A Sky News report on a battle in the Israeli Supreme Court over the route of Israel’s security barrier through the Palestinian village of Battir on the West Bank produced a bit of a gaffe:
Safe to say that the Palestinian residents of Battir wouldn’t be too happy that their village is referred to as a “West Bank settlement” in the subheading below the headline and the caption on the video (underlined in red here).
Of course, had the word “settlement” not been politicized to refer in everyday usage to Jewish communities over the Green Line, there would be no problem using it to refer to any town, village or community in the West Bank, Jewish or otherwise.
Cue an email to Sky News and the “error” has been corrected.