‘The West Bank, up against the wall’, a report by Claire Duhamel, France 24’s Jerusalem correspondent, and Mohamed Farhat, senior reporter for France 24’s Arabic-language channel, won first prize in the Documentaries on Palestine category at the ASBU Awards. The ceremony took place in Tunis on Thursday, September 24, as part of the 26th Arab Radio and Television Festival. The report was first broadcast on France 24’s Reporters+ on March 21, 2026.
Presented by the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU), which brings together public broadcasters across the Arab world, the ASBU Awards honor the finest audiovisual productions from the region and beyond each year.
The West Bank, up against the wall
Format: 25 minutes
Broadcast on France 24 on March 21, 2026
A film by Claire Duhamel and Mohamed Farhat
Since the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks, Israel has revoked the work permits of nearly 120,000 Palestinian workers. As an economic crisis grips the occupied West Bank, some now try to slip across the separation wall illegally. On the outskirts of Jerusalem, France 24’s reporters filmed these perilous crossings and heard from the people who attempt them.
The film follows Saïd, who lost a leg after being shot during a crossing, and Walid, a trained architect forced to sleep on his building site in Israel. Through their stories, the documentary sheds light on a blind spot of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: two long-intertwined economies drifting apart for good, and the smugglers who profit in the shadows from trafficking desperate workers.
Watch the full documentary HERE
