In the occupied West Bank, a radio station has become an instrument of survival — not for entertainment, but for the daily navigation of a landscape shaped by military checkpoints, road closures, and settler violence. Basma FM, broadcasting from Rawabi near Ramallah, delivers three traffic updates per hour that have little to do with congestion and everything to do with whether a Palestinian can reach work, school, or a hospital safely. As the United Nations documents nearly a thousand barriers across the territory — a 43 percent rise over historical averages — the question of when a loved one
Palestinian Radio Station Tracks Checkpoints, Settler Attacks in Real Time
Palestinians face assault, humiliation, and arrest at checkpoints; Israeli soldiers have killed Palestinians near checkpoints and pointed rifles at drivers; settler attacks on Palestinian vehicles are increasing.