AQQABA, West Bank (Reuters) - A silvery green olive grove set in the red soil of a Palestinian village is a crime scene - testament to a practice so sensitive that it is spoken of only in whispers.
A week after the crime, Aqqaba mayor Jamal Abu Ara, who is a member of the victim's extended family, and his brothers sat in their village home, smoking cigarettes and choosing their words carefully.
"Honour killing" is a social menace that occurs throughout the Middle East, though precise figures are often elusive.
Palestinian Minister of Women's Affairs Rabiha Diab saved much of her blame for violence toward women for Israel: "The Israeli occupation is the one practising the utmost violence ... it's the main thing keeping us from advancing.
Press bulletins occasionally note the discovery of a woman's body in what are called "hazy circumstances" - a common euphemism for honour killings. Names are concealed and the news is rarely followed up on.