West Bank
Christmas in Bethlehem
Festivities have returned to the place of Jesus’ birth after a two-year pause, but the shadow of Gaza, occupation and genocide was never far from the muted celebrations.
Building New Realities in the West Bank
Stripped of their permits since Oct. 7, 2023, 160,000 West Bank Palestinian construction workers are desperate to return to work in Israel. Meanwhile, as radical settlers terrorize Palestinians in one part of the West Bank, Palestinian citizens of Israel are finding peace of mind by purchasing apartments in another.
How Israel Is Funding Settler Violence To Overrun Palestinian Villages in the West Bank
For decades, West Bank Palestinians have remained determined to stay on their land, even as Israel made the region nearly uninhabitable with movement restrictions, depletion of resources, home demolitions, land seizures and army raids. Now, waves of violent attacks perpetrated by settler militias are forcibly displacing entire Palestinian communities.
The Misunderstood Purpose of Economic Sanctions
In 2024, the Biden administration issued an executive order imposing sanctions on specific West Bank settlers and entities that profited from the settlements. Critics said the sanctions were ineffective. But the criticism rests on a misunderstanding of how they were supposed to work.
‘Her Name Was Zehava’ Points a Uniquely Insightful Lens on the Human Cost of the Occupation
“Her Name Was Zehava” is a remarkably humane short documentary film that looks at Israel’s occupation through the lens of a Palestinian trans woman who cannot find refuge in either Palestine or Israel.
Israel’s State Authority Is Breaking Down
For years, Israel’s liberal elite looked away as the army systematically violated Palestinian human rights in the occupied territories. Now the far right is weaponizing those tactics against the liberal opposition in Israel proper and the state’s authority is not strong enough to resist.
While the World Watches Gaza, the West Bank Burns
In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right minister of national security, pushed to relax gun-licensing requirements and increase the number of civilian security teams, while supplying them with assault rifles. The result has been an explosion in gun-toting settlers threatening Palestinians across the West Bank.