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Who's winning the Israel-Palestine information war?
To fully grasp why the Gaza war remains so far from a peaceful resolution, you need to understand the codependency between Israel's Far Right and Hamas. So says Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman on "GZERO World."
Watch full episode here: How the Israel-Gaza war could end - if Netanyahu wants it to
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
What would an Israel-Palestine solution look like?
Imagine if it were possible. What would a post-war Palestinian resolution to the Gaza conflict actually look like? Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas L Friedman games that out for Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Friedman breaks it down. "Two stages. First stage is the UAE, Egypt and Jordan agree to send troops to Gaza to provide security in a transition after Israel would pull back with American logistical help." Friedman also lays out what the Palestinians themselves would have to do to ensure an enduring peace. "And the thing that the Palestinians would do is I believe reconvene the PLO, the umbrella, the sole legitimate organization, which means the umbrella organization to legitimate to nominate a Palestinian government of technocrats."Watch full episode here: How the Israel-Gaza war could end - if Netanyahu wants it to
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
How the Israel-Gaza war could end - if Netanyahu wants it to
How close is the Gaza war to ending? “Nowhere” says Pulitzer-prize winning author and New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman. In a wide-ranging interview with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, Friedman games out a possible resolution to the war (as far-fetched as it may seem right now) and explains why both Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Hamas are obstacles to peace. Key to understanding this, Friedman says, is grasping the “codependency” that Netanyahu and Hamas share.
"Netanyahu always understood that... having a strong Hamas in Gaza is the best way to ensure a weak Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.” And even if he wanted to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict, Friedman explains, Netanyahu is paralyzed to do so because of his own precarious political position. “He is hostage to a Far Right in his coalition that has told him... progress toward a unified Palestinian position is a no-go, we'll throw you out of power."
Friedman and Ian also talk about how the US-Israel relationship is as tense as it has ever been. As Ian explains early in the episode, “The Biden administration is losing patience with its closest ally in the Middle East." And yet, the flow of weaponry and money to Jerusalem from Washington remains unabated. It's clear that the path to peace remains elusive. The voices of moderation and diplomacy are more critical than ever, Friedman says. But in the meantime, all signs point to more bloodshed and a new generation of Israelis and Palestinians who will grow up hating each other.
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
Author Thomas Friedman on how the Gaza war could end
Listen: On this episode of the GZERO World Podcast, while the Gaza war rages on with no end in sight, Ian Bremmer and three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman discuss how it could end, who is standing in the way, and what comes next.
Currently, a rift between the Biden administration and the Israeli government over how to handle the conflict is widening. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including nearly 14,000 children, according to local health officials and the United Nations. And over a hundred Israelis remain hostages of Hamas. And to make matters worse, just this week, thousands of Israelis took to the streets to call for Netanyahu’s ouster, an Israeli airstrike in Damascus killed several top Iranian commanders (threatening a wider regional escalation), and another Israeli strike in Gaza killed seven aid workers in a food convoy for the nonprofit, World Central Kitchen.
It may seem premature to talk about a resolution to this conflict, but Friedman argues that it is more important now than ever to map out a viable endgame. "Either we're going to go into 2024 with some really new ideas,” Friedman tells Ian, “or we're going back to 1947 with some really new weapons."
Also, Friedman emphasizes the "codependency" between Netanyahu and Hamas, noting Bibi’s reliance on a right-wing coalition opposed to any progress toward Palestinian unity.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.
Ian Explains: Why Israel's Netanyahu continues to antagonize Biden on Gaza
What is Bibi thinking? Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.
As the Gaza war enters its seventh bloody month, leaders in Washington, Jerusalem, and Gaza are asking what is motivating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu. And while we can't read his mind, we can follow what he's saying. "Our goal is to destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas in Gaza" Netanyahu recently said. "There is no substitute for victory."
Israel has launched over 30,000 airstrikes on Gaza since the war began on October 7, killing more than thirty thousand Palestinians, including 14,000 children. Meanwhile, over a hundred Israeli citizens remain Hamas hostages. And according to US intelligence, Israeli Defense Forces have only managed to destroy about 30% of Hamas leadership in those six months. Victory, in short, remains a long way off.
This leads back to the original question: What is Bibi thinking? Well, he's doing what he knows best: holding onto power. To remain prime minister, he must appease a governing coalition of hard-right religious nationalist parties that are resolutely opposed to a ceasefire, not to mention any long-term political settlement with the Palestinians. While the Gaza war is becoming increasingly unpopular internationally, within Israel, there remains a broad base of support for it. And finally, Netanyahu and Biden both know that regardless of internal frustrations, the US will continue to supply Israel with billions of dollars in military backing.
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
- Netanyahu flirts with a lengthy stay in Gaza ›
- How Netanyahu used Hamas to avoid talks of a two-state solution ›
- Netanyahu’s failed Gaza strategy ›
- Friedman: Netanyahu is no longer at the wheel ›
- Yuval Noah Harari: Netanyahu's 'Deep State' fears enabled Oct 7 attack ›
- Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu hostage to far-right coalition, says author Friedman - GZERO Media ›
- Author Thomas Friedman on how the Gaza war could end - GZERO Media ›
- Ukraine will define the future of NATO - GZERO Media ›
Friedman: Netanyahu is no longer at the wheel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu has said that the only way the war in Gaza will end is with the complete destruction of Hamas, the pro-Palestinian terrorist group that controls Gaza and was behind the October 7 attack.
But Pulitzer prize-winning author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues that much of the horror that's played out in Gaza over the past six months goes back to a devil's bargain that Bibi has maintained with Hamas over the past fifteen years. "Netanyahu always understood that ... having a strong Hamas in Gaza is the best way to ensure a weak Palestinian Authority in the West Bank." In a wide-ranging interview for this week's episode of GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with Friedman to try to chart out an imaginable (and palatable) ending to the Middle East's bloodiest war in years. "[Netanyahu] is now hostage to a far-right in his coalition that has told him that anything that smacks of a Palestinian state or even progress toward a Palestinian state...is a no-go. We'll throw you out of power.'"
So what can people do who consider themselves both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian? "The most important thing you can do to be pro-Israeli, " Friedman tells Bremmer, "...is to be for the removal of Bibi Netanyahu by the Israeli people." And the most pro-Palestinian thing you can do? "Be against Hamas and for the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah....Because if that project succeeds or makes progress, many more things are possible in terms of what can happen between the Israelis and Palestinians."
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
- Netanyahu: “Now is the time for war” ›
- Netanyahu escalates feud with the White House ›
- Yuval Noah Harari: Netanyahu's 'Deep State' fears enabled Oct 7 attack ›
- Netanyahu and Hamas both won, Israelis and Palestinians lost ›
- Why Israel's Netanyahu continues to antagonize Biden on Gaza - GZERO Media ›
- Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu hostage to far-right coalition, says author Friedman - GZERO Media ›
- Author Thomas Friedman on how the Gaza war could end - GZERO Media ›