Israeli-Palestinian Coverage

World News

When Insects Go Biblical: Swarms Head Toward Israel

8:47am March 10, 2013

A plague of locusts has recently moved from the Sinai Peninsula into southern Israel. Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Larry Abramson about the swarms that have arrived just a few weeks ahead of the Passover holiday.

Queue Listen Now

A Palestinian laborer works at the site of a residential construction project funded by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Mar. 21, 2012.

World News

Palestinians Still Feel The Squeeze Of The Restrictions On Gaza

8:43am March 10, 2013

by Larry Abramson

Local builders in Gaza say they can't find everyday items like cement and gravel. Yet Israeli officials say they have widened the categories of items allowed into Gaza.

Queue Listen Now

World News

With Syria In Shambles, The Uncertain Future Of Hezbollah

8:46am March 03, 2013

Syria is one of the most important backers of the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. If the Assad regime falls, Hezbollah will face an uncertain future. New Yorker staff writer Dexter Filkins discusses what shifts in Syria could mean for the future of the Middle East.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Hezbollah Trial Offers Clues To How Militant Group Operates

8:46am March 03, 2013

Audie Cornish talks to Nicholas Kulish, a New York Times reporter, about the trial of Hezbollah member Hossam Yaakoub earlier this week in Cyprus and what it has revealed about the inner workings of the organization.

Queue Listen Now

World News

A West Bank Story, Told Through Palestinian Eyes

8:49am February 24, 2013

by Larry Abramson

Palestinian Emad Burnat got a video camera to document his son's childhood. But he has spent the past several years filming the conflict between Palestinian residents of his village and Israelis who are building a separation barrier. His work is now up for an Oscar.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Oscar Documentaries: A Look Behind The Scenes

9:41am February 21, 2013

Over the last two weeks, Talk of the Nation has featured Oscar-nominated filmmakers from the "Best Documentary Feature" category. To wrap up the series, NPR arts critic Bob Mondello discusses how the Oscar business works and shares his favorites from this year's nominees.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Violence In Syria's Capital Escalates, Along With Refugee Crisis

9:40am February 21, 2013

Fighting in Damascus has escalated, and the U.N. says 5,000 Syrian refugees are fleeing every day. The humanitarian crisis is growing along the borders with Turkey and Lebanon, and Israel launched its first airstrike inside Syria on Wednesday, reportedly targeting weapons destined for Hezbollah.

Queue Listen Now

Rabbi Susan Silverman (center, left), the sister of American comedian Sarah Silverman, along with her teenage daughter Hallel Abramowitz (center, right), are arrested by Israeli police as they leave the Western Wall in Jerusalem, on Monday.

Women In Prayer Shawls Detained At Judaism's Holiest Site

9:40am February 21, 2013

by Larry Abramson

Police detained 10 women for donning prayer shawls at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Monday. They are part of the group Women of the Wall, which is fighting to worship in the same manner as men do at Judaism's holiest site.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Bulgaria Links Hezbollah To Deadly Attack On Israelis

8:51am February 10, 2013

by Michele Kelemen

The attack at a Black Sea resort town last July killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian citizen. In response, the White House called Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, a "real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest of the world."

Queue Listen Now

Egyptian soldiers cross to the eastern side of the Suez Canal during the 1973 war. Egyptian forces initially broke through the Israeli forces on that side of the canal.

The CIA And The Hazards Of Middle East Forecasting

8:48am February 10, 2013

by Tom Gjelten

As Arab-Israeli tensions grew in the fall of 1973, the CIA offered its analysis to President Nixon's administration: War was highly unlikely. The agency kept making that case right up to the time the war began.

Queue Listen Now