"In 1948, the first symptoms of Nilin's impending malaise took the form of an expropriation of 40,000 dunams of land by the newly formed Israeli army. While crushed by the weight this blow dealt to their livelihoods, the townspeople believed the tumour had gone into remission, only for a second attack to strike during the six day war, when several thousand more dunams were invaded. Since then, they have realised that the malignant growth is spreading further: yet more of their land has been sequestered by the Israeli authorities and the detested security wall erected in the midst of their olive groves." (thanks Tom)