Expanded Vision: In the West Bank with Machsom Watch and Esti Tsal

Photographs by Skip Schiel & Teeksa Photography

Observations of a people in turmoil

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Machsom Watch, a group of volunteer Israeli women, monitors checkpoints in the occupied Palestinian territories. Esti Tsal led me and a few friends on her monitoring session, meeting us in Jaffa-Tel Aviv, and driving effortlessly into settlements to demonstrate how easy being oblivous to the occupation is for most israelis.

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Traveling with Machsom Watch, leaving Jaffa-Tel Aviv at 6  am
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Entrance to the huge illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel, north of Ramallah
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Ariel
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Advertising subsidized housing, Ariel
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College of Judea and Sumaria in Ariel
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College of Judea and Sumaria in Ariel
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Ariel
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Sprinkler, Ariel--settlements use 5 times the water of Palestian villages
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Checkpoint
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Traveling with Machsom Watch
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Traveling with Machsom Watch
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A major checkpoint passing Israeli vehicles easily, checking others
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Entering Harawwa checkpoint into Nablus
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Rick, Marty, Esti
schiel@ccae.org