The Audio Long Read I used to report from the West Bank. Twenty years after my last visit, I was shocked by how much worse it is today
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Mar 2, 2026 A reporter returns to the West Bank after 20 years and confronts deeper control, more checkpoints, and visible signs of expanded settler power. Stories of demolished homes, displaced communities and a collapsing local economy surface. Activists and residents describe growing despair, fragmented resistance and slim hopes for political unity or international pressure.
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Israeli Control Feels Openly Dominant
- Israeli dominance in the West Bank is now overt and normalized, signalled by actions like thousands of Israeli flags planted along roads near Palestinian villages.
- Ewen MacAskill contrasts this with the Second Intifada era when settlers would not risk such provocations because Palestinians then could and did respond violently.
Ramallah's Normality Hides Widespread Restrictions
- Ramallah appears more prosperous and 'normal' but that masks wider West Bank decline and the absence of farmers deterred by checkpoints.
- The number of checkpoints rose from 376 after the Second Intifada to about 849 today, restricting movement and trade.
Economy and Corruption Deepen Despair
- Economic decline and corruption have deepened despair: West Bank per capita income fell 20% and unemployment is about 33%.
- Palestinians report jobs awarded through nepotism and PA corruption, blocking careers like law despite qualifications.