Settlements

As I run through the streets of my neighborhood in Ramallah, I can spot a clump of houses perched on a hilltop above me. This neighborhood contrasts with those which I run through because the roofs are pointed, and because the dense development doesn't flow down the hill, merging with the farmland in the valley or the outskirts of Ramallah, but stops abruptly, leaving the hillside bare.

It serves as a useful landmark for orientation, but also looms over the city as a constant reminder of occupation, and that land can easily be confiscated.

I first began to recognize settlements as Majd pointed them out on the bus ride to Jenin on my third day in the country, and it took only a few times before I could pick them out for myself. It seems that wherever I go, I can spot a settlement or two on a nearby hilltop.

My first question was, “What are they doing here?” Wouldn't the desire for one's own land and borders to be respected lead to respect for the land and borders of one's neighbors?

My second question was, “How are the settlers not afraid for their lives?” To build a town on someone else's farmland expecting not to encounter violent revenge requires a strong assumption of either people's goodwill or of their powerlessness.

And the most stumping of all: if Israel wants to support a two state solution, why re they still being built?