IF YOU’RE a scientist looking for a challenge, try working at a Palestinian university on the West Bank. It is probably the hardest place in the world to do research.
Just getting to your lab can be a trial. Travel restrictions and Israeli army checkpoints across the Palestinian territories make any journey uncertain. Some days you will not get to work at all. If you’ve ordered chemicals or lab equipment from the US, you’ll be lucky to get them: the Israeli authorities hold back any imports that could be remotely useful to militants. As for fieldwork, forget it.
The Israeli…
