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Armed Israeli settlers backed by the military and government have continued to escalate attacks on Palestinians living in the West Bank in recent weeks, attacking villages and towns amid an ongoing push to assert Israeli sovereignty over the territory. At the same time, there are indications that the “wall of fear” among Palestinians in the West Bank has begun to crumble—as individual Palestinians have engaged in increasingly bold efforts to defend their homes and communities against armed attacks.
On this week’s stream, Murtaza Hussain and Maysa Mustafa discuss the situation in the West Bank with Abdaljawad Omar, a professor at Birzeit University in the West Bank.
Later in the show, Murtaza discusses the youth-led, “Cockroach Movement” protests in India against corruption and economic inequality with guests Akshay Marathe, former national spokesperson for India’s Aam Aadmi Party, and journalist Meghnad Bose.


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As the U.S. continues to carry out an air campaign against Iran and attempts to wrest back control of the Strait of Hormuz, the war is already reshaping the future of Gulf Arab states that rely on the critical waterway as well as the protection of U.S. military bases in the region.
On this week’s stream, Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain discuss the impact of the war on the GCC states with Amir Handjani, an analyst on the region and board member at the Quincy Institute.
Grim and Hussain also discuss the upcoming Democratic primary races in Michigan with progressive 7th Congressional District candidate Will Lawrence, as well as Michigan political reporter Sam Robinson.
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On this week’s stream, Rep. Ro Khanna describes being detained by Israeli settlers backed by the Israeli army in the West Bank earlier this month—and talks about his meetings with Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Khanna and Drop Site co-founder Jeremy Scahill debate Palestinian armed resistance, the Iron Dome, and Congress’s role.
Then: As the FIFA World Cup enters its final week, visiting teams and fans have been subject to discriminatory treatment or bans by the U.S. FIFA has been accused of increasingly corrupt practices, poor officiating in matches has grown into accusations of systemic bias, and the issue of Palestine has been raised. Drop Site’s Sharif Abdel Kouddous speaks with Abdullah Al-Arian, a professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar and editor of the book “Football in the Middle East: State, Society, and the Beautiful Game” about the politics of the World Cup.
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Since October 7, 2023 and the launch of the genocidal war on Gaza, the U.S. and Israel have manufactured a reality in the Middle East—a new reality in which ceasefires have been redefined as a diplomatic cudgel to incapacitate any resistance to Israel’s wars and force surrender. Israel can continue its attacks, claiming self defense, while local, indigenous forces or resistance groups must adhere to not only the terms of the so-called agreements, but also to submit to new and evolving demands.
Nowhere has this dynamic this been more pronounced than in the case of the Gaza ceasefire signed in October 2025. On the Drop Site News livestream, Diana Buttu, Palestinian human rights lawyer and a former legal advisor and negotiator for the Palestine Liberation Organization, speaks to Jeremy Scahill about the state of negotiations with Trump’s Board of “Peace.” Buttu and Scahill analyze the latest developments, including Israeli media predictions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—currently campaigning for re-election—may launch another massive military operation in Gaza.
Meanwhile, as millions of people gather in Iran for the multi-day funeral procession for the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the future of the fragile Memorandum of Understanding between Tehran and the Trump administration hangs in the balance. President Donald Trump expressed surprise at the size of the crowds in Iran, saying he thought people hated Khamenei. For Iran’s leaders, the funeral has served as both an act of defiance and a warning to the U.S. and Israel.
Vali Nasr, Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins, joins Scahill and Murtaza Hussain for a wide-ranging discussion on Khamenei’s life and legacy. Nasr, whose latest book is “Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History,” also discusses the state of the Iran MOU, the prospects for a broader agreement and how Iran’s government would navigate attempts by the White House to strip Iran of its negotiating leverage.
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In mid-June, the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding that was formally intended to bring a halt to the war and open a path for negotiations on a range of issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran, however, made clear that it would not proceed to any long-term deal unless the U.S. compelled Israel to end its war against Lebanon. Since the signing of the MOU, Israel has maneuvered to ensure its forces can remain entrenched in Lebanon and worked with the Trump administration to delink Hezbollah from the Iran deal. Hezbollah formally entered the war on March 2 and Iran has insisted that the ceasefire must apply not only to Iran, but to southern Lebanon as well. Israel and the U.S., however, embarked on an alternative path aimed at enlisting the Lebanese government as their local partner in a campaign aimed at disarming and dismantling Hezbollah.
A subsequent “framework,” signed on June 26, between Israel and Lebanon appears to have succeeded in laying the foundations. The text portrays Hezbollah as an illegal insurgent movement and enables Israeli forces to remain indefinitely in Lebanon until Lebanese Armed Forces enact the “successful disarmament of non-state armed groups and dismantlement of their infrastructure.” Only after this is accomplished, would Israeli occupation forces “progressively redeploy out of the Lebanese territory.”
As the U.S. and Iran continue indirect technical talks, there are mounting concerns in Tehran that Trump is simply using the negotiations to prepare for a resumption of the war. Tehran has also said that it will not stand idly by as Israel continues its attacks on Lebanon, pointing out that the MOU explicitly commits the U.S. to end the war.
Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill spoke with Amal Saad, a lecturer on international relations and politics at Cardiff University in the UK who is writing a book on Hezbollah and the Axis of Resistance. In a wide-ranging discussion, Saad offers a comprehensive analysis of the U.S.-Israeli campaign to co-opt the Lebanese government into the war against Hezbollah. They also discuss Iran’s regional and global position in the post-October 7 world, and Saad explains why she believes another war on Iran is inevitable.
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