What The Settlements Mean

A scene from the weekly protest at An Nabi Saleh, a Palestinian village in the West Bank. It's a tiny village, with only 500 or so residents, but is now flanked by an illegal Israeli settlement. Wikipedia:

Near the village the is a natural spring named Ein Al Kus ("the Bow Spring"). In 2009 settlers from the nearby settlement of Halamish took control over the spring and its surroundings while preventing Palestinian access to it. Subsequently, people of Nabi Salih and the nearby village of Dir Nizam began regular Friday protests for the spring which they claim as their own, and against the Israeli occupation in general.

Some also say that some olive trees were taken. An account of a previous clash in which several were injured is here. But what you can see more generally is what Israel has to do in the face of these settlers' provocations: they have to arrest and mistreat peaceful protesters and they have to shoot live ammunition to keep villagers at bay. This is the trap Israel is in, the trap that is getting tighter and more lethal by the day.

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