The West Bank has experienced one of the most explosive days in recent months. A shooting in the village of Tell, southwest of Nablus, in which at least four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers died, triggered a massive wave of settler attacks against several Palestinian communities early this morning. Israeli authorities have arrested seventy Palestinians, who have been taken to an interrogation center set up in a house in the village where the incident took place. The army and settlers have organized raids in which they have carried out more arbitrary arrests, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised "forceful measures," such as demolishing the house of one of those involved in the riots and building new settlements in the area. Israeli settlers have attacked several Palestinian villages, including Urif, Surra, Far'ata, Jit, Imatin, Khirbet Imreiha, Iraq Burin, and the Masafer Yatta area, in the north and center of the West Bank. In Urif, a home was set on fire and at least one Palestinian was injured. In Far'ata, settlers burned agricultural land and shot a man in the chest, who is in critical condition. Other videos shared by residents of various localities show homes, businesses, and vehicles on fire, excavators uprooting olive trees, as well as the word revenge painted on the walls. In some of the incidents, according to local sources, Israeli troops dispersed Palestinian residents with tear gas.The incident that precipitated the escalation occurred after a group of Israeli settlers entered a restricted military zone without authorization or coordination with the army, according to the Israeli army. From here, the versions diverge. The army maintains that the settlers were on an unauthorized excursion when they were attacked and that a Palestinian snatched the weapon from one of the security members before opening fire. Palestinian witnesses, on the other hand, assure that it was the settlers, with the support of the soldiers present, who began to shoot at the inhabitants of the village.A video recorded during the events shows an armed settler trying to push two Palestinians away by pushing them with his rifle. A struggle for the weapon then ensues, while shouts of revenge in Hebrew are heard in the background. Moments later, one of the Palestinians appears holding the rifle and at least a dozen shots are heard coming from different points. Be that as it may, the result was four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers dead, one of whom was also a settler, according to the Efe agency.A pretext to intensify the offensive

After the events in Tell, the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Israel Katz, announced that they would intensify military operations in villages that Israel considers "a hotbed of terrorism." They announced new military deployments, the demolition of homes of suspects who may have participated in the Tell incident, the confiscation of weapons, and the withdrawal of work permits for the inhabitants of this village.Netanyahu also ordered the acceleration of the construction of new settler outposts in the area where the events occurred and the legalization of those that already exist, even though the settlements are considered illegal, according to international law and by the majority of the international community.

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Julia Malye (Paris, 1994) published her first book, Tocqueville's Bride, when she was only 15 years old. "I started writing because when I was little I was really afraid of forgetting things," she explains. She reread all those diaries from when she was 12 or 13, but they didn't evoke anything in her, they didn't transport her to the past. So she decided to write fiction. "I had another fear, of being locked in my mind, it was a feeling of claustrophobia, and writing allowed me to live other lives," she says. Now, with The Louisiana Girls, translated into Catalan by Josep Maria Pinto (Empúries/Salamandra), puts you in the shoes of a group of French girls who in 1720 set sail aboard The Whale. They had all come from the Salpêtrière, an orphanage and correctional facility with an infamous reputation where orphans, prostitutes, the sick, abortionists, daughters rejected by their families because they didn't fit in, or simply women with a rebellious streak lived. Their destination was America, specifically Louisiana, where settlers desperate for women awaited them. "They were like merchandise," Malye explains. "On the voyage I'm describing, they embarked with a group of Ursuline nuns; they were somewhat protected; on the previous voyage, many had died because they made the journey in terrible conditions and in chains," the author adds.

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