Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz's Amira Hass to discuss the recent demonstrations in the Palestinian territories and the Palestinian Authority's violent repression of those protests. We ask: What role does the Israeli occupation play in Mahmoud Abbas' ability to crush dissent? How is the Palestinian national struggle also a struggle for democracy? And why are Palestinian security forces targeting women?

Host Simon Spungin is joined by Haaretz's <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/WRITER-1.4968114">Amira Hass</a> to discuss the<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-confident-of-support-from-the-west-the-pa-suppresses-protests-violently-1.9946744"> recent demonstrations</a> in the Palestinian territories and the Palestinian Authority's <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-death-of-an-abbas-opponent-in-palestinian-detention-stokes-revulsion-toward-his-rule-1.9941098">violent repression</a> of those protests. We ask: What role does the Israeli occupation play in Mahmoud Abbas' ability to crush dissent? How is the Palestinian national struggle also a struggle for democracy? And why are Palestinian security forces <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-as-palestinians-protest-death-of-an-abbas-opponent-women-are-assaulted-in-response-1.9966244">targeting women</a>?

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – a weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

Your audio guide to Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Haaretz Podcast

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer. 

From Haaretz – Israel's oldest daily newspaper – the Haaretz weekly podcast in English on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, hosted by Allison Kaplan Sommer.

How Israel, Fatah and the PA join forces to silence Palestinian protest: LISTEN to Amira Hass

For B'Tselem executive director Yuli Novak, the firestorm around the New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof decrying sexual violence by Israelis against Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israeli prisons has had the wrong focus. 

Speaking on the Haaretz Podcast, Novak said the Israeli government’s "propaganda machine" and other critics focused on challenging the facts regarding the abuse described in the piece, which she says are backed up by "dozens of testimonies" collected by her organization. 

"I would say it's much less a question whether these things [sexual abuse of Palestinians] are happening or not happening, and much more about what it means for all of us, and first and foremost for the victims."

In its report on prisons, based on testimonies from Palestinians detained and then released from 16 detention facilities after October 7, B’Tselem documented "ongoing torture, physical and mental" abuse and the use of starvation and denial of medical treatment "as a policy." 

B’Tselem’s conclusion: that these facilities represented "a network of torture camps," which Novak admitted "was hard to grasp as an Israeli. For me – torture camps have been something that happens somewhere else." 

October 7 had been an opportunity and a “catalyst” for right-wing extremists in the government to influence policies in the direction of “their nationalist, racist, and in the case of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the prison system – I would even say their sadistic agenda,” Novak said.

“We can keep telling ourselves that we're a democracy, but if Israel, holding almost half of its population under its control without the right to go and vote for the system that governs them, it's not a democracy.”

Read more: 

B'Tselem Report: Testimonies Describe 'Pattern of Sexual Violence' Against Palestinian Prisoners

UN Secretary-General Report Accuses Israeli Forces of Rape, Sexual Abuse of Palestinian Detainees

Ben-Gvir Is Not Alone: These Are His Collaborators in the Illegal Treatment of Palestinian Prisoners

Op-ed by Yuli Novak: Even if You Call Israel a Democracy, It Is Still Apartheid

Israel Must Let Red Cross Visit Palestinian Security Prisoners, High Court Rules

Read B'Tselem's full report on Israeli prisons as a network of torture camps

For B'Tselem executive director Yuli Novak, the firestorm around the New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof decrying sexual violence by Israelis against Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israeli prisons has had the wrong focus.&nbsp;
Speaking on the Haaretz Podcast, Novak said the Israeli government&rsquo;s "propaganda machine" and other critics focused on challenging the facts regarding the abuse described in the piece, which she says are backed up by "dozens of testimonies" collected by her organization.&nbsp;
"I would say it's much less a question whether these things [sexual abuse of Palestinians] are happening or not happening, and much more about what it means for all of us, and first and foremost for the victims."
In its report on prisons, based on testimonies from Palestinians detained and then released from 16 detention facilities after October 7, B&rsquo;Tselem documented "ongoing torture, physical and mental" abuse and the use of starvation and denial of medical treatment "as a policy."&nbsp;
B&rsquo;Tselem&rsquo;s conclusion: that these facilities represented "a network of torture camps," which Novak admitted "was hard to grasp as an Israeli. For me &ndash; torture camps have been something that happens somewhere else."&nbsp;
October 7 had been an opportunity and a &ldquo;catalyst&rdquo; for right-wing extremists in the government to influence policies in the direction of &ldquo;their nationalist, racist, and in the case of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the prison system &ndash; I would even say their sadistic agenda,&rdquo; Novak said.
&ldquo;We can keep telling ourselves that we're a democracy, but if Israel, holding almost half of its population under its control without the right to go and vote for the system that governs them, it's not a democracy.&rdquo;
Read more:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2026-01-21/ty-article/.premium/israeli-rights-group-survey-finds-evidence-of-sexual-abuse-of-palestinian-prisoners/0000019b-e08e-d253-a19f-e49fb1dd0000">B'Tselem Report: Testimonies Describe 'Pattern of Sexual Violence' Against Palestinian Prisoners</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-politics/2026-05-29/ty-article/.premium/un-report-accuses-israeli-forces-of-rape-sexual-abuse-of-palestinian-detainees/0000019e-727d-de7e-abfe-f27d5d0f0000">UN Secretary-General Report Accuses Israeli Forces of Rape, Sexual Abuse of Palestinian Detainees</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-06-02/ty-article-opinion/.premium/ben-gvir-has-accomplices-in-the-illegal-treatment-of-palestinian-prisoners/0000019e-8267-d311-adff-9bef07ef0000">Ben-Gvir Is Not Alone: These Are His Collaborators in the Illegal Treatment of Palestinian Prisoners</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026-05-19/ty-article-opinion/.premium/even-if-you-call-israel-a-democracy-it-is-still-apartheid/0000019e-3c2a-d87c-a1ff-3efb724c0000">Op-ed by Yuli Novak: Even if You Call Israel a Democracy, It Is Still Apartheid</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-crime/2026-06-03/ty-article/.premium/israel-must-let-red-cross-visit-palestinian-security-prisoners-high-court-rules/0000019e-8ea4-da37-a19f-ceaedeb20000">Israel Must Let Red Cross Visit Palestinian Security Prisoners, High Court Rules</a>
<a href="https://www.btselem.org/publications/202601_living_hell">Read B'Tselem's full report on Israeli prisons as a network of torture camps</a>

'Nations committing genocide don’t recognize it in real time': Yuli Novak on Israel’s moral crisis

The Gulf countries are spending “enormous amounts of money to try to mask the economic consequences of the Iran war from their population,” Gregg Carlstrom, The Economist’s Middle East correspondent, said on the Haaretz Podcast.

Carlstrom, speaking from Dubai, explained that with the Strait of Hormuz blocked by Iran, Gulf states are flying in consumer goods, food and medicine normally imported by ship “at a huge expense” so their citizens don’t experience shortages or empty shelves in stores. 

However, he warned, by the end of the summer, if the security situation remains precarious and the Strait remains blocked – and especially if active warfare with Iran is renewed – the economic toll will be impossible to avoid, and these countries will worry about their many expat residents packing up and leaving. 

In a conversation with Haaretz Podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Carlstrom described a “roller coaster” of changing attitudes in the Gulf States regarding the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict. 

Initially, in March, he said, when the fighting was at its peak, leaders of most of the Gulf countries were “quietly urging the Trump administration to keep fighting until the Iranian regime was overthrown or severely weakened.” By now, he said, the U.S. president “really has lost the support he had in the Gulf,” as leaders unanimously tell Trump that “this needs to end.”  

The same leaders, he said, are harboring “anger at Israel” for what they see as its “major role in pushing America into this war.” As a result, he said, he is skeptical of an expansion of the Abraham Accords, as promised by Trump, in the near future. 

On the podcast, Carlstrom also discusses the expanding confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the failed negotiations to end it due to what he sees as the “poor job” Lebanon is doing managing its relationship with the United States.

Read more:

Israeli Plans for Beirut Strike Place Strain on U.S.-Iran Diplomacy

How Israel's Adventures in Lebanon Are Giving Iran a Second Chance

Report: Satellite Images Show Iran Clearing Entrances to Missile Facilities Buried in Strikes

A 'Stupid, Futile Waste of Lives': The Empty Triumph of Israel's Latest Conquest in Lebanon

Report: UAE Carried Out Dozens of Strikes on Iran in Coordination With Israel and U.S.

The Gulf countries are spending &ldquo;enormous amounts of money to try to mask the economic consequences of the Iran war from their population,&rdquo; Gregg Carlstrom, The Economist&rsquo;s Middle East correspondent, said on the Haaretz Podcast.
Carlstrom, speaking from Dubai, explained that with the Strait of Hormuz blocked by Iran, Gulf states are flying in consumer goods, food and medicine normally imported by ship &ldquo;at a huge expense&rdquo; so their citizens don&rsquo;t experience shortages or empty shelves in stores.&nbsp;
However, he warned, by the end of the summer, if the security situation remains precarious and the Strait remains blocked &ndash; and especially if active warfare with Iran is renewed &ndash; the economic toll will be impossible to avoid, and these countries will worry about their many expat residents packing up and leaving.&nbsp;
In a conversation with Haaretz Podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Carlstrom described a &ldquo;roller coaster&rdquo; of changing attitudes in the Gulf States regarding the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict.&nbsp;
Initially, in March, he said, when the fighting was at its peak, leaders of most of the Gulf countries were &ldquo;quietly urging the Trump administration to keep fighting until the Iranian regime was overthrown or severely weakened.&rdquo; By now, he said, the U.S. president &ldquo;really has lost the support he had in the Gulf,&rdquo; as leaders unanimously tell Trump that &ldquo;this needs to end.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The same leaders, he said, are harboring &ldquo;anger at Israel&rdquo; for what they see as its &ldquo;major role in pushing America into this war.&rdquo; As a result, he said, he is skeptical of an expansion of the Abraham Accords, as promised by Trump, in the near future.&nbsp;
On the podcast, Carlstrom also discusses the expanding confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the failed negotiations to end it due to what he sees as the &ldquo;poor job&rdquo; Lebanon is doing managing its relationship with the United States.
Read more:
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/2026-06-01/ty-article/.premium/conflicting-u-s-positions-israeli-attacks-on-lebanon-delay-diplomacy/0000019e-82fb-da5c-a9bf-dfffc25e0000">Israeli Plans for Beirut Strike Place Strain on U.S.-Iran Diplomacy</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/lebanonnews/2026-06-02/ty-article/.premium/israels-rigid-stance-is-helping-iran-tighten-its-grip-on-lebanon/0000019e-8707-db6c-adff-bfff8cec0000">How Israel's Adventures in Lebanon Are Giving Iran a Second Chance</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/2026-05-31/ty-article/report-images-show-iran-clearing-missile-facilities-buried-in-strikes/0000019e-7e8a-d4d4-a59e-7fbb3b6f0000">Report: Satellite Images Show Iran Clearing Entrances to Missile Facilities Buried in Strikes</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-06-01/ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-empty-triumph-of-israels-latest-conquest-in-lebanon/0000019e-826a-d16e-a9be-e2eb65450000">A 'Stupid, Futile Waste of Lives': The Empty Triumph of Israel's Latest Conquest in Lebanon</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/2026-05-29/ty-article/report-uae-struck-iran-dozens-of-times-in-coordination-with-israel-and-u-s/0000019e-74d6-dc57-a7be-ffffa9e70000">Report: UAE Carried Out Dozens of Strikes on Iran in Coordination With Israel and U.S.</a>

‘There’s a lot of anger at Israel in the Gulf’: Gregg Carlstrom on Lebanon, Gaza and the cease-fire with Iran that feels like war 

Both of Israel’s wars in Iran have been “strategic failures” and critically damaged the country’s deterrence, Danny Citrinowicz, a former top Iran expert in Israeli military intelligence, told the Haaretz Podcast. 

He cited a long list of missteps and misguided assumptions that led to the failure of the solo military operation in 2025 and the joint U.S. attack in February.

“We overestimated air power and underestimated Iranian resilience,” Citrinowicz said, resulting in the “worst possible strategic reality, with a more extreme, decentralized regime in Tehran,” and heightened tensions with the U.S. – all while highlighting Israel’s dependence on the U.S. as a weakness.

While Iran once feared an attack by Israel, he noted, its leaders have now learned that they can be attacked by the two strongest air forces in the world and emerge with its regime intact, as well as “the capacity to launch missiles and drones, and theoretically has the potential to move to a nuclear bomb.”

Moreover, in a boomerang effect, he noted, wars launched to deter Iran’s nuclear program have likely intensified Tehran’s motivation to acquire nuclear capacity in order to prevent future attacks. 

In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Citrinowicz – a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies – also discussed the intensifying conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s continued belief that Saudi Arabia will soon join the Abraham Accords, which he called a hope “detached from reality.” 

Read more: 

Iran and U.S. Trade Air Strikes After Trump Dismisses Report of Hormuz Deal

Trump's Iran Deal: Netanyahu's 2018 Dream Is The World's 2026 Nightmare

Analysis | Israel Demands to Disarm Its Regional Enemies, but Refuses to Pay the Price

Trump: Not Sure Iran Deal Possible Unless Saudis, Qatar Join Abraham Accords

U.S. May Need Years to Rebuild Weapons Stockpiles Depleted in Iran War, Report Says

Both of Israel&rsquo;s wars in Iran have been &ldquo;strategic failures&rdquo; and critically damaged the country&rsquo;s deterrence, Danny Citrinowicz, a former top Iran expert in Israeli military intelligence, told the Haaretz Podcast.&nbsp;
He cited a long list of missteps and misguided assumptions that led to the failure of the solo military operation in 2025 and the joint U.S. attack in February.
&ldquo;We overestimated air power and underestimated Iranian resilience,&rdquo; Citrinowicz said, resulting in the &ldquo;worst possible strategic reality, with a more extreme, decentralized regime in Tehran,&rdquo; and heightened tensions with the U.S. &ndash; all while highlighting Israel&rsquo;s dependence on the U.S. as a weakness.
While Iran once feared an attack by Israel, he noted, its leaders have now learned that they can be attacked by the two strongest air forces in the world and emerge with its regime intact, as well as &ldquo;the capacity to launch missiles and drones, and theoretically has the potential to move to a nuclear bomb.&rdquo;
Moreover, in a boomerang effect, he noted, wars launched to deter Iran&rsquo;s nuclear program have likely intensified Tehran&rsquo;s motivation to acquire nuclear capacity in order to prevent future attacks.&nbsp;
In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Citrinowicz &ndash; a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies &ndash; also discussed the intensifying conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and U.S. President Donald Trump&rsquo;s continued belief that Saudi Arabia will soon join the Abraham Accords, which he called a hope &ldquo;detached from reality.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Read more:&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/2026-05-28/ty-article/iran-and-u-s-trade-air-strikes-after-trump-dismisses-report-of-hormuz-deal/0000019e-6d12-da7d-a1bf-fd939a060000">Iran and U.S. Trade Air Strikes After Trump Dismisses Report of Hormuz Deal</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2026-05-26/ty-article-magazine/.premium/trumps-iran-deal-netanyahus-2018-dream-is-the-worlds-2026-nightmare/0000019e-635d-d38b-a3df-7bdd153e0000">Trump's Iran Deal: Netanyahu's 2018 Dream Is&nbsp;The World's 2026 Nightmare</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-05-20/ty-article/.premium/israel-demands-to-disarm-its-regional-enemies-but-refuses-to-pay-the-price/0000019e-4489-db94-ad9f-cd9b7cc70000">Analysis |&nbsp;Israel Demands to Disarm Its Regional Enemies, but Refuses to Pay the Price</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/2026-05-27/ty-article/.premium/trump-not-sure-iran-deal-possible-unless-saudis-qatar-join-abraham-accords/0000019e-6a37-de90-a7be-fa37016b0000">Trump: Not Sure Iran Deal Possible Unless Saudis, Qatar Join Abraham Accords</a>
<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/2026-05-27/ty-article/.premium/u-s-needs-years-to-rebuild-weapons-stockpiles-depleted-in-iran-war-report-says/0000019e-69ed-d1b9-a9bf-f9ede9010000">U.S. May Need Years to Rebuild Weapons Stockpiles Depleted in Iran War, Report Says</a>

How Israel, Fatah and the PA join forces to silence Palestinian protest: LISTEN to Amira Hass

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