My letter to CSM RE Facebook makes the wait easier at Qalandia checkpoint

A man walks past a section of the separation barrier with a graffiti depicting late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Nov. 8, 2013. Nasser Nasser/AP

RE: Facebook makes the wait easier at Qalandia checkpoint... Some 13,000 members of the 'Qalandia conditions' page share stories of exasperation and pass on tips for negotiating a checkpoint where the wait can last three hours.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/Olive-Press/2013/1123/Facebook-makes-the-wait-easier-at-Qalandia-checkpoint

Dear Editor,

Bravo for another telling story published by CSM regarding Israel/Palestine. The good humor and the charming cleverness shown by Palestinians in your story "Facebook makes the wait easier at Qalandia checkpoint" is a much more accurate description of Palestinians I know than negative stereotypes usually proliferated by media coverage concerning Israel/Palestine and the conflict that has made life miserable for countless people.

I do hope that Israel ends its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and its punitive checkpoints and anti-Palestine policies sooner rather than later... This week British human rights organization Amnesty International came out with a statement condemning the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, demanding that Israel "immediately lift its blockade" on the besieged coastal enclave "by allowing the delivery of fuel and other essential supplies into the territory without restrictions." http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=653623

Official formal negotiations to end the Israel-Palestine conflict should not stop the rest of us from noticing and firmly objecting to Israel's ongoing violations of international law and the Palestinians basic human rights. I think we should also object to the way Islamists are trying to use the dire suffering and sewage crisis in Gaza as a way to discredit diplomacy and support for Palestinian statehood. 

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
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