Throughline – "A History of Settlements" (August 28, 2025, NPR)

Episode Overview

This episode of Throughline delves into the complex and contentious history of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories—how settlements went from a fringe religious mission to a central pillar of Israeli government policy. The hosts, Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei, and their guests explore the origins, evolution, and consequences of settlements, linking them to broader questions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the legacy of the Six-Day War, and ongoing cycles of violence, governance, and everyday life in the West Bank and beyond.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Physical and Political Landscape of Settlements

• Highway 443: The hosts paint a vivid picture of daily life in the West Bank: a modern Israeli highway flanked by towering walls and razor wire, inaccessible to most Palestinians (00:53–01:45).
• The settlements, now home to about 700,000 Israelis, are described as “suburban enclaves” with modern amenities, cutting Palestinian areas into disconnected islands—“Palestinian lands look kind of like Swiss cheese, small islands disconnected from one another” (03:19–03:58).
• Khaled Elgindi: “Even though we’re talking about 700,000 or so settlers compared to 3.1 million Palestinians, they are the marginal community in the West Bank because everything has been set up to serve the settler minority.” (02:41).

2. Origins & Ideology of the Settlement Movement

• The first modern settlements in the West Bank, such as Kiryat Arba, were inspired by a blend of religious ideology and militant Zionism after Israel’s territorial gains in 1967 (08:19–09:25).
• Gideon Aran describes Gush Emunim as “the Block of the Faithful,” whose followers saw settling the land as a divine mission (09:32–09:49).
• Discussion of the 1967 Six-Day War: The euphoria of conquest and the rise of new questions about controlling the newly occupied territories (11:16–13:27).
  • Quote, Khaled Elgindi: “It’s impossible to overstate the elation, euphoria that Israelis felt after the war … many looked at it as a miracle.” (12:04)

3. From Security to Suburbanization

• The initial logic behind settlement was security—a strategic buffer as imagined in the “Alon Plan” (15:20–15:58).
• But over time, many settlers are there for economic reasons, attracted by government subsidies and higher living standards: “The majority say they do it for a better quality of life.” – Sarah Yael Hirshorn (04:15–04:30, 53:05).
• Notable quote, Sarah Yael Hirshorn: “The majority of settlers today are essentially suburbanites… would have no real reason to be living in the West Bank if offered the same standard of living elsewhere.” (03:58)

4. The Rise of Ariel Sharon & Political Transformations

• Sharon’s role as political architect: After military success and political partnership with Menachem Begin, Sharon pushes Likud further right, making settlement building government policy (19:12–20:33).
  • Sharon: “The United States has nothing to say about Israeli right to exist … when it comes to our security, that's entirely our problem.” (20:52)
• Sharon’s “Sharon Tours” publicizes the strategic value of the settlements and brings Israeli citizens to see them firsthand (28:49–29:21).

5. International Response and the Oslo Process

• Settlements deemed illegal under international law (United Nations, International Court of Justice), but opposed only rhetorically (02:12, 15:12, 33:06–33:27).
• Oslo Accords (1990s): Hope of a two-state solution complicated by continued settlement growth—“settlement population soars” during peace negotiations (34:54).
  • Khaled Elgindi: “How are you going to negotiate over the fate of this land while you keep gobbling it up?” (34:46–34:54).

6. American and International Support

• Significant financial and political support comes from private American organizations, nonprofits, and evangelical Christian groups (36:31–37:26).

7. Extremism & Violence

• The normalization of settlements breeds new forms of extremism and violence:
  • The 1994 Baruch Goldstein massacre at the Ibrahimi Mosque (38:04–39:07).
  • Tit-for-tat escalations; increasing civilian and political casualties on both sides (39:49–40:13).
  • “We as Palestinians were invisible to them.” – Diana Buttu (48:48)

8. Barriers, Checkpoints, and Fragmentation

• Construction of the security barrier/wall, most of it in Palestinian territory:
  • “The real purpose or one of the purposes … was land grabbing.” – Avi Shlaim (46:50–47:00)
  • Diana Buttu describes daily life under these conditions: “My car is always being searched, my papers are being searched. There is almost daily violence at these checkpoints because their whole point is to ensure free movement of the Israeli settlers, but not free movement of Palestinians.” (47:30–48:03)

9. Recent Developments and Political Shifts

• After Sharon’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza (2005), “the West Bank was much more important than Gaza. The West Bank was Judea and Samaria. The West Bank was an integral part of the historic homeland. Gaza wasn’t.” – Avi Shlaim (50:35)
• Today, the settler reality is dominant. Extremist settlers hold key cabinet posts; Kiriyat Arba—site of early settlements and the Goldstein massacre—remains a symbol, with present-day memorials for Goldstein (53:46).
• “The settlements and the army control 61% of the West Bank. So the settler reality has completely flipped since Oslo, ironically, since the start of the peace process.” – Khaled Elgindi (54:05–54:27).
• Final reflection: Discussion turns existential—whether the region is now in a new 'one-state reality,' with a return to the unresolved questions of 1948 (54:27–54:52).

Standout Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We will never uproot settlements in the land of Israel.” – Paraphrasing PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s government position (04:30).
• “The idea of pushing the frontier, it is inherently violent.” – Gideon Aran (09:25)
• “Oslo rubric is no longer in effect … everyone’s in their own one state paradigm.” – Sarah Yael Hirshorn (54:27)
• “It begins with that ideology that there are some people who are deserving of rights and other people who are not.” – Diana Buttu (54:52)
• “The quality of life is at the expense of whom, for whom is it quality of life?” – Diana Buttu (53:05)
• “There is no rule of law, it’s rule of power.” – Diana Buttu (55:52)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:15–04:30] — Why settlements matter today; daily realities in the West Bank; summary of demographic and legal landscape
• [07:41–10:57] — Birth of the religious settlement movement (Gush Emunim, Kiryat Arba)
• [11:16–13:48] — 1967 War and immediate postwar questions: where does occupation go from here?
• [15:20–16:02] — The Alon Plan and security logic of early settlements
• [19:12–21:02] — Ariel Sharon’s political ascent and Likud’s settlement expansion
• [28:49–29:21] — “Sharon Tours” and the mass popularization of the settlements
• [33:06–34:39] — U.S. presidents and international opposition to settlements; Oslo Accords and settlements as an “obstacle to peace”
• [36:31–37:26] — American/private support for settlements
• [38:04–39:07] — Hebron massacre, militarization and moral collapse in Hebron
• [46:50–47:00] — The West Bank barrier/wall and its broader purposes
• [50:05–50:35] — Gaza pullout and its implications for the West Bank
• [53:46–54:05] — Settler dominance in Israeli politics & daily life
• [54:27–54:52] — Are we in a new ‘one-state’ reality?

Closing Reflections

The episode traces the transformation of settlements from a fringe cause to the literal architecture of the Israeli state—shaping daily life, politics, and prospects for peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. It ends with a sobering reminder that, decades after Oslo, the settlements now define the future as much as the past—a testament to unresolved histories and enduring cycles of violence and power.

Produced and hosted by Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei, with analysis and reporting from Palestinian, Israeli, American, and scholarly voices. For more, find Throughline’s back catalog of conflict episodes on NPR.