An interview with a Suicide Bomber

[Undertoad]

While Shai was in charge of the area, a terrorist had opened fire on an Israeli family returning from a wedding. A 7-year-old girl was killed; Shai removed her body from the car.

"When you take out a child with a big hole in her chest," he said, pointing to the spot where the attack occurred, "you understand why you need this wall. We measured the angle from the highest house where a sniper might be hiding to the road and built it accordingly."

Harriet had a question, but it was not about the horror that Shai, himself a father of young children, had witnessed that day.

"So if they build something higher, you’ll raise the wall?" she asked.

No, Shai explained, the army has basically cleared the terrorists out of Kalkilya, so one benefit for the residents is that an Israeli army battalion no longer must be stationed inside the town.

"Wait," Harriet interrupted, "are you trying to say that the fence is making life better for the Palestinians?"

"In some cases, yes," replied Shai, echoing recent comments by the head of the Jenin Chamber of Commerce, who said the retreat of the Israeli army following the construction of the security fence has led to a revitalization of business, nightlife and investment in that Palestinian community.

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