Apartheid is alive and well in the state of Israel

In Israel there is a concrete wall 25 feet high sealing off the occupied Palestinian territories from the rest of Israel.

Its gates are guarded by heavily armed Israeli soldiers, and very few Palestinians are permitted to leave the West Bank or Gaza.

Within the walls, Palestinians are isolated from all economic trade or political representation with the outside, while still being held under the authority of Israel.

They are alienated in poverty while their patrons bask in prosperity, with military might just a stones-throw over the wall.

This condition of apartheid causes those born Palestinian in Israel is to be denied dignity, freedom or security.

The few Palestinians that can travel freely through the checkpoints must obtain papers from the Israeli government.

These permits require having a pre-existing relationship established with an Israeli outside the wall that sponsors them. For many Palestinians, attempting to get one of these permits is like befriending one's captor. They would rather stay behind the wall and maintain the only dignity that they have left: not selling out to the Israelis.

Outside the walls, Israelis continue to build settlements on land that the United Nations has continually declared as Palestinian.

The Palestinians are powerless to resist. Their sticks and stones are no match for the advanced military might of the Israeli Defense Forces.

The international community continues to demand that Israel not allow continued settlements, but even as recently as yesterday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman insisted that no peace agreement is possible.

Israel has continually stalled, sabotaged and made a mockery of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and legitimate steps to peace. Israel's continual premise is their own security.

They keep millions of Palestinians behind walls cut off from almost any form of upward mobility or political representation, kill hundreds of them every year at checkpoints and then take the position that the burden of a peace agreement lies entirely on the Palestinians.

Some Palestinians turn to political violence in desperation. The vast majority are acquiescent, taking life one day at a time and attempting to ignore their bleak futures. They go from checkpoint to checkpoint, from gun barrel to gun barrel, asking only to live.

They hope that one day Israel will allow them to exist; that one day there will not be roads that Palestinians are not allowed on; that one day being Palestinian will not exclude them from citizenship.

Yet, the world does nothing.

The United States continues to give more than six billion dollars of military aid to Israel every year since the 1970s. Almost every bullet and bomb fired at Palestinians is paid for by American tax payers.

Yes, apartheid is alive and well in the state of Israel.

Israel has no plans to negotiate a settlement with the Palestinian Authority.

It will continue to develop communities on Palestinian territory, cage the Palestinians behind walls and repulse every form of pressure to negotiate a settlement until the Palestinians cannot even remember a time when they were once equal citizens.

The United States will continue to pour military power and support into Israel because of its stabilizing force on the region.

Palestinian independence and reform in Arab countries threatens the balance of power, and hence American ability to influence oil trade in our favor.