Arab Talk With Jess & Jamal

After initially refusing, the U.S. agreed to include Lebanon in ceasefire talks with Iran, backing a separate 10-day Israel–Lebanon truce that took effect April 17 at midnight. The deal follows Israel’s renewed invasion of southern Lebanon in March amid its broader conflict with Iran. Under the agreement, Israel retains control of occupied southern areas and reserves the right to respond to threats; Hezbollah says it will comply if Israel does. Some view the deal as a necessary pause, while others see it as a risky concession. To unpack these developments, we’re joined on Arab Talk by Dr. Rania Masri, board member of the Environmental Justice Network and former Associate Director at the American University of Beirut’s Asfari Institute.

On March 31, the Knesset passed a controversial law mandating the death penalty for Palestinians, including both West Bank residents and Israeli citizens, while excluding Jewish settlers. The law makes execution the default sentence, to be carried out within 90 days with no option for appeal or pardon. Hanging is the designated method, and some lawmakers signaled support by wearing noose-shaped pins. To discuss its implications and the legal context, we’re joined by Sawsan Zaher, a Palestinian human rights lawyer and former Deputy General Director and Senior Lawyer at Adalah, where she worked for 16 years on constitutional cases involving Palestinian rights.

What began in late February as coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities has rapidly expanded into a far more dangerous confrontation. In response, Iran has launched waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli cities, key strategic sites, and U.S. military bases across the region—fueling growing concern over a prolonged and widening conflict. To help unpack these developments, we’re joined on Arab Talk by Dr. Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, a researcher and lecturer in international politics at the University of St Andrews, and author of Revolution and its "Discontents: Political Thought and Reform in Iran."

Journalist Daoud Kuttab examines how Israel has used global attention on Iran to intensify settler violence and expand the seizure of Palestinian land in the West Bank. He also describes how attacks and harassment by the Israeli government and settlers against Palestinian Christians have increased, targeting their towns and villages as well as churches, schools, and other religious institutions. Kuttab is a former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University and the publisher of Milhilard.org, a platform dedicated to the Christian community in Jordan and Palestine. He currently serves as Senior Communications Officer for the World Evangelical Alliance. He is the author of several books, most recently State of Palestine NOW.

Oren Ziv examines Israel’s wartime military censorship amid its conflict with Iran, shedding light on how information is controlled during periods of escalation. He also highlights a surge in violent settler attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank, particularly targeting herding communities in the Northern Jordan Valley under the cover of war. Oren is a photojournalist and a reporter for Local Call and +972 Magazine and a co-founder of Active Stills photography collective. Jess and Jamal explore the recent strikes on Iranian and Israeli nuclear facilities and the potential environmental consequences of such actions. They also consider whether rising oil prices and a weakening global economy could influence the trajectory—or possible end—of the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.

Jess and Jamal discuss the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran as it enters its second week. U.S. and Israeli forces continue striking Iranian military and energy infrastructure, including targets near Tehran, while Iran has launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks against Israel and U.S.-linked sites in the region. Leaders on all sides say operations will continue, raising fears that the conflict could expand across the Middle East.

Jess and Jamal discuss the latest developments and global repercussions following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. Nathan Kalman-Lamb, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick, joins the show to discuss a complaint filed with the International Criminal Court against the heads of FIFA and UEFA. The case centers on allegations that the organizations permit Israeli football clubs based in settlements widely considered illegal under international law, built on land taken from Palestinians.

Close to 11,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons and detention centers, the majority without formal charges or convictions. During this recent period, nearly 100 Palestinians have died in custody, with extensive evidence indicating that many of these deaths resulted from torture and medical neglect. Based on its findings, Physicians for Human Rights has stated that these patterns point to what it describes as a deliberate Israeli policy contributing to the deaths of Palestinians in detention. Yair Dvir, spokesperson for B’Tselem, discusses the organization’s recent report, "Living Hell," which documents allegations of torture and abuse experienced by Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

In his opinion piece published in Al Jazeera, titled “Here’s Why Israel Is Allowing Record Murder Rates in Its Palestinian Towns,” Dr. Neve Gordon argues that the crime epidemic within Palestinian communities inside Israel is not merely a failure of governance, but part of a broader political strategy. He contends that the state has effectively allowed violence to escalate while simultaneously weaponizing accusations of anti-Semitism to intensify Jewish fear. Gordon characterizes this dynamic as a form of “demographic engineering.” Dr. Neve Gordon is a Professor of International Law at Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of "Israel’s Occupation" and co-author of "The Human Right to Dominate."

In the aftermath of the war on Gaza, a proposed “Board of Peace” emerged on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2025. The body was envisioned as a temporary entity with a two-year mandate to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and economic recovery. Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, discusses the proposed Board of Peace and examines the impact of the United States’ withdrawal from 31 United Nations entities, most of which focus on humanitarian aid, human rights, and climate change.

President Donald Trump stated that he was holding off on striking Iran out of respect for what he claimed was Iran’s agreement to cancel 800 executions of protesters. Separately, but around the same time, officials from several Arab countries—Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar—as well as Israel reportedly urged Trump not to strike Iran, citing fears of Iranian retaliation. Joining us to discuss the rapidly unfolding events in Iran is Dr. Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, a researcher and lecturer in Middle East international politics at the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He is the author of "Revolution and Its Discontents: Political Thought and Reform in Iran."

Dr. Andrew Hammond discusses the UAE’s notable involvement in multiple conflicts around the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, in partnership with Israel. The two small countries seek to maximize their regional power by controlling key positions along the Red Sea’s maritime corridor, while also gaining a foothold in Africa to secure future influence there. Dr. Hammond is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University.

On January 1, 2026, Israel banned 37 international humanitarian aid organizations from operating in Gaza. Among those affected were Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, Oxfam, Caritas, ActionAid, the International Rescue Committee, and World Vision. Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, explains the underlying reasons behind Israel’s ban and its impact on Gaza’s population.

Jess and Jamal look back at 2025 and the turmoil in the Middle East. While global attention remained fixed on Gaza, Israel accelerated land seizures in the West Bank. The year saw a record number of new settlement approvals, alongside a sharp rise in settler violence.

Dr. Ezequiel Jimenez discusses his article published in Opinio Juris, “The 24th Session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute: Time to Act.” In the article, he explains that, given the ICC’s current state of polycrisis, it is imperative for member states of the Rome Statute to take concrete action to confront the Court’s existential challenges rather than continue the status quo of issuing ineffective resolutions.

Supported by Israeli security forces and enabled by government policies, settler violence has become a central component of the Israeli state’s strategy to forcibly displace Palestinian communities in the occupied territory. This approach aims to establish full Israeli control over the area and facilitate further settlement expansion, despite such settlements being illegal under international law. Photojournalist Oren Ziv has extensively reported on settler attacks across the West Bank. His documentation shows that since October 7, more than 50 rural Palestinian communities have been emptied after residents were compelled to flee amid escalating assaults, threats, and harassment by Israeli settlers—almost always carried out with the backing of the army and police. Oren is a photojournalist and reporter for Local Call and +972 Magazine, as well as a co-founder of the ActiveStills photography collective. His work has also appeared in Al Jazeera, Vice, Tablet, and other publications.

A March 2025 report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry found that sexual violence by Israeli forces and settlers was extensive enough to be considered systematic. Dr. Samah Jabr, co-author of the paper "Torture as a Tool of Domination: The Logic Behind the Use of Torture Against Palestinians," discusses the long-term impact of sexual and gender-based violence used against Palestinians, especially children. Dr. Jabr is a world-renowned psychiatrist and writer who has spent more than twenty years practicing in the West Bank and Gaza. Her latest book is Radiance in Pain and Resilience.

After two years of relentless Israeli air and ground assaults on Gaza, much of the territory lies in ruins. Many of Gaza’s two million residents have been displaced and are struggling to secure basic necessities. Jaco Cilliers, the current Special Representative for the United Nations Development Programme’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP), outlines the vast scale of destruction in Gaza and the immense challenges involved in rebuilding even a semblance of normal life.

Jess and Jamal discuss the recent surge in Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, which have reached unprecedented levels. This escalation is marked by increased frequency, severity, and coordination—often occurring with the support or presence of Israeli security forces—and has led to casualties, widespread property destruction, and the displacement of numerous Palestinian communities. Recently, settlers have focused on preventing Palestinians from harvesting their olives, setting fires near churches and cemeteries, damaging olive groves, and harassing local residents.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has applied for a summons in the magistrate’s court in the United Kingdom in an initiative to prosecute a British citizen who they allege fought in the Israeli military against Palestine and Palestinians. It states that the individual was in breach of the UK’s Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870, which proscribes any British citizen from fighting in another country’s military against another country with which Britain is at peace. Jonathan Purcell, Head of Public Affairs and Communications for the ICJP elaborates on the case and the implications of what precedent a successful ruling could set.