I don't buy the apartheid rhetoric, but I have a very hard time turning a blind eye to a lot of what seems to be official Israeli policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians.
Oh well. Back to my comfy arm-chair.
You might be too young to remember, or maybe you do remember, when Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza "territories" in '67. Given the current situation of poverty in the West Bank and squalor and hopelessness in Gaza, it probably would surprise you to know that in the 1970's, specifically during the so-called Israeli "occupation", Gaza and the WB, combined, represented the
4th fastest growing economy in the world. Under Israel's "oppressive" occupation that the Arabs decry, (It's what they live for), Gaza's and the WB's economies were ahead of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea, and well ahead of Israel. The number of Palestinians working in Israel rose from 0 in 1967 to 66,000 in 1975 and 109,000 by 1986, which was 35% of the employed population of the WB and 45% in Gaza. Nearly 2,000 industrial plants, employing almost half of the work force, were established in the territories under Israeli "occupation".
While Israel "occupied" the territories, mortality rates in the WB and Gaza decreased by more than two-thirds between 1970 & 1990, while life expectancy rose from 48 yrs in 1967 to 72 yrs in 2000 (compared with an average of 68 yrs for all the countries of the Middle East and North Africa). Advanced Israeli medical care reduced the infant-mortality rate of 60 per 1,000 live births in 1968 to 15 per 1,000 in 2000 (in Iraq the rate is 64, in Egypt 40, in Jordan 23, in Syria 22). And under a comprehensive program of inoculation, childhood diseases like polio, whooping cough, tetanus, and measles were eradicated.
In contrast, before Israel's "occupation" of Gaza and the WB, life expectancy was low; malnutrition, infectious diseases, and child mortality were high, and the level of education was very poor. Prior to the 1967 War, fewer than 60% of all male adults had been employed, with unemployment among refugees up to 83%. Within a brief period after the war, Israeli occupation had led to dramatic improvements in general well-being, placing the population of the territories ahead of most of their Arab neighbors.
During the "occupation", Palestinians saw tremendous improvements in their standard of living. By 1986, 92.8% of the population in the WB and Gaza had electricity 24 hrs a day, as compared to 20.5 % in 1967; 85% had running water in buildings and homes, as compared to 16% in 1967; 83.5% had electric or gas ranges for cooking, as compared to 4% in 1967; same for refrigerators, televisions, and cars.
These dramatic advances in the lives of Palestinians took place under Israeli "domination". However, importantly, the improvement in their socioeconomic place in the world happened while Israel had a "hands-off" policy in the political and administrative areas of their lives. Even as the PLO announced its commitment to the destruction of Israel, the Israelis did surprisingly little to limit its political influence in the territories. The publication of pro-PLO editorials was permitted in the local press, and anti-Israel activities by PLO supporters were tolerated so long as they did not involve overt incitements to violence. Israel also allowed the free flow of PLO-controlled funds, a policy justified by Minister of Defense Ezer Weizmann in 1978 when he remarked: "It does not matter that they get money from the PLO, as long as they don't build arms factories with it." Nor, with very few exceptions, did Israel encourage the formation of Palestinian political institutions that might serve as rivals to the PLO. As a result, the PLO gradually established itself as the dominant force in the territories, marginalizing the traditional leadership.
Doesn't sound like the Palestinians were really oppressed by an apartheid Israel back then, does it? And, the only reason things are so drastically different today is the advent of Palestinian terrorism and violence, suicide bombers, car bombers, rockets fired into Israel on a regular basis, that has forced Israel to implement very tough security measures. Frankly, were I a Palestinian, knowing what I know about the vastly improved lives of Palestinians under Israeli administration back then, I'd want to kick out Hamas and Fatah and the PLO and all the other wonderful factions controlling my life in Gaza and the West Bank and I'd want to live under Israeli "occupation" again. I'm not suggesting for a moment that Israel is perfect. No country is. However, on balance, Israel is an amazingly decent country, esp. under current circumstances. Do keep an open mind. I'm new here and have been horrified at the intense level of hatred and contempt for Israel that has poisoned the minds of very ugly people, based solely on ignorance of history and the facts, and their own demons. But, I know history is on my side, and, in the end, that's all that really matters.
Anyone who believes anything even close to apartheid exists in the West Bank (Gaza used to be called apartheid, too, but, when Israel withdrew from Gaza, it punched a hole in that apartheid balloon) is lacking a true appreciation for the horrors of apartheid and probably has never been to the West Bank. Ask yourself a simple 
