First look at the new Fauda

Fauda season four plunges us right back into the tense, confusing, buttock-clenching action from the moment it starts. We are in the Palestinian territory; there is a bank robbery, someone is grabbed, someone else runs, and people are shot.

Soon we work out who the good guys and bad guys are – just about. In the complicated world of the Israel/Palestine conflict, the Israelis are helping the Palestinians work out who is stealing money and where it is going. But there is a bigger question; where is Doron (Lior Raz)?

Ah, he’s brooding and getting violent with some thieves who dare to enter his property. He’s been thrown out of the unit after the events of the last season (I’m not going to spoil it for you, in case you haven’t watched, but you really must watch) and he isn’t returning anyone’s calls.

But then there is a wedding and a kidnapping and we are off; out of Israel, out of the Palestinian territories, as this is the season when Fauda goes truly international – echoing the huge popularity of the series across the world.

The team find themselves in Brussels – a foreign territory and one in which they have to work in tandem with the local police force as they investigate a Hezbollah cell. The game is on but so is the killing, with a much-loved character apparently dead by the end of episode two.

And then the action moves to Lebanon as the unit finds itself in more danger and up against the odds than ever before. Once again, this nail-biting series merges action and adventure with realpolitik and a deep understanding not only of the Israel/Palestine/Arab conflict but also the bitter, dreadful toll it has on all involved.

Fauda Season 4 airs on Netflix on Friday 20 January