Following its decision this month to install metal detectors at entrances to the Temple Mount, a decision forced by the murder of two Israeli policemen there, Israel has been rocked by Palestinian riots across East Jerusalem and the West Bank. As Walter Russell Mead and his staff at Via Meadia observe, there is a “deep historical irony” to this fact: Palestinians practically invented metal detectors. That is, Palestinian terrorism is responsible for the widespread appearance of metal detectors in Western society today:
With the possible exception of al-Qaeda, Palestinian terrorism—which pioneered the use of plane hijackings, airport attacks, and suicide bombings—has perhaps done more to force the introduction of metal detectors into our daily lives than just about any other cause.
This fact alone makes the riots hopelessly incapable of attracting worldwide support:
It would be difficult to imagine a less sympathetic grievance to attract Western support to the Palestinian cause. In fact, the Palestinian response will appear contemptible to anyone who bothers to read even the basic facts of the matter. Israelis can’t go into shopping malls and bus stations, let alone visit the Western Wall, without passing through a metal detector. But Israeli-style security measures are a fact of life in the West as well, with metal detectors now a ubiquitous presence at sports events and, yes, outside religious sites like Notre Dame in Paris.
Read more on The American Interest: https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/07/21/palestinians-protesting-metal-detectors/