Podcast Summary: Israel is rampaging through the West Bank – why isn't there more coverage?

The Listening Post – Al Jazeera
Release Date: November 22, 2025

Overview

This episode of The Listening Post focuses on the alarming surge of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, the mechanisms of state backing that facilitate it, and the stark lack of comprehensive international media coverage. The show critiques the Western media's detachment from the unfolding crisis, highlights the dangers faced by Palestinian journalists and civilians trying to fill the information void, and challenges the framing that separates settler actions from Israeli state policy. The episode also briefly covers US-Venezuela relations, climate disinformation, and the political fallout surrounding the US release of the Epstein files.

Israel, the West Bank, and a Media Coverage Vacuum

Escalation of Settler Violence and Documentation Gaps

• Unprecedented Violence

  • Since October, the West Bank has experienced “the highest number of settler attacks ever recorded” ([02:40]), including beatings, killings, arson, and land theft, notably targeting Palestinians during the olive harvest.
  • Data from the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirms the scale and surge of attacks.

• The Role of Palestinian Civilian Footage

  • Most visual evidence comes from Palestinians risking their lives to capture and share the violence, filling the “vacuum of media coverage in the region” ([03:33]).
  • “When civilians are documenting, they are risking their lives... But this is their last offering for the world to know what’s happening here.” – Local Witness/Reporter [03:33]

• Despair Amid Absence of Witnesses

  • Per a Palestinian activist/journalist, people “know that if they are to injure a settler, they might be killed. The settlers will come back... burn homes to the ground, kill people who had nothing to do with it. And so all they can really do is document it and show the world.” ([03:59])

Targeting Journalists and Suppression of Information

• Violence Against Media Workers

  • On Nov 8, masked settlers attacked Palestinian reporters covering the olive harvest, injuring at least five ([04:28]).
  • “The settlers have shown that nobody’s off limits. They clubbed and beat a Reuters journalist who was clearly wearing a press uniform... They want journalists to be afraid to cover it.” – Palestinian Activist/Journalist [05:20]

• Checkpoints and Intimidation

  • Journalists face frequent stops at checkpoints – “As soon as you say you’re a journalist, they’re like, Okay, who do you report for? …they’re not going to want you to go and report on this…” – Field Journalist [05:49]
  • Official policies, such as the West Bank ban of Al Jazeera, further hinder access and reporting by both Palestinian and international journalists ([06:12]).

The Western Media’s Flawed Framing

• Detachment of Settler Violence from State Policy

  • International outlets often portray settler attacks as rogue, isolated incidents rather than actions linked to “the policies of the Israeli state” ([06:41]).
  • “Almost every time we see settlers attack, we see videos showing Israeli soldiers... doing nothing to stop it... The army is not in the West Bank to maintain the peace. It’s there to protect the settlers. This is apartheid in action.” – Expert Analyst [07:47]

• Coordinated State-Settler Operations

  • Settlers receive weaponry, intelligence, and logistical support directly from the Israeli military.
  • “It is coordinated and it is premeditated and planned. What we are seeing is a military and settler symbiosis.” – Local Witness/Reporter [08:42]

• Far-Right Political Encouragement

  • Israeli ministers such as Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich openly defend and encourage settler violence in public communications ([09:11], [09:45]).

• Media “Malpractice”

  • “To again frame them as they’re acting alone is really costing Palestinians their lands, their resources and their lives. This is malpractice.” – Local Witness/Reporter [10:14]

Other Segments

US Media and Venezuela Intervention Rhetoric ([10:49]–[13:02])

• The Trump administration’s military posturing toward Venezuela has been strongly echoed in US media, with figures like Bret Stephens (New York Times) and Fox News stoking interventionist rhetoric.
• Terms like “narco state” are used without substantial evidence, and US military actions are under-questioned in the media.
• While Maduro’s governance brought severe hardship, US sanctions also exacerbate conditions. The episode questions whether intervention helps or harms and criticizes the simplistic media narrative.

Climate Crisis and the Fossil Fuel Industry’s Disinformation Playbook ([13:02]–[21:59])

• UN Special Rapporteur Elisa Morgera details how fossil fuel companies have manipulated global information—via PR, fake science, advertising, and influence in academia—for over 60 years.
• “We are now understanding that we’ve been lied time and over again about the main cause of climate change…” – Elisa Morgera [14:12]
• Key recommendation: criminalize climate disinformation, enforce transparency, and “defossilize” public knowledge systems.
• Example: “There’s been investigative journalism really tracing down to seven major media companies who were... producing in house content for fossil fuel companies.” – Expert Analyst [17:18]

Epstein Files and US Political Transparency ([21:59]–[23:58])

• The US Congress passed, and President Trump signed, a law compelling the Justice Department to release the Epstein files.
• Loopholes (e.g., ongoing investigations, 30-day delays) could keep much material secret.
• Media focuses mainly on salacious details, not geopolitical connections.
  • “They’re not nearly as interested in angles like Epstein’s political ties, particularly those to the Israeli state, his relationship with its former prime minister, Ehud Barak, and how that tied into the Kremlin and the US’s position on the Syrian civil war.” ([23:02])

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Most of the video that we’re seeing has been shot by Palestinians documenting what they can, filling a gap that should never have been theirs to fill.” – Main Narrator [01:53]
• “The fact that we are seeing more documentation come out from the phones of civilians really shows you the vacuum of media coverage in the region.” – Local Witness/Reporter [03:33]
• “It’s lost on nobody that they’re facing a genocide there, and the world is just not paying attention.” – Palestinian Activist/Journalist [03:59]
• “The army is not in the West Bank to maintain the peace. It’s there to protect the settlers. This is apartheid in action.” – Expert Analyst [07:47]
• “It is coordinated and it is premeditated and planned. What we are seeing is a military and settler symbiosis.” – Local Witness/Reporter [08:42]
• “This is malpractice. This is inability to do a basic Google research and cover it to your audiences properly.” – Local Witness/Reporter [10:14]
• “We are now understanding that we’ve been lied time and over again about the main cause of climate change…” – Elisa Morgera [14:12]

Key Timestamps

• Settler Violence Escalation & Documentation: [00:28]–[04:28]
• Attacks on Journalists and Information Blackouts: [04:28]–[06:41]
• State Backing & International Media Framing: [06:41]–[10:49]
• US Media Rhetoric on Venezuela: [10:49]–[13:02]
• Climate Disinformation Playbook: [13:02]–[21:59]
• Epstein Files and Political Cover-ups: [21:59]–[23:58]

Conclusion

The episode powerfully dissects why mounting Israeli settler violence in the West Bank is so poorly covered by Western media, emphasizing Palestinian perspectives and dangers to journalists. It exposes the symbiotic relationship between settlers and the Israeli government, the dire consequences of international journalistic neglect, and the challenges of truth-telling in today’s media landscape. Brief but informative segments on Venezuela, climate misinformation, and the Epstein case further illustrate how corporate and political interests subvert the news that reaches the public.