The Young Men of This Palestinian Town Keep Dying
Ayid Salim, a 20-year-old Palestinian interior design student, took part in demonstrations against Israeli troops who raid his hometown. A soldier who thought Ayid was throwing firecrackers shot him five times. He was the third man to die this way in Azzun in a year
The town of Azzun is a hardscrabble place, militant, steeped in suffering. To its misfortune it’s located on Highway 55, the main thoroughfare between Nablus and Qalqilyah in the northern West Bank where there is heavy settler traffic. Two large settlements – Karnei Shomron and Alfei Menashe – are located to the east and west, with Azzun trapped between them. Among the despondent residents of the town, with its smattering of garages and metalworking shops, the temptation to throw stones at the settlers’ cars is very great.