In the settlers' sights

Palestinians opposing Jewish settlement in Ush Ghrab have shown courage but their efforts are futile without support

Ben White guardian.co.uk, Thursday 9 April 2009 09.00 BS

The flat top of the small hill is deserted, as we walk among the gutted concrete buildings. The graffiti on the wall declares that "the Jews will keep this land". This is Ush Ghrab, a small piece of land in Beit Sahour, south of Jerusalem, and a target for religious settlers seeking yet another colony in the Bethlehem region.

I was walking around the site with my friend Saleem and his colleague Jason, who both work for Paidia, an NGO focused on educational play. Their work has been, and continues to be, primarily social, yet they are now forced to join other locals in defending the site from attempts at colonisation.

For decades, this piece of land was used as a military base, first by the Jordanians and then by the Israelis. In 2006 the Israeli army closed down the base, and the land reverted back to the Beit Sahour municipality, which in co-operation with NGOs proceeded with plans for the development of the site.

In May 2008, on Israel's 60th anniversary, Jewish settlers turned up one morning, and announced their intention to create a new settlement on Ush Ghrab. Ever since, rightwing groups such as Women in Green, have been holding events on the hill as part of their open drive to get the land back to its "rightful owners" – the Jewish people.

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The hard reality for the Palestinians of Beit Sahour is that, alone, they are unable to resist the theft of their land, should the Israeli government support the settlers' initiative. Khalilieh, whose job at ARIJ means he oversees the daily documentation of Israeli colonisation, says that while the Beit Sahour residents' protests "send a message", they are "probably useless" without international pressure.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/07/israel-ush-ghrab

How can anyone not see that it is unconscionable to build any more settlements, and that the dismantling of those that are in the West Bank now clearly needs to start?

You cannot support more settlement construction and still say you want peace.

n/t.