Nablus: When the killer becomes the victim

In the occupied West Bank, the story often starts too late. It starts when an Israeli settler is killed, injured, or frightened. It starts when Israeli officials speak, when the army enters Palestinian villages, and when headlines describe a “clash” or a “terror attack”. Suddenly, the settler becomes the victim, the Palestinian village becomes the threat, and the occupation disappears from the story. But Nablus cannot be understood from the middle of the story. For years, Palestinian villages around Nablus have lived under daily pressure: land seizures, settlement expansion, military raids, road closures, intimidation, and settler violence. This is not a normal conflict between two equal communities. It is a system where one side expands with weapons, army protection, and […]