Palestinian café owner Mueiyyid Hussein stands near Israeli flags erected by Jewish settlers along the main road, blocking access to his café. (Reuters pic)LUBAN AL-SHARQIYA: Israeli settlers have planted dozens of Israeli flags at the entrance of a streetside Palestinian cafe in the occupied West Bank, obscuring it from one side in what its owner described as a blatant act of intimidation.
The coffee shop in the small village of Luban al-Sharqiya sits along the West Bank's main north-south traffic artery, used by both Palestinians and the approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers who live in the territory.
In recent years, settlers, some of whom have waged a campaign of violence and intimidation against Palestinians in a bid to force them off their land, have planted flags along the road and in close proximity at village entrances or near Palestinian landmarks.
