill, kidnap and mame, and they all take pleasure in it.
you need to look at both sides of the story. I admit that there are palestinians who suffer as a result of the "blockade"; however, history has shown that hamas and fatah smuggle in weapons under the shield of the red cross and other humanitarian supplies. All israel is doing is searching the supplies before letting them in. Israel has warned hamas at least a dozen times that if they do not stop shooting rockets into Israel, they will set up a blockade. as for stealing palestinian land? read a history book. the jews originally settled in unclaimed land. as a result of the wars that the arabs initiated, the jews expanded. and fyi, a palestinian is no different than a Jordanian or a Syrian. the palestinian homeland is mostly in Jordan, not Israel.
2 sides to an awful mess, who was there first? who came after? would Israel be attracting so much attention had it not been for the Nazi death camps (beyond horrible and words - don't get me wrong). What a lot of us see is people fighting for their land, what we also see is homemade grenade launchers and suicide bombers against laser guided missiles. Do they guys with the cash come out looking bad ? Like always... Would the ones having the courage to say no more violence! win ? They would probably get the most of the sympathy though...
Crazy..
"Israelis of course have reason to be security conscious". Oh come ONNN, as if you looked like a potential terrorist! What kind of country is that. No democracy no freedom whatsoever. i wish you could do a TV piece on that,but i m sure it would never go on air, right? PLEASE. PLEASE. Give us neutral info. On both sides. Good luck.
to the poster from Denmark.you are good at doing cheese .keep on doing cheese and forget about a Problem that you know nothing about.
Ben,
I appreciate your frustration at being held at the border. I'm sure it explains why you make reference to Tel Aviv as "Sin City" and indicate that you anticipated being "strip searched or worse." Nevertheless, as a commentator whose reports appear on the home page of CNN, I would expect less flip coverage of a very serious situation. As you pointed out, Israel is under constant attack by suicide bombers. Fortunately, the work of the Israeli police and defense forces foils +90% of these attempts. The few that get through cause death and maiming, such as the 70-year old couple in Dimona. So this is not a game. This is serious business. You may recall that an El Al plane was nearly blown up by a pregnant woman whose Palestinian boyfriend planted a bomb in her bag unbeknowst to her. So even she (and you) are not above being searched and questioned. To the other bloggers, certainly Israel also takes actions that kill innocent people. Both sides have blood on their hands. But we all know that if Hamas would stop its rocket attacks on Israel and locked up all the planners of suicide bombing attempts at this very instant, the Israeli land and air strikes would cease immediately. From there, the two sides could sit down and discuss all the other issues that could lead to a final settlement of the conflict.
i love the comments that are 'fair', but are totally bias towards Israel.
At least CNN is being a bit more balanced in their reporting as oppossed to the very biased reproting of a few years ago Aussie
this is not your regular conflict. this is based a religion therefore it cannot be treated as your run-of-the-mill conflict that can be solved with negotiations. to the first bloger, i don't recall the palestinians recognizing israels right to exist. maybe if you call tens of kassam missles every day recognizing there right to exist. i mean do all you pro-palestinians just want the israelis to just let the palestinians shoot at us. and if you think giving back land is the end-all then just take a look at baza and southern lebanon.
Native to the land...I suppose that here is another person who has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Fact: There was a constant jewish presence in Jerusalem, Sfat, and several other cities since biblical times. Fact: When the Eastern European Jews came to settle israel in MOST cases they BOUGHT the land that they settle from the arab land holders (this is documented). Fact: Those that are now considered Palastinian Arabs in most cases worked the land but did not own it (kind of like sharecroppers/Migrant workers). Fact: In most cases the land that the Jews bought was did not have any of these "sharecroppers". Fact: There was never a Palastinian Arab state. The "occupied teritories" were part of JORDAN. Would you like to continue? Would you like references to public documentation that state these facts? Do not get me wrong Israel has done things that are not in the realm of acceptable as has EVERY other country. Over all tract record when compared to ANY other country in the last 100 years would be at least 90-95% on the side of good and moral actions. For the other 5-10% well conflict is UGLY. For any of you out there who have seen combat you would have to agree that 90-95% is a VERY good track record.
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