The Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah is a microcosm of the Israeli occupation. It is bustling with thousands of Palestinians crossing it every day. Israeli soldiers sit behind bullet proof glass, watching advanced surveillance cameras placed on high concrete walls. In recent years, however, the soldiers have been replaced by private Israeli security guards who roam the area in khaki shirts and dark glasses, armed with assault rifles.
Last week, a private security guard shot and killed a Palestinian women, aged 23 and her 15-year-old brother, after they had mistakenly wandered into the wrong lane to enter Jerusalem. The security guards maintain that they were acting in self-defence by accusing the two of preparing to carry out a knife attack. Witnesses reject this claim and say the two were killed in cold blood. Israel has refused to release the security camera footage that could conclusively show what happened.
While this tragic act of violence is common in the daily life of the occupation, this episode highlights an overlooked facet of Israel’s control over Palestine. Tel Aviv, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are giant laboratories where private security companies in collusion with the Israeli military are able to perfect the craft of controlling a civilian population by force. The technology has given rise to Israel’s most profitable exports from drone technology to private security expertise. Many major international sporting events have contracts with Israeli security companies that have learnt their craft in Palestine.
In the murky world of security services and crowd-control equipment, combat-tested methods and weapons fetch the highest prices. For Israeli companies that test their products in places such as the Qalandia checkpoint, the occupation is the primary source of revenue and prestige. This is one reason why efforts to end Israel’s control over Palestinian life have failed so profoundly. Governments around the world still buy Israeli technology knowing where it is designed. Until that dynamic changes, there will be little change in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.