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Thousands demonstrated against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a demand for an immediate hostage deal, ceasefire and general elections in the state of Israel. Clashes with the Israeli police occured after protestors had set up a bonfire in front of the IDF headquarters and then blocked the Ayalon highway. Tel Aviv, Israel. March 16th 2024.

Matan Golan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Bibi unfazed by domestic and international pressure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to budge, despite protests in Israel’s streets and calls for change within the US Congress. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — America’s highest-ranking Jewish politician — recently called on Israel to hold fresh elections, stating that Bibi has “lost his way.” This weekend, thousands of Israelis demonstrated to demand early elections and the release of hostages — with protesters in Tel Aviv being met by water canons.

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Jess Frampton

Biden and Trudeau face headwinds … from Gaza

Last Thursday, after Joe Biden promised during his State of the Union to build a pier to deliver aid to Gaza, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet shook the president’s hand, congratulated him on the speech, and urged him to push Israel to do more on “humanitarian stuff.”

Biden, caught on a hot mic, nodded in agreement and said he was pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I told him, Bibi, don’t repeat this, but we are going to have a come-to-Jesus meeting.”

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Yuval Noah Harari on the perils of viewing Israel-Palestine through the 'victimhood' context
Harari on the perils of viewing Israel-Palestine through the 'victimhood' context | GZERO World

Yuval Noah Harari on the perils of viewing Israel-Palestine through the 'victimhood' context

In a wide-ranging conversation with Ian Bremmer, filmed live at the historic 92nd Street Y in NYC, bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari discusses the profound role narratives play in conflict resolution and identity politics. It’s through this framing that Harari and Ian address the latest conflict between Israel and Gaza. Victimhood, Harari posits, often comes with an element of truth, but it carries the danger of absolving individuals or nations of responsibility. "If you think about yourself primarily as a victim, it relieves you of all responsibility," he explains.

Bremmer also presses Harari on the notion of narratives, and particularly, how to distinguish between patriotism and nationalism. Harari describes patriotism as the love for a unique group and a willingness to do more for them, akin to how we treat our families. Nationalism, however, turns perilous when it crosses into supremacism — when love for one's group becomes an excuse to despise and discriminate against others. Harari asserts, "It becomes dangerous when we start saying this group of people, they are not just unique. They are superior."

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A crane moves humanitarian aid for Gaza in a joint mission between NGOs Open Arms and World Central Kitchen at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, March 8, 2024.

Santi Palacios/Open Arms-World Central Kitchen/Handout via REUTERS

Aid trickles into Gaza – but how’s it getting there?

Amid warnings that close to 600,000 Gazans face famine, the World Food Programme said six of its trucks managed to enter northern Gaza for just the first time in three weeks on Wednesday.

What aid is actually getting into the enclave, and by what routes?

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Jess Frampton

Gaza caught in the crossfire as Hamas, Israel, and the US near an impasse

The war in Gaza continues, and there are reasons to believe it’s going to persist for a long time still.

There had been a lot of hope that Israel and Hamas would have made a breakthrough deal by now trading an extended (albeit temporary) cease-fire lasting some six weeks for the release of a significant number of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Just a week ago, it seemed likely that such an agreement would be reached before the start of Ramadan after Israel reportedly accepted the terms put forward by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.

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Muslim worshippers participate in the evening 'Tarawih' prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, at the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem on March 10, 2024.

REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Will tensions burst at Al-Aqsa Mosque?

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Monday that the restrictions Israel is imposing on access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, which Jews call the Temple Mount, during Ramadan could lead to an “explosion.” Israeli police reportedly stopped thousands of Palestinians from praying at Islam’s third-holiest site on the first night of Ramadan, occasionally using batons to beat back crowds.

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Israel, Hamas and US in impasse over cease-fire deal
US-Israel in impasse over cease-fire deal | Ian Bremmer | Quick Take

Israel, Hamas and US in impasse over cease-fire deal

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hi everybody. Ian Bremmer here and a Quick Take to kick off your week. And I want to talk a little bit about the Middle East because the war is very much still going on.

There's been hope, a lot of hope that we would have had a breakthrough deal for an extended cease fire, not a permanent cease fire, the cease fire of some six weeks, and that in return, significant numbers, dozens of the hostages that are still held after many months by Hamas in Gaza would have been released to their families in Israel. That has not happened. And it's not happened in large part because Hamas has refused to continue to negotiate. They basically said we want a permanent cease fire or nothing. And they are essentially daring the Israelis to go ahead with ground strikes in Rafah, where we have about 1.5 million Palestinians that are sheltering. “I have nowhere to go.” And the Americans are very unhappy with the idea that the Israelis would engage in that battle without having a plan for evacuation and protecting those civilians. Hamas is saying “go for it if that's what you want to do.” They're putting, as they have all the way through, their civilians at maximum risk. They're not trying to defend them.

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Yuval Noah Harari explains why the world isn't fair (but could be)
Yuval Noah Harari explains why the world isn't fair (but could be) | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Yuval Noah Harari explains why the world isn't fair (but could be)

In a wide-ranging conversation with Ian Bremmer, filmed live at the historic 92nd Street Y in NYC, bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari delves into the foundational role of storytelling in human civilization, the existential challenges posed by artificial intelligence, the geopolitical implications of the Ukraine war, and the most pressing questions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Harari argues that unlike other species, humans have thrived on their unique ability to construct and believe in shared stories, which has underpinned the formation of societies, governments, and laws. However, this same capability has led to wars, inequality, and exploitation. “Humans don't fight over territory and food,” Harari tells Bremmer. They fight over imaginary stories in their minds."

Harari and Ian discuss the current global crises, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as moments where humanity's collaborative superpower appears to falter. On the Ukraine war, he says that the implications of a Russian victory would spell the end of the global order as we know it. "We could already be in the midst of World War III that started on the 24th of February 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and we just don't know it yet."

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