We look back on the region’s history and discuss what it can teach us about the future.

Jonny Dymond brings together a carefully assembled panel of experts, academics and journalists to talk about the conflict in the region.

What has happened in history to lead us to this point? And what can history teach us about what might happen next?

This week Jonny is joined by Orla Guerin, the BBC’s senior international correspondent, Dr Ahron Bregman, senior teaching fellow at King’s College London and Dr Julie Norman, an Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at UCL.

They explore how the decision by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to “disengage” from Gaza and withdraw 9,000 Israeli settlers still looms large over the current conflict in the region.

This episode was made by Keiligh Baker with Ivana Davidovic. The technical producers were David Crackles and Jonny Hall. The assistant editor is Ben Mundy. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

This episode is part of a BBC Sounds series. It was recorded at 14:00 on Tuesday 5 November 2024.