Settlers are using Israeli flags as new intimidation tactic in the West Bank

Delivered in the dark, a new form of intimidation by hardline Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. I see one, two, three, four, five. Nearly 20 settlers caught on camera hammer Israeli flags into the ground outside a shop in a Palestinian village surrounding it by morning. An attempt, says owner Muayyad Hussein, to erase Palestinian identity. They don't want us to be here, he says. The same people who put up the flags burnt my shop before. Israeli flags have been appearing in clusters or lining roads right across the West Bank. The apparent brainchild of settler Eyal Spiegel, who boasted openly about his plans on Israeli media. There's no difference between Tel Aviv and here, he's saying. The land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. Physical attacks by hardline Israeli settlers against Palestinians have increased dramatically. Encouraged, say critics, by an Israeli government engaged in the de facto annexation of the West Bank. Approving hundreds of millions of dollars over the summer to build more settlements. We are talking about now a very organized process, very organized players. Analyst Ibrahim Rebaya likens the flags to psychological warfare. They put more pressure on Palestinians and their property, the idea of ownership, the idea of arresting anyone who can take off these flags, yes. Watching the footage from his home, just behind his shop, what Muayyad Hussein remembers is the fear. Did you hear them? He says he heard the settlers that night and moved his children to another room, afraid they would attack. Israeli police, seen watching the settlers plant the flags in the night, didn't respond to a CBC News query as to why they didn't intervene. One more reason Hussein fears the settlers will just come back if he removes the flags. Margaret Evans, CBC News, Luban al-Sharkia.