Why Walls Won't Work

The weekend suicide bombings, in the Israeli port of Ashdod by two Palestinian teens from the Gaza Strip, highlight the flaws of an approach to eliminating terrorism that relies simply on security.

The teens in question managed to slip out of Gaza, despite the enclave being ringed by the Israeli security fence. They managed to somehow get into the heavily guarded Ashdod port and detonate their bombs, killing another eight or ten people. Luckily the bombers' intended target, fuel storage tanks at the port, were too far to be affected.

This incident puts into focus the major flaw in relying on security, particularly in the form of a barrier, for preventing attacks. All barriers are permeable. All security measures can be defeated.

A terrorist, particularly a suicide bomber, who seeks to defeat a barrier only has to defeat it once to be effective. Defeating security is a technical problem. It is about figuring out the process of avoiding the measures in place. Taking planned violent and suicidal action, however, requires another kind of defeat. It requires a defeat of all sense of empathy and self preservation.

It is all too easy to dehumanize suicide bombers. They commit terrible crimes, and usually against civilians. From my point of view it seems inconceivable that I could reach a state where I would be willing to sacrifice myself simply to blindly strike out at some enemy.

But what many in privileged surroundings forget, is that it isn't some nebulous form of evil that motivates suicide bombers. They are, after all, human beings. They have feelings, they think, they have families, they have loved ones. Suicide bombers don't simply appear magically at the behest of some unfathomable evil, they are creations of their environment.

To reach a state where they are willing to die to kill others, is to be in an environment where that horrible choice seems like a logical response. The hatred and despair they feel must remove any normal emotional, moral or ethical hesitation that would stop the destruction of not only their own lives, but the lives of their loved ones who will mourn their loss, and even the lives of their victims. They must somehow believe that to continue to exist in their current environment is worse than dying. They must have no hope.

A crucial question then comes to mind. What in their environment makes suicide bombers consider their ultimate act a rational choice? Simply dismissing their choice as irrational and evil, whether because of rage or political motivation, is a trap. It perpetuates a cycle of violence without end. It does nothing to solve the problem. Everyone is dehumanized.

Taking the time to look at the environment, and from the knowledge gained, find ways to bring back hope, is the only means of creating safety. People who truly believe that they can make a positive difference by helping to build a society, will almost always choose that path over trying to destroy it. The key is to provide an environment where people have that choice.

Imprisoning people in a fence simply makes their everyday lives more difficult, and kills hope. It encourages the very violence it claims to prevent.

If Israelis truly want to live in peace, then they have to begin by creating the foundation for an environment where Palestinians believe they can build a better society. Why do the Israelis have to take the first step? Because they have the overwhelming balance of power. They live in vastly more privileged surroundings than do the Palestinians. They have far more resources at their disposal to start building that foundation.

Yes the Palestinians must also change their ways, but in order for that to happen they must see signs of hope for better lives. As long as Israel fences them in, steals their land, and strangles them economically, that can never happen.