Settler bet: a West Bank flashpoint

A few months ago, a group of young Israeli settlers hauled a caravan and some tents to a hilltop near the Palestinian village of Kusra, just south of Nablus. They planted vines, brought a herd of goats, and began patrolling the area with utility vehicles that, according to Israel correspondent Anshel Pfeffer, they had actually received from the Israeli government. This is how a new outpost gets established: a handful of people, a couple of caravans, and the quiet takeover of land that Palestinians have used for generations. What happened next in Kusra became a test case for how the West Bank is sliding toward a new crisis, even as the world's attention remains fixed on Gaza.

The mechanics of a land grab

The pattern is well established. Settlers set up what they call an outpost, usually a few miles from an existing settlement. "A group of young guys will take a caravan or a couple of tents to a hilltop somewhere close to or even inside agricultural land of a neighboring Palestinian village," Pfeffer explains. Once the presence is established, the area becomes a no-go zone for Palestinians. The settlers call the resulting clashes "friction" — and that friction is deliberate, designed to bring in the Israeli army, which typically arrives to protect the settlers and push away the Palestinians, often violently.