Palestinians Forge New Village in West Bank

[jugoso]

Palestinian activists began constructing a new village in the West Bank on Friday in protest of the illegal Israeli occupation in Palestine and ongoing land grabs by Israeli settlers in the area.

The protesters said they were re-establishing Palestinian land in opposition to Israel—saying they have so far set up a mosque and several tents near the village of Beit Iksa near Jerusalem and have begun work on a permanent structure.

Locals said roughly 400 Palestinians gathered for Friday prayers in the open area.

The activists said the Israeli army recently announced a plan to take over roughly 124 acres of land in the area, which is located on the northwestern outskirts of Jerusalem, an area that is already riddled with Jewish settlements.

Saed Yakrina, an activist from Beit Iksa, told Ma'an News Agency the camp was "a message to Israel and all democratic societies that we are human, and we want peace."

"We are looking for a life without checkpoints, walls and settlements," he said.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/01/18-8

I applaud their efforts to stop the illegal Israeli settlements and hope they are successful in this situation.

[+and-then]

I think we are witnessing the new and improved version of intifada 3.0. The EU is about to begin a strong arm peace push in the region in March and I believe the Hamas has finally decided to play along just enough to get land concessions. The greatest danger by far for Israel with respect to losing the PR effort has always been a peaceful protest by the Palestinians. Now they finally seem to have found a way to discipline themselves to do just that. I think 2013 is going to be a year when things change very much in the region. If it appears Israel will be forced into concessions they are simply unwilling to give then they may actually go to war to change the subject. It's a dangerous game that's being played and not all the cards are in the hands of the EU and the Palestinians.