At first sight the Israeli settlement near Bi’Lin is not recognisable as such because it does not look like the other settlements we have seen at all. It looks more like a normal city, with its huge blocks of flats, all immaculate white, but not like the other settlements with small houses with their red roofs. This one looks more like a horrible mega-city than like a pretty little village.

From where I am I can only see the bits that show besides the hill that conceals most of the city.

The locals say that the city-settlement can house five thousand people.

The land where this settlement-city stands used to belong to a local farmer. He used to own 80 square kilometres before the occupation, now the illegal seizures without compensation have left him with 5.

After taking a few pictures of the city-settlement, I meet the first vehicle of the day – one of those taxis that are actually vans for carrying people. It is the school shuttle for children who live too far away to walk to school every day.