Illegal Settlement of Beit-El

Right across from the refugee camp Jalazone an illegal settlement Beit-El exists. Beit-El is one of many illegal settlements that are established on Palestinian land, it is mostly inhabited by far-right wing Israelis. This has resulted in many terrorist attacks on Palestinian civilians and have caused the loss of many innocent people. The living conditions of the illegal settlements are much better than the refugee camp right across the street. It is similar to the idea of gated-communities, you are not allowed to enter unless you are part of that group, in this case your ethnicity makes you “superior” or “part of the group” while you fear others living outside of that gate.

This concept of gating has been placed in the creation of public memory and the writing of history as well especially in the West, where the Palestinian narrative was neglected. This makes me wonder how truthful is the public memory and does power play a role in how this memory is shaped over the years? As “Israel” is definitely more powerful and has a larger influence on other nations, thus, the dark side of it is never portrayed and that is why it is important to seek the truth and understand different perspectives.