Palestinian Women Want "Their Rights"

Progressive Palestinians protest under the guise of "Women's Rights".

Commemorating International Women's Day, hundreds of Palestinian citizens, mostly women, organized a mass rally at Huwwara checkpoint on Wednesday, flying the banner 'no to checkpoints'.

According to this report, it sounds like checkpoints are random and oppressive.

The protestors chanted anti-checkpoint slogans and raised posters saying, among other things, 'Women rise above the level of checkpoints', and 'together against checkpoints'. They also shouted pro-Palestinian female maxims.

Women have rights, too. Especially Islamic women.

The statement read: "The entire population stretching from Rafah to Jenin are being subjected to the most brutal blockade, checkpoints and incursions and are deprived of the simplest right of access to hospitals."

Why would anyone keep poor women from unrestricted access to the human right of health care?

The statement added that "hundreds of Palestinians were either killed or injured at these checkpoints, including women and children who were denied passage through the checkpoints to go to hospitals. This is an evident breach of human rights."

Why the restrictions? Here's but one example why.

Wafa Samir Ibraim Bas, a 21 year-old Palestinian woman from Jabalya, left her Gaza home with a permission pass to visit Soroka Hospital in Beersheba for a medical check-up. Attached to her clothing, her pants, was more than 22 pounds of explosives.

It was the perfect opportunity. A young woman. An entry permit into Israel for medical treatment. By her own admission and the admission of her handlers, it was assumed that Bas would only be cursorily surveyed at the Erez Crossing. It was assumed that Bas would easily reach her intended target and murder as many people - doctors, nurses, patients, visitors - as 22 pounds of explosives could handle.

Wafa Samir Ibraim Bas had a morning appointment in the Burn Unit of the hospital that had saved her life [!] several months ago. In December of 2004 Bas was badly injured and burned by a gas balloon explosion in her home. Israeli hospitals do not practice a policy of discrimination. All patients are treated alike. Some patients send thank-you notes. This one decided to detonate a bomb.

She was trying to kill the very people that saved her life and are working to make it better. Unfortunately this is all too typical.

So what about International Women's Day? Is Israel unjustly oppressing women?

Since the year 2000, 8 Palestinian women have perpetrated suicide attacks killing 39 Israelis. The Israeli army and Security Forces have uncovered 45 acts of terror initiated by women. In the past year over 59 women have attempted attacks against Israelis.

One of those attempts took place on Monday [by Ms Bas].
[...]
Luckily, they were wrong, they miscalculated. The intended female suicide bomber was detected. The explosive device was safely detonated by sappers. No one was injured.

Even Ms Bas' own mother was disappointed she did not succeed in killing herself and the doctors who saved her life.

Should an entire population have to be subject to so-called "collective punishment" as checkpoints? When the alternative is suicide terror, and since the Palestinians spend their energy complaining about restrictions and encouraging terrorists like Ms Bas (instead of opposing them), then how can they expect otherwise?

(Ms Bas' explosive belt being detonated)