The UK politics of Israel-Palestine
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 16 October 2023
⏱️ 40 minutes
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Summary
Over the weekend, Palestinian flags flooded central London as thousands marched for 'Free Palestine'. But has legitimate support for the rights of Palestinian citizens been merged with more sinister support, or acquiescence of, the presence of Hamas, a deeply illiberal, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-semitic terrorist organisation, in Gaza and the Palestinian territories?
And as Israel starts to evacuate parts of the north of the country - is Hezbollah - the Islamist militant group in Lebanon far stronger than Hamas with equal hate for everything Jewish and Israeli - about to get heavily involved in what could soon become a regional war? We ask former UK Ambassador in Beirut, British diplomat Tom Fletcher.
Poland went to the polls over the weekend - and voted in their masses for more pro-European, less far-right governance. We talk to Jakub Krupa, Polish journalist, about what this means.
And another MP is suspended for sexual misconduct. The train of sleaze in Westminster trudges on.
Editor: Tom Hughes
Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus
Producer: Laura FitzPatrick
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Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell
Video Producers: Rory Symon & Ben Bate
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:08.1 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:11.8 | Do you believe that Hamas must be eliminated entirely? |
| 0:15.2 | Yes, I do. |
| 0:17.2 | But there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. |
| 0:25.8 | There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state. |
| 0:34.1 | That was Joe Biden speaking last night to Scott Peli on 60 Minutes in the US. And we are moving at warp speed at the moment. Just over a week ago, when this terrible atrocity had happened |
| 0:39.2 | in southern Israel, America insisted it stood four square behind Israel with whatever it had to do. |
| 0:46.7 | Conditionality is creeping in because America and other countries in the West are fearful now |
| 0:53.3 | that Israel waging war without consequence could destabilise a region that is already a Tinderbox. |
| 1:02.4 | Welcome to the newsagents. |
| 1:07.1 | The Newsagents. |
| 1:08.9 | It's John. It's Lewis. |
| 1:10.8 | Emily's away this week. |
| 1:12.7 | There is so much to consider and try to unpack over what is unfolding in the Middle East at the moment and the threats to wider security. |
| 1:23.0 | And we're going to be looking at protests that took place in London and what they say about the left and why |
| 1:28.6 | Hamas may be getting more support than maybe it deserves given its behaviour and given its |
| 1:35.2 | attitudes. We're also going to be looking at the elections in Poland where it seems that the |
| 1:40.1 | far right party has lost an election which will be cheered in Brussels. |
| 1:46.2 | Let's get on to grimmer reality of the modern-day Middle East |
| 1:50.9 | because it is pretty terrifying what is unfolding, what might still unfold, |
| 1:56.6 | who else might get involved. |
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