The grim-faced female soldier--sure she was grim-faced; soldiers are frequently attacked at these checkpoints; do you expect her to grin happily? The solution is for the Palestinians to stop rocketing, shooting, bombing and kidnapping and accept the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state--adjoining a free and independent democratic Palestine. Then these checkpoints won't be necessary.

Imagine how you would feel if similarly treated on your way to work, to your growing crops, to hospital, to school, to worship, to visit friends. And not just once in a while but daily, both going and coming within time limits, under the control of raw young conscripts.

Oh sorry, I forgot you "humanists" and "post-Zionists" don't care too much for Jew's lives only about Palestinian humiliation. You know Israel has really raised a sick society when they worry about people who want them dead more than they worry about their own people.

is by returning to Hashem begging forgiveness and asking for Redemption.

You think these daily terror attacks will go unnoticed? We are reaching the point where Sderot might just say, well the government has abandoned us (which it has), the IDF is being used for everything except for the nations defense (Like uprooting Jewish Villages), so they might as well take there own personal safety into there hands. And you know what, they'd right to do it.

Don't be surprised if another inifida starts because our neighbors are committed to our destruction and we aren't doing enough to stop it.

Shouldn't that be the obvious conclusion? Logic would tell you that Palestinians would not support terrorism to avoid the consequences of security measures. Yet, all the polls show that the majority support terrorism. They can blame themselves for the checkpoints.

Mr. Litani, I live in a settlement of Ofrah. You probably know where it is, as in your trip described in your article you were quite close to my home and even closer to an army base I was once stationed at - the Rama Camp. I drive from Ofrah to Jerusalem daily - the first time to work in Talpiyot area, and the second time back home. Each day I pass twice through the Hizmeh checkpost. It is usually easier on the way back - and hard on the way to work. Every day, it takes me four-hour-long trip to work and back. Every day I wait for the traffic jam at Hizmeh checkpoint to end so that I could enter Jerusalem. Yes, me - Israeli citizen, who served the army for three years protecting your family too from relatives of Arabs you were driving with. But why doesn't your article depict my suffering? Why don't I see a line like: "all this would not have happened if Palestinian terrorists wouldn't have been trying to smuggle weapons and suicide bombers through the checkpost". Or: "the settlers suffer as well from constant road blocks and traffic jams". Too bad you're interested only in one side of the story. The Palestinian people suffer? The Jewish people suffer too. With a difference. Jewish people don't send their children to die on purpose. Jewish people don't go shooting random Palestinian people because of "suffering" (with several exceptions). Jewish people at least do something for peace - unlike the Palestinians. When was the last time your suffering friends went on a rally calling Abu Mazen and Haniyeh to promote peace? When was the last time your suffering friends went on a rally calling Arab MKs to promote peace instead of going to Damascus and praising the "resistance"? I bet - never. So here we go, dear Sir. You should be first in line calling for peace. Instead, you justify hatred of the Palestinians, further deepening this conflict.

Peace has not yet broken out between Israel and the Palestinian people. In the absence of peace there is the daily threat to life and limb in Israel. Israel has to undertake measures that will ensure - as far as possible - the safety of all those who live within its borders. In these circumstances checkpoints are needed. Now consider this. Usually when two warring factions are facing each other you do not hear of streams of people commuting (yes, commuting) across the border between them. Hostile borders are normally closed borders. In the bizarre situation that prevails between Israel and its neighbours, people are allowed to move from one side to the other. Why not just stop the traffic and see who screams then?

Is this a threat? Are you saying that becuase of the roadblocks, the Arabs are fighting? Are you stupid? The answer to all questions: yes

Mr. Yehuda,try riding and spending a week in Sedrot. If your friends want peace all they have to do is stop trying to destroy Israel. Try finding out how people in Sedrot go thru something worse than going thru Israeli check points. Tell your friend to spend a week in Sedrot and I am sure,he will not mind in the future. You will have to excuse the soldiers at the check points,for how do they know the next one will be a suicide bomber wanting to kill the soldiers. The problem with people like you,you care more about strangers than you do your own people. So you will have to excuse me,if I don't shed tears for your friends

..you give in to them, and they start an Intifada, you don't give in, tehy start an intifada.....hey maybe its tehm and not us....anybody think of that possibilty

He lives in a cushy house in tel aviv, has a cushy job and for him and his pals, the intifaday has stopped! Get it? As long as he doesn't get hurt, screw all the rest! Now, I can understand him, he grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, but I cannot understand what gives him the right to spew his rish brand of nihilism all over the rest of us who care!

A hack writer, a pro-Arab Blame-Israel-First Jew, and a twisted mind and a man who has been wrong in writing for decades. In other words, someone who is considered a respected pundit in Israel.

Then how do you explain attacks against Jews BEFORE the state of Israel was founded? How do you explain the murder of scores of Jews by Arabs in Hebron in 1929? How do you explain attacks on Jews after that, but before Israel was born? How do you explain attacks between 1948 and 1967, when there was NO OCCUPATION? The answer is that Arab violence has nothing to do with occupation. If God forbid Arabs got there way, do you think there would be peace in the Middle East? They slaughter each other like sheep,for nothing, so the occupation, roadblocks, humiliation, whatever you call it, is not the reason. What it is, is a a convenient excuse. And shame on all of you who justify it. You wouldn't want your own children to live among these people, yet Jews should just roll over and play dead so the Arabs will stop being angry. What lunacy! What idiocy! What delusion!

Roadblocks are there in order to prevent terrorists to get into Israel proper where they want to kill as many Jews as possible. Simple like that. Since Jewish life is worhtless in Palestinian eyes who else should protect the Jews if not the Jews themselves. The Palestinian society is full of hatred not because of the roadblocks, but rather because they are unwilling and unable to sustain themselves and blame others for their misery. They rather gladly receive foreign donations in the hundreds of millions, smuggle weapons, steal cars, commit murder and kidnappings and send their children to "suicide missions" because their ideal of honor makes them feel good to send their children to hell. That is exactly where they are going to. To hell!!! If Palestinian parents would love their children more than they hate the Jews, the entire conflict would be over today.

Stop your whining! It seems that's all the Arabs can do. Stop blowing up Jewish children and stop electing genocidal terrorists groups to represent you. Then there won't be checkpoints. Try peace instead of terror or shut the hell up!

The writer is resorting to classic Middle Eastern mentality when he is blaming the victim of terror-Israel and idealizing the perpetrator-different PA terror groups and the Arab masses who support extremism. The writer ignores that Israel's security measures is a response to and not the cause of Arab extremism. We Arabs love to blame everyone except ourselves for our political and soci-economic disasters. Arab dictators like countless other dictators throughout history conveniently blame "others" and "foreigners" for their own self-afflicted mess. Instread of supporting and excusing this extremism like Mr Litani, those in the west who are genuinely interested in peace in the Middle East should encourage the Arab world to leave this blame-game addiction which only promoting more terror and extremism.

All those who constantly blame Israel for "harsh" security measures, never present a viable alternative how to fight terror. Everytime Israel relaxes security measures it only invites to more terror and blood.

had given the opponents this or that they would have acted in civil and non-violent manner. Please keep dreaming! It is not going to happen as the beast will stay beastly no matter what you give him.

Keep hanging out with your Arab friends and ignoring Sderot. After all, we do need to look "nuanced."

They do not like roadblocks,tough shit. We do not like terrorist attacks.We would be better off closing all roads permanently to arabs and their supporters.

Also, both fence and checkpoints have managed to combat over 90 percent of terror infiltration into Israel, stopping it while it's still in West Bank. I know that three hour traffic jam must be tough. If Palestinians would actually speak out against terror attacks EVER, instead of promoting shahidism as early as KINDERGARTEN, maybe that wait could be reduced. If they want to talk about humiliation, they should think about how humiliating it is that they teach their children that martyrdom is a good thing, that they give 12 year olds suicide bombs, that they teach hatred and blood libel about Jews, about how they shoot anyone who speaks out in the street for peace as a 'collaborator', about the way they use places of worship to promote violent incitement. THAT is truly humiliating, but it's harder to look inward and fix such critical things, so they prefer to focus their rage on a traffic jam that they, indirectly, caused with their silence and support of terror

Why do u need to come to Israel to work? Can t you develop your cities and dont depend on Israel? Stop buying arms and build your cities andstop coming to Israel if you hate us that much.