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January 16, 2013

Israel Blocks Activists from Returning to Palestinian Anti-Settlement Encampment 
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The Israeli military has forcibly prevented Palestinians and solidarity
activists from returning to the site of a dismantled encampment that
challenged Israel's ongoing settlement expansion in the West Bank. On
Tuesday, Israeli forces used stun grenades to stop a group of around 50
people seeking to re-pitch the tents they had erected at what they
called Bab al-Shams, Arabic for "Gate of the Sun," in the so-called E1
settlement zone that bisects the West Bank. It marked the activists'
first attempt to reclaim the site after Israeli forces raided them over
the weekend. The E1 construction had largely been put on hold following
U.S. objections dating back to President George W. Bush. But Israel
resumed work there last month in response to the U.N. vote recognizing
Palestine as a non-member observer state. The Obama administration has
refused to pressure Israel for a building halt, limiting its reaction to
calling the E1 expansion "counterproductive."

 

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