Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: Israel has re-embraced Hamas rule in Gaza
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 9 May 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
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Summary
Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, the head of Realign for Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse.
This week, the Board of Peace’s top Gaza envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, is in Israel in an attempt to kick-start the Trump peace plan. He has previously urged the international community to pressure the Hamas Palestinian terror group to disarm and prevent another cycle of violence in the Gaza Strip.
This week, we hear why Alkhatib believes the current stalemate in Gaza is being embraced by both Hamas and official Israel.
But first, Alkhatib paints a dismal picture of life in the Strip -- rat infestations, sewage in the streets and a strong Hamas presence on the ground.
We learn about the recent elections for Hamas leadership and hear background about the leading candidates.
Finally, among all the darkness, Alkhatib shares pinpoints of light from among the people who are still not cowed by the terrorist regime.
And so this week, we ask Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, what matters now?
What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel is What Matters now, a weekly podcast looking at one issue affecting Israel and the Jewish world right now. |
| 0:12.2 | I'm your host deputy editor Amanda Borschal Dan here in Jerusalem, but joined from Washington by Ahmed Fuad al-Khattib, the head of Realign for Palestine, which is an Atlantic |
| 0:23.5 | Council project. Ahmed, as usual, thank you so much for joining me today. |
| 0:28.0 | Always a pleasure. Thanks for having me again. |
| 0:30.0 | Such a pleasure, always to speak with you, though I am afraid once again that the content |
| 0:34.5 | of our discussion will be rather grim, as we're hearing reports from |
| 0:38.5 | Gaza of rat infestations, of sewage in the streets, what's left of the streets, of the people |
| 0:44.8 | in complete disarray, and really suffering under the still armed Hamas, shall we call it government? |
| 0:52.5 | I guess we'll call it government. |
| 0:53.8 | They just had elections, |
| 0:54.9 | right, Ahmed? So we're going to talk about all of that and more when we're back. |
| 1:05.5 | I believe the world is fundamentally perfect and the world is fundamentally broken. |
| 1:10.8 | This is adapting the world is fundamentally broken. |
| 1:13.3 | This is adapting the future of Jewish education. |
| 1:16.7 | Join me, Samantha Vennikor-Mindak of the Jewish Education Project and CEO David Breitman every week with an expert guest |
| 1:20.0 | as we discuss the biggest challenges, nuances, and opportunities in Jewish education. |
| 1:24.9 | Israel is a miracle, but Israel is also a country. |
| 1:28.1 | Here is the thing. I think Iranian Jews are the way |
| 1:31.2 | American Jews were in the 1960s and early 70s. |
| 1:35.9 | Adapting isn't just a podcast. |
| 1:37.5 | It's where the boldest ideas for securing our Jewish future |
| 1:40.1 | through the power of education come to life. |
... |
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