How secure is Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 11 April 2024
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Six months into Israel’s war in Gaza and with no sign of a ceasefire or breakthrough in securing the release of the 130 hostages, as yet unaccounted for, pressure is mounting on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
There have been widespread protests in Tel Aviv and across Israel. There have been calls both from home and abroad for an early election to be called. And Israel’s greatest ally, the United States has sharpened its rhetoric in the past few weeks over Israel’s conduct of the war, with President Biden now saying that he believes Benjamin Netanyahu is making ‘a mistake’ in his handling of it.
For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister looks set to continue with his military offensive and has shown no indication so far that he is willing to step down or call an early election.
So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘How secure is Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership?’
Contributors: Professor David Tal, the Yossi Harel Chair in Modern Israel Studies, University of Sussex, UK Natan Sachs, Director of the Centre for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution, Washington DC, USA Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC, USA Professor Tamar Hermann, Senior Research Fellow, The Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem
Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey
Image credit: Reuters via BBC Images
Transcript
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| 0:26.4 | auction. Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:29.7 | Welcome to the Inquiry with me, Tanya Beckett. |
| 0:34.0 | One question, four expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:42.3 | On Saturday the 6th of April, Israel was rocked by mass demonstrations that took place right across the country. |
| 0:50.0 | Tens of thousands of Israelis turned out on the streets of Tel Aviv, thousands more in other locations. |
| 0:58.0 | The protests mark six months since October 7th when fighters linked to Hamas, designated by many |
| 1:05.7 | countries as a terrorist organization, killed according to Israeli figures, over |
| 1:11.4 | 1,200 people in Israel and abducted more than 250 more, mostly civilians. |
| 1:19.5 | Demonstrators are expressing their frustration at the Israeli government's failure to secure the release of the 130 hostages as yet unaccounted for. |
| 1:31.0 | Many others simply want the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and are calling for national elections. |
| 1:39.0 | There's also increasing pressure on the Israeli leader from abroad over the country's war in Gaza. |
| 1:46.3 | Not only the mounting death toll which the Hamas-run health ministry now puts at over 33,000, but also the dire humanitarian situation. |
| 1:57.0 | This has prompted Israel's greatest ally the United States |
| 2:01.0 | to press for a ceasefire and suggest that strings could soon be attached |
| 2:05.1 | to its supply of weapons. But Israel's Prime Minister insists he plans to |
... |
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