West Bank Settlements

A United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem as illegal is putting the Obama administration in an awkward squeeze — and thrusting two major pro-peace process groups into the tumultuous epicenter of the Middle East debate.

The Obama administration, which is expected to veto the resolution, nevertheless is caught between its own longstanding stance on settlements and political realities at home.

KRYAT ARBA, The West Bank – The trip from Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station to Kiryat Arba, a settlement next to Hebron, in the southern West Bank, takes just under an hour, including a couple of detours to other outlying settlements, via a public bus with bullet-proof windows.