Don't Trust Pal. Media

Ma'an News published this today from here:

Armed settlers confront US Consulate delegation near Nablus

On Monday April 6th, armed Israeli settlers prevented a US Consulate delegation from approaching an illegal settlement in the Nablus area, according to diplomatic officials.

In a telephone call to Ma'an, a spokesperson for the US Consulate to Jerusalem said that officials were near the Hioval settlement, close to the Nablus-area village of Qaryut, when armed settler guards stopped the delegation.

According to the American officials, the visit was a routine and periodic trip to areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and the visit was previously scheduled.

Ghassan Doghlus, the head of the village's local council, told Ma'an that settlement guards stopped the American delegation from entering the area.

"The guards prevented the delegation from getting close to the settlement and the nearby lands that were confiscated; the guards pointed their arms at the delegation, forcing them to leave the area," he said.

Another spokesperson for the US Consulate in Jerusalem, Michaela Sweitzer-Blum, confirmed that armed Israeli settlers did confront an officer from the US Consulate back from the edge of the settlement.

"They [the US delegation] did meet up with some armed guards from a local outpost," she said of the incident.

I noted recently a BBC story on this.

I made inquiries with persons in the know.

Seems the media is exaggerating.

One Consulate official was observed walking in the area with one local Arab resident. And, yes, both were informed quite firmly by a security guard that they could not continue to walk in the direction in which they were walking.

There was no "delegation".

And my informants make it clear that the Consulate is aware of the exact details as well as the exaggeration.

Funny, if the Consulate knows that this incident was a bit 'inflated', don't they realize that this is a regular procedure with the Pals.?