The Israeli government recently approved a new settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut it in half. The plan is illegal under international law and has been widely condemned. To get a sense of why settlements continue to be such a big issue for both Palestinians and Israelis, we wanted to bring you this episode about their history that’s part of our series, "The Cycle." This episode originally published in October 2024.

Guests:
Khaled El-Gindy, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

Sara Yael Hirschhorn, author of City on a Hilltop, American Jews and the Israeli Settler Movement

Gideon Aran, former anthropology and sociology professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem

Avi Shlaim, author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World

Diana Buttu, former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization

To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy