The Settlers: An Incomplete Portrayal

Louis Theroux’s new documentary The Settlers suggests that he is unfamiliar with the complex history behind the Israeli occupation of The West Bank .

There are over 700,000 Jewish Israelis living there, residing in upwards of 279 settlements, which range from modern cities like Maale Adumim and Modi’in Illit to ad hoc hilltop encampments.

Theroux is ignoring a big part of how and why the settlement movement has taken root and grown.

The bigger and far more practical issues that Theroux skirts around involve the security concerns and broader ideological issues that would have to be factored in before ending the occupation.

Hamas are not fighting for Palestinian freedom, human rights, or equality.

They simply do not believe in such concepts, which they dismiss as alien and Western .

It will take a lot of maturity and hard work to untie this Gordian knot.

Crudely blaming everything on one side will not help at all.

But where do we go from there, if the leaders are not willing to make peace with each other? That’s the core problem here.