Produced and edited by Sam Mayfield
Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied territories of Palestine is about more than constructing houses for Jewish settlers. Palestinian farmland is being turned into industrial space and illegal outposts on Palestinian land are protected by Israeli military. Roads, if Palestinians are allowed to drive on them, are often blocked without warning.
In July of this year, when visiting Israel and Palestine, I interviewed Palestinians and Israelis in an attempt to better understand the conflict. I toured Illegal settlements and outposts in the West Bank with Dror Etkes. He heads the Land Advocacy Project for Yesh Din, a group opposing the continuing violation of Palestinian human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Dror is an Israeli citizen who has, for the past 7 1/2 years, made it his mission to be a local expert on settlement expansion and Palestinian land grabbing. He seems to know every road in the West Bank. He is exact about how many homes are in each settlement and knows which are slated for evacuation. In Tel Aviv I interviewed Human Rights Attorney Michael Sfard. He represents Israeli Human Rights organizations, Peace groups, Palestinian communities and individuals. Many of his legal cases deal with Palestinian land grabbing by settlers.