ETZION BLOC, West Bank — The air was cool and verging on cold as dozens of Israelis streamed into the sandy parking lot in the West Bank, gathering for afternoon and evening prayers after a long day of fasting. At the other end of the lot, down a wide, unpaved road, Ali Abu Awwad presided over the Palestinian contingent, a small group of locals joined by members of Operation Groundswell, social activist backpackers from Canada who were spending the summer in the region. Sitting in a square of brown velvet couches, they listened to Hanan Schlesinger, a local settler who has become part of this intimate group of activists. The two groups were present for Choose Life, the joint fast project initiated by activist Palestinians and Israelis who live in this area. Marking the 17th of Tammuz and 18th day of Ramadan, Jewish and Muslim fast days that coincided on Tuesday, they gathered, as did dozens of other groups around the world, in Evanston and Eilat, Jerusalem, Ottowa and Philadelphia. Situated next to the Etzion bloc ...      Read more