Who owns the Holy Land?
ARTE
Two German Jews move into a settlement near Bethlehem. The reason: they dream of a life in the Holy Land. Under international law, Israeli settlements on Palestinian land are considered illegal. But the settlers believe they have a right to this land. What attracts Germans to the settlements? And how do they imagine living together with the Palestinians?
What drives people from Europe to exchange their comparatively comfortable lives for a much more complicated and dangerous one in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel? Chaya Tal from Cologne and Nethanel von Boxberg from Bonn have done just that: they have moved to the Gush Etzion settlement block near Bethlehem in the West Bank. Both are convinced that Judea and Samaria, as they call this area, belongs to the people of Israel, i.e. to the Jews. Under international law, however, the area is considered illegally occupied by Israel, even though Israel's government does not accept this. Chaya and Nethanel are not the only Europeans among the approximately 450,000 settlers in the West Bank - Belgians, French, Swiss or Dutch have found a new home in Gush Etzion. And especially among the Europeans are many who live an astonishing contradiction: on the one hand, they occupy land that belongs to the Palestinians, and at the same time they advocate peaceful coexistence with them. How does that work? Chaya speaks fluent Arabic and has friends in the Palestinian villages, which Israeli citizens are actually strictly forbidden to enter.
Corona in Jerusalem – Eastern under a state of emergency
ARTE
Usually at Easter, crowds of people push through the streets of Jerusalem - tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world flock to the Holy Land for the important holidays. But the Corona crisis has Jerusalem in its grip and the streets are deserted. Resurrection in a state of emergency - how does that work?
Palestinians and Israelis : Between the front
Y-KOLLEKTIV
Nabi Saleh, a Palestinian village in the West Bank. On the hill opposite: the Jewish settlement of Halamish. When the settlers built a fence around the nearby water source in 2010, the Palestinians responded with demonstrations and stone-throwing. Often it is children who are on the front line. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is about religion, politics, culture and above all - home. Reporter Vanessa Schlesier experiences both sides of the conflict in the West Bank.