Key facts
- Israeli settlers planted dozens of Israeli flags at the entrance of a Palestinian cafe in the West Bank.
- The cafe owner, Mueiyyid Hussein, described the act as intimidation.
- The flags obscured the view of the coffee shop from southbound travelers.
- Hussein reported that the settler responsible for the flags threatened to shut down his shop.
Israeli settlers planted dozens of Israeli flags at the entrance of a Palestinian-owned coffee shop in the occupied West Bank, an act the owner described as intimidation. The flags were placed at the entrance of the Luban al-Sharqiya Coffee Shop and Rest Area in the village of Luban al-Sharqiya, obscuring it from southbound travelers.
Mueiyyid Hussein, the owner, discovered the flags when he went to open his shop on Thursday morning. He stated that the settlers are "not leaving us alone" and have blocked the view of his shop. While Reuters was interviewing Hussein, a settler he identified as responsible for planting the flags drove by and filmed Hussein and the shop with his cellphone. Hussein reported that the settler threatened to shut down his shop if the flags were removed.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. International bodies and most countries consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. The West Bank has seen a rise in settler violence against Palestinians and seizures of land and resources, with Palestinians alleging that Israeli troops often stand by during such attacks.