At a West Bank outpost, Israeli settlers flaunt their power

By JOSEPH KRAUSS
Associated Press

BURQA, West Bank (AP) — Israeli settlers are flaunting the power of their movement nearly 55 years after Israel captured the West Bank. Israel dismantled the Jewish settlement of Homesh in 2005, and by law it cannot be rebuilt. But settlers continue to operate a seminary there and held a recent party attended by hundreds of people. The settlers’ ability to maintain a presence is a vivid display of the power of their movement, which enjoys wide support in an increasingly hawkish Israel. That makes authorities reluctant to rein in even their most brazen activities. Palestinians in the surrounding villages are unable to access their land and complain of settler violence.