The arid hilltops of the West Bank have seen shepherds come and go for thousands of years, and now some of these shepherds are behind settler violence against Palestinians.
The struggle for the West Bank is a biblical story. There are two populations – Jewish and Arab, the descendants of Abraham's sons, Isaac and Ishmael – fighting over ancestral land. The West Bank, located on the west bank of the Jordan River, is home to more than 3 million Palestinians who hope to make it the heart of their future state. It is also home to over 500,000 Jews who call the area Judea and Samaria, their biblical homeland.
The area has been under Israeli military occupation for nearly six decades. Jewish settlers have built communities in the West Bank in hopes of making the land part of Israel.
With Israeli elections two weeks away, and midterms in the U.S. next month, how settler violence is handled could soon change.
Driving sheep herds into Palestinian communities
Mordehai Minster, who cofounded a sheep farm in the West Bank, is a new type of Israeli settler. His herd is driven deeper and deeper into surrounding Palestinian communities.
"When you have sheep, everyone understands. Arabs tend to fight over grazing lands among themselves. It's a language that we understand, and they understand," Minster said. "And it's a way to delineate the border. 'This is where I graze my sheep. You don't take your sheep here. You don't plant here. You don't build here.'" (Read More)
