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E1 Protest Boosts Palestinian Resistance

Palestinian activists have set a new precedent with the Bab al-Shams tent village, which drew quick support for its peaceful nature, Dalia Hatuqa reports from the West Bank.
Palestinians, together with Israeli and foreign activists, stand near newly-erected tents in an area known as E1, near Jerusalem January 12, 2013. Palestinians from villages in the occupied West Bank near Jerusalem pitched tents on Friday on the land Israel has earmarked for a new urban settlement, looking to preserve the area for an independent Palestinian state.  REUTER/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION)

On a cold, cloudy morning, days after an unprecedented storm wreaked havoc across the West Bank, about 250 Palestinians set up some 20 tents in an area Israeli authorities had earmarked for settlement building. The area — which is part of the E1 corridor Israel is planning to flood with illegal settlements — was quickly dubbed "Bab al-Shams" or "Gateway to the Sun."

The torrential rains and snow which had swept the area earlier did little to prevent many from setting up the nascent village in the stony hillside, complete with white tents, a makeshift village council, clinic and a press room. Many joined in on foot from the nearby village of Za’yyim and from places as far north as Nazareth and as far south as Hebron.

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