Life in Israel/Palestine is always characterized by a high level of violence; for instance, Israel’s control of millions of stateless Palestinians in the West Bank who live without due process under military law is inherently violent. But recent weeks have seen a surge in violence: Palestinians from both the West Bank and Israel proper have attacked and in some cases killed Israeli civilians and soldiers, and Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers have attacked and in some cases killed Palestinian civilians. With the unusual confluence of the holidays of Ramadan, Easter, and Passover, many worry that the violence will grow, and even spiral into the kind of massive bloodshed that unfolded last spring. (Since this episode was recorded on April 13th, tensions have escalated further as Israeli police attacked worshipers at the Al-Aqsa mosque, and Israel bombed Gaza in response to a Hamas rocket.) On this episode, Editor-at-Large Peter Beinart speaks with political scientist Dana El Kurd and attorney Daniel Seidemann about why violence is rising now, shifting Palestinian public opinion on violent and nonviolent resistance, and what the coming weeks may bring.

Books and Articles Mentioned:

“Support for Violent vs. Non-violent Strategies in the Palestinian Territories” by Dana El Kurd (April 15th, 2022) 

“Key Messages from the Oppressed” by Dana El Kurd (April 6th, 2022) 

“IDF Intelligence Chief: Palestinian Despair, Frustration Are Among Reasons for Terror Wave”  by Barak Ravid (November 3rd, 2015) 

“Hamas Breaks Out of its Gaza Cage” by Amjad Iraqi (May 21st, 202)1 

“Poll Finds Dramatic Rise in Palestinian Support for Hamas” by Joseph Krauss (June 15th, 2021)

“The End of Nonviolent Resistance” by Isaac Scher (April 12th, 2022)

“​​Israel Imposes Sanctions on Jenin, the West Bank Hometown of Tel Aviv Terrorist” by Yaniv Kubovich and Jack Khoury (April 9th 2022) 

“It is Impossible to ‘Shrink the Conflict’” by Peter Beinart (November 11th, 2021)

Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”