An Israeli Defense Forces soldier is treated for injuries during the Gaza Flotilla Raid.

Even though I occasionally make fun of the Huffington Post, they do some exceptional work. One example I just came across is a piece of eyewitness reportage from the Middle East that was written by a super-smart former colleague of mine named Kate Lowenstein. The piece, “The West Bank: A Firsthand Look,” is a really well-written account of the writer’s June trip to Ramallah in wake of the Gaza Flotilla Raid. You don’t have to agree with Lowenstein’s conclusions, but it’s hard not to be impressed by her unflinching account of what life in this border struggle looks like when we stop thinking of it in the abstract. An excerpt:

“Day one: Day trip to Old Hebron
According to the adolescent Palestinian boy who spent several minutes pedaling his wobbly bike alongside us as we walked, this cobblestoned, arched casbah contains 30,000 Palestinians, 500 Jewish settlers and 2,000 Israeli soldiers (I was able to confirm these approximations online, although the estimated number of settlers ranges from 400 to 800). That’s about a four-to-one ratio of soldiers to settlers, and, as my adult host explained, those soldiers are there exclusively to protect their Jewish charges from what they perceive as an Arab threat. This is especially important given that the Jewish settlers are methodically moving in on this Palestinian city, potentially making those Arabs pretty angry. The tension is palpable.

While in most parts of the West Bank, settlers take up residence in areas near Palestinian neighborhoods, in Old Hebron they are actually taking property, sealing off roads and choking traffic from what were once bustling Palestinian shops–and getting away with it because they have a military to support them. If you walk on many of the increasingly deserted Palestinian streets (there are separate ones designated for Jews only–an offense that apartheid South Africa didn’t even dare commit), you’ll see a strange net overhead, stretched from one side of the street to the other. Dotting that net are pieces of garbage–cups, plastic bags, food scraps, filthy pieces of odds and ends. I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes: the settlers–who have moved into the second floors of Palestinian buildings–make a habit of throwing their trash down at their Arab neighbors.”