On Settlements, Villages and...Hamlets

I sometimes use a bit of humor and when referring to the locations of Jewish residency in Judea and Samaria, I can be heard saying:

"I prefer communities, not 'settlements'.  In fact, we are towns, villages, cities, suburbs and so-on, but not 'settlements'.  Oh, and as we mostly keep kosher, please don't use hamlets."

It gets a laugh.

And now?

Read the Reuters headline:

West Bank hamlets share name, not fate

Who could know?


But then the news agency falls back into semantic subversion:

Susiya the Israeli settlement enjoys well-watered lawns, humming electricity, and the protection of a mighty state. One rocky hill away, Susiya the Palestinian village is parched and doomed.

There we go.


^