ISRAEL GAZA WAR

SHAEB AL-BOTUM, OCCUPIED WEST BANK -- NOVEMBER 16, 2023: A shepherd watches his herd in Shaeb Al-Botum, Occupied West Bank, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has intensified the settler movement in the Israeli occupied West Bank, where for decades Jewish enclaves have risen from strategic high grounds to prevent an independent Palestinian state. About 500,000 settlers, with the help of army and police, essentially have free rein amid 2.7 million Palestinians. Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have fled West Bank villages and small communities in recent weeks after settlers demolished and burned homes, destroyed olive trees, blocked roads, and cut off electricity and water, according to B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group. Much of the harassment and violence reverberate through Area C, which covers about 60 percent of the West Bank and is home to about 130 Jewish settlements and 100 outposts. The region is administered by the autonomous Palestinian Authority but controlled by Israeli forces. The Jewish settlements Palestinians face restrictions on developing land are considered by most nations an illegal Israeli design to annex territory in the Jordan Valley and Judean Desert. (MARCUS YAM / LOS ANGELES TIMES)