Settler violence in the West Bank: Past checkpoints and constantly under power

Since October 7, 2023, attacks on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank have been increasing. In recent months in particular, there have been repeated violent actions by extremist settlers. 18 Palestinians have already been killed in settler attacks in 2026.

Journalists who research in the West Bank try to make the violence internationally visible - and are often confronted with obstacles in doing so. They are stopped at checkpoints by the Israeli armed forces, have to take long detours due to closures or are sometimes attacked themselves.

Serena Bilanceri reports from Israel and Palestine as a correspondent for the taz and focuses in particular on the issue of settler violence. In this episode of the long-distance connection she talks to taz foreign editor Fabian Schroer about how her research works in the occupied territories.

What problems do you and your colleagues encounter? How is contact with settlers and the Palestinian population? And what role does settlement policy play for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the parliamentary elections in October?

The current episode was recorded on September 9th at 11:30 a.m. CEST.

Long-distance connection – The taz foreign podcast appears every week on taz.de and everywhere there are podcasts.