In the West Bank, Samaritans provide a sanctuary

[TomSea]

In the West Bank, Samaritans provide a sanctuary

Members of the ancient Samaritan community, pray during the pilgrimage for the holy day of the Tabernacles or Sukkot on the top of Mount Gerizim near the West Bank town of Nablus, Oct. 29, 2012. (AP)

The Associated Press Friday, 21 October 2016
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In one of the tensest corners of the West Bank, Israeli settlers and Palestinians live in separate worlds. But there is a spot on the top of a mountain that connects them both: a village of Samaritans.

To get there, Israelis drive up a steep, winding road, near ominous red road signs posted by Israel's military that warn them against entering the nearby Palestinian city of Nablus. Palestinians get to the top by driving up a steep, winding road from Nablus on the opposite side of the mountain.

At the top live about 380 Samaritans. They, and about 420 Samaritans based near Tel Aviv in Israel, comprise one of the world's oldest and smallest religious minorities.

Israelis and Palestinians are locked in continued conflict over land and national identity - currently a yearlong stretch of Palestinian lone-wolf attacks met by often deadly Israeli force.

But the Samaritan hamlet in the West Bank is a place where both Israelis and Palestinians feel welcome.

The Samaritans' unique role - highlighted during the Sukkot holiday now under way - is particularly poignant at a time when hope for negotiating an end to the conflict is at an all-time low.

Best known from the New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan, the sect traces its roots to the ancient Israelites, follows the Five Books of Moses and celebrates biblical holidays.

See More At: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2016/10/21/In-the-West-Bank-Samaritans-provide-a-sanctuary.html

[TomSea]

I'll plead ignorance, I didn't know they were still around.