"Israeli settlement activity must stop."

How would you feel if someone came in and built their house in your front yard? First they lay razorwire around your home. Then they bulldoze your lawn ornaments and nice flower garden. They dig a hole and lay a concrete foundation. Then they build a big house that dwarfs your own. You call the authorities, and they come to take a look. Two police officers agree that it is indeed an ugly illegal property built on your lawn. Then one of the officers walks into the illegal home and incredibly gives the residents money to build a new living room on their illegal house! The other officer turns his head and walks away. You call others and they all agree that the structure is illegal, but they do nothing. The new living room is started. A piece of paper appears on your doorstep. It details the time when your home will be bulldozed to make space for this new living room. An armored bulldozer arrives on the appointed day and demolishes your home. Your house is flattened, but your neighbor's new living room is completed. Does this story seem farfetched? Yes, of course it does. It sounds impossible. It sounds crazy. It is unbelievable, but it happens every day in the West Bank. More property is confiscated and more structures are built. (And thank god it is a Palestinian problem and not ours! If we had to deal with that daily, it would be a real headache.)

Alex Awad

The 'citadel' settlement of Har Homa on the West Bank is built on land occupied by Israel after the Six-Day war of 1967. The United Nations deems all Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to be illegal. PHOTO