Podcast Summary: "Checkpoint 300: Colonial Space in Palestine"

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Moita Zahajizadeh
Guest: Dr. Mark Griffith (Reader in Political Geography, Newcastle University)
Episode Date: December 3, 2025
Book Discussed: Checkpoint 300: Colonial Space in Palestine (U Minnesota Press, 2025)

Overview

This episode explores the book Checkpoint 300: Colonial Space in Palestine with Dr. Mark Griffith, analyzing how one of the largest Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank (Checkpoint 300) operates not merely as a border but as a complex mechanism of colonial control. The conversation covers the physical, social, economic, and psychological impacts of the checkpoint, its global dimensions, gendered effects, forms of Palestinian adaptation, and questions of decolonial practice—all situated in the urgent contemporary context of sustained Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background and Motivation for the Book

• Personal Impressions and Research

  • Dr. Griffith first visited Palestine in 2015; the design and impact of Checkpoint 300 left a lasting impression.
  • The checkpoint is described as "so dehumanizing, it's quite a shocking space" (Dr. Griffith, 04:34).
  • Unlike Palestinians, Griffith (as a white, non-Palestinian) passed through almost unnoticed, underscoring the site's racialized dynamics.

• Development of the Book

  • Research included fieldwork, collaborations with local researchers, and photography.
  • The idea was to move beyond conceptualizing the checkpoint as merely a border and instead understand its wider spatial, social, and economic effects.

2. Defining Checkpoint 300 and Its Functions

• Not Just a Border, but a Colonial Space

  • Checkpoint 300 is a massive, airport-style facility upgraded to “terminal status” in 2005. It regulates the movement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian laborers and others.
  • Emphasizing the importance of terminology, Griffith argues:
    “To call it a border itself needs a lot of qualification... it’s important not to conceptualize it as a crossing between Israel and Palestine because that gives into the colonial logic.” (07:46)

• Bordering vs. Borders

  • The current configuration ignores the internationally recognized Green Line, appropriating land deep inside the West Bank.

3. International Complicity and Global Capitalism

• Circulation of Technology and Expertise

  • Surveillance and “battle-tested” technologies used at checkpoints are developed in Europe and the US, then marketed globally.
  • Griffith highlights the ethical quandary:
    “Some of our best brains, if you like, PhD students, postdocs, are doing all of this research into how to make bio or like facial recognition technologies more efficient and then it’s being used for these... purposes of colonial control.” (10:06)
  • Student and public activism is pushing back, demanding universities and governments stop facilitating oppression.

• Blurring Civilian and Military Lines

  • Technologies co-produced for civilian and military uses make complicity diffuse and widespread.
  • “That distinction between civilian and military is always very blurred... Students are leading the way... to pressure their universities into not being complicit in this war machine.” (13:44)

4. Spatial Violence and Everyday Palestinian Life

• Spatial Control at the Heart of Palestinian Existence

  • Israeli-issued ID cards distinguish among Palestinians, restricting their movement differently based on birthplace and residency.
  • The checkpoint’s spatial violence impacts everything from visiting the doctor to familial relationships: “Spatial control is a essence of Palestinianness in many ways.” (15:42)
  • The system reproduces divisions among Palestinians themselves.

• Checkpoint as Agency and Spatial Actor

  • The checkpoint is not a static structure—it exerts constant, dynamic violence, shaping urban development, economic opportunity, and community life.

5. Gendered Effects of Colonial Space

• Permit System and Labor Market

  • Permits are mostly issued to men, tied to the needs of the Israeli labor market. Living arrangements and family roles are profoundly affected.
  • “For every man you see crossing that checkpoint... it means they’re getting up at 3 o’clock and 4 o’clock... they’re leaving a woman and at least one child at home.” (17:59)

• Women’s Experiences

  • Women face challenges both in obtaining permits and when forced to accompany family for medical care or prayer.
  • Permit grants are gendered: social, economic, and political activities are rarely allowed; caregiving/pious activities are prioritized.
  • Crowded, male-dominated checkpoints pose unique dangers to women and children.
    • “There are some really terrible stories... people have cracked ribs and short of breath... holding their kids up above their head so their kids can get by.” (20:48–21:50)

6. Religious and Urban Reconfiguration: Rachel’s Tomb

• Rachel’s Tomb as a Flashpoint
  • The wall and checkpoint’s placement around Rachel’s Tomb involves significant land seizure (“land grab”) and has transformed the site into a flashpoint for violence and spatial contestation.
  • This intrusion embeds Israeli settler presence deep within urban Bethlehem, enabling frequent encounters between settlers and Palestinians, though separated by physical barriers.
  • “It means that it reconfigures contemporary space in that way.” (26:38–27:42)

7. Urban Militarization and Economic Effects

• Transformation of Urban and Economic Life
  • Areas previously thriving with commerce (hotels, restaurants, orchards) have become car parks or shops adapted to the needs of laborers.
  • “The entire space has been changed from a commercially vibrant, culturally vibrant area to a place that is really struggling to survive.” (28:04–30:15)

8. Global Production of Colonial Space

• International Companies and Policy Endorsement
  • US, UK, Australian, and European governmental support and corporate involvement (from surveillance to manufacturing) contribute to the mechanics of occupation.

9. Palestinian Agency: Adapting, Resisting, Living

• Adaptation and Everyday Resistance
  • Despite attempts to erase or suppress Palestinian life, adaptation continues: businesses change, car parks replace olive groves, resistance graffiti and cultural symbols emerge.
  • “Palestinian life does continue... and I think that’s also what I tried to do in the book... what there is to be defended, which is Palestinian life on Palestinian land.” (32:34–35:12)

10. Decolonial Practice in Context

• What Does Decolonization Look Like?
  • At its core, decolonization means the restitution of land. But continuing cultural, economic, and ecological life, and telling Palestinian stories, are also acts of decolonial resistance.
  • “How they plant land... or sow the land with important food... that is a decolonial practice, how it doesn’t give in to the way that the colonizer wants to make space.” (35:54–37:51)

11. International Solidarity and the Present Moment

• Momentum and Challenges
  • Ordinary people and students are increasingly vocal in their support, shifting public discourse:
    “People are—I wouldn’t even call them pro-Palestinian, they’re just pro-justice...” (39:50)
  • However, governments and institutions remain resistant, gaslighting their populations despite significant shifts in public opinion.

12. Ceasefires, Peace, and Structural Solutions

• Limits of Peace Deals
  • Recent ceasefire talks offer only brief respite, not resolution to structural colonial space.
  • “It shouldn’t be about Trump. It should be about the United Nations. ... There should be some international observers and journalists allowed to go into Gaza, because what they’re going to find there, we all know it’s going to be horrendous.” (42:26–44:43)

13. Dr. Griffith’s Next Project

• War and Ecologies
  • His current research examines how war damages ecologies (air, water, land) and impacts human health for generations, using Gaza and Iraq as case studies. (45:01–46:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the racialized experience of checkpoints:
  “I walked through that checkpoint almost without anybody looking at me... the experience for Palestinians... is completely different. So it’s a very racialized space too.” (Dr. Griffith, 04:34)

• On the global complicity in colonial control:
  “Some of our best brains... are doing all of this research into how to make facial recognition technologies more efficient and then it’s being used for these... purposes of colonial control.” (Dr. Griffith, 10:06)

• On spatial violence as a form of agency:
  “Spatial control is an essence of Palestinianness in many ways.” (Dr. Griffith, 15:42)

• On economic adaptation:
  “The entire space has been changed from a commercially vibrant, culturally vibrant area to a place that is really struggling to survive. It’s been depopulated. Businesses have been either... disappeared or had to adapt.” (Dr. Griffith, 28:04)

• On continuing decolonial practice:
  “How they continue, how they plant land... that is a decolonial practice, how it doesn’t give in to the way that the colonizer wants to make space...” (Dr. Griffith, 35:54)

Segment Timestamps

• 01:31–02:23: Introduction to the episode and guest
• 02:54–04:34: Explaining Checkpoint 300 and its real-world impacts
• 06:12–10:06: Origins of the book, research experience, and the personal-political dynamic
• 10:06–14:29: International complicity, global capitalism, student activism
• 15:42–17:41: Spatial violence and everyday repercussions for Palestinians
• 17:41–22:46: Gendered impacts of the checkpoint and narratives around women’s agency
• 24:27–27:42: The significance of Rachel’s Tomb in the spatial reconfiguration of Bethlehem
• 28:04–30:15: Urban militarization and economic shifts in the checkpoint zone
• 30:15–31:59: The global production of colonial/occupied space
• 32:34–35:12: Palestinian adaptation, continued resistance, and the meanings of visibility
• 35:12–37:51: Decolonial practices and what they look like in occupied Palestine
• 38:48–41:00: International solidarity, present challenges, and countering government resistance
• 42:26–44:43: Reflections on ceasefires, the ongoing relevance of colonial structures
• 45:01–46:20: Dr. Griffith’s new project on war and ecologies

Takeaway

Checkpoint 300 is more than a book about a single border crossing—it’s a critical analysis of how spatial, technological, and bureaucratic systems sustain colonial power in Palestine, spotlighting the complicity of international actors and the resilience of Palestinian life. The episode offers an urgent, nuanced look at spatial violence, everyday adaptations, and the ongoing struggles for justice and decolonization.