benny gantz

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at an 'emergency' Likud rally in Tel Aviv, November 17, 2019. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

By labeling Arabs an ‘existential threat,’ Bibi invokes a terrifying history of ethnic violence

The prime minister organized an emergency Likud gathering Sunday night, in which he accused Israel’s Arab citizens of supporting terror and wanting to destroy the State of Israel. We know how this kind of thing can end. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a bitter struggle to prevent his challenger from establishing a government with support from the Arab-led Joint List party, has…

By Amjad Iraqi, Cafe Gibraltar and Dimi Reider November 18, 2019

Palestinians survey the destruction following an Israeli air strike, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, November 14, 2019. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

On the Gaza fence, a call for stability — not vengeance

The latest round of deadly violence in Gaza has already taken the lives of at least 34 Palestinians, including eight children. Meanwhile, in Israel’s southern towns, residents want stability — not more war. Israelis in the southern towns of Sderot, Ashdod, and Ashkelon are no longer interested in vengeance. Perhaps it’s their weariness and desperation, or…

By Oren Ziv and Dahlia Scheindlin November 15, 2019

Palestinians evacuate the wounded from Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on November 12, 2019. Earlier in the day an Israeli air strike killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad field commander Baha Abu Al-Atta. (Fadi Fahd/Flash90)

To save himself, Netanyahu is going to war with Gaza

Even as Israel becomes chronically unable to form a government, the ‘Gaza consensus’ — the endless pounding of the strip into oblivion — persists. It could tip the scales in Netanyahu’s favor. There is no military solution in Gaza. But Israel’s leaders, who are too much at loggerheads to sit in a government together, are somehow able to agree…

By Edo Konrad November 12, 2019

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at Likud headquarters on election night, Tel Aviv, September 17, 2019. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

How Netanyahu mainstreamed his dark, anti-democratic vision for Israel

By attacking the judiciary, bringing extremists into his coalition, and trying to subvert voting rights, Benjamin Netanyahu has presented a dark vision of an anti-democratic future for Israeli politics. By Harry Reis Benjamin Netanyahu emerged from September’s repeat elections a failure. Denied his desired majority, the prime minister’s only real hope of retaining power now…

By +972 Magazine October 4, 2019

Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz seen with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a ceremony held in honour of incoming IDF chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot (not seen) at a ceremony held in Eizenkot's honour at the PM's office in Jerusalem, on February 16, 2015. Photo by Miriam Alster/FLASH90 *** Local Caption *** ??? ?????? ?????? ??????

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In Israel, ‘politics as usual’ means escalating Palestinian oppression

Three trends from Israel’s do-over election demonstrate that the more Israeli politics stay the same, the more dangerous its policies become. There are many moments in Israeli-Palestinian history where landmark developments seem to change nothing and everything at the same time. Israel’s September election is one of them. While featuring many familiar and predictable patterns, the latest…

By Amjad Iraqi October 4, 2019

Palestinians wait at the Qalandia Checkpoint, which separates the West Bank and Jerusalem, on their way to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque for Ramadan, Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. (Issam Rimawi/Flash90)

‘For those who want peace, replacing Zionism is inevitable’

For many Palestinians in the West Bank, the minor shifts in Israeli politics are a long-awaited opportunity to challenge the traditional understanding of the occupation. By Yuval Abraham Ahmad, a former officer with the Palestinian Authority’s intelligence forces, retired two years ago. Every morning for 23 years — since the PA was established — he would drive to his…

By +972 Magazine October 2, 2019

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man argues with a secular social justice protester in Tel Aviv, July 18, 2011. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

PODCAST: What does Israeli liberalism look like?

Public opinion expert Dahlia Scheindlin argues that the fierce debate over the separation of religion and state in Israel’s latest elections could lead to a wider liberal shift in society. By +972 Magazine Staff Listen here: iTunes/Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify Almost two weeks after Israeli voters cast their ballots for a second time this year, it is still unclear which candidate will…

By +972 Magazine September 27, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of a picture of Vladimir Jabotinsky, Jerusalem, May 12, 2002. (Flash90)

Likud vs Likud: How Revisionist Zionism conquered Israeli politics

Israel’s elections have been billed as a clash of the titans between Netanyahu and Gantz. But no matter who wins, the real victory goes to Vladimir Jabotinsky, the grandfather of the Likud. In what should be regarded as a historic photograph taken last Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the Likud party, and Benny…

By Amjad Iraqi September 26, 2019

Palestinians make their way through an Israeli checkpoint to attend the first Friday prayer of Ramadan in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem May 10, 2019. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

An election between annexationists and pro-occupation generals

Palestinians have no say over whether they will be ruled by messianic religious zealots or by generals who previously presided over the occupation. On September 17, Israelis will return to the polls for round two of an election cycle that failed to determine an outcome in April, this time hoping for a different result. While…

By Omar H. Rahman September 16, 2019

A Jewish Israeli man shouts at Palestinians while waving the Israeli flag in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem on Jerusalem Day, June 2, 2008. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Voting Netanyahu out is not going to ‘save’ Israel-Palestine

Israeli citizens are about to vote in national elections for the second time in six months. But has anything changed since April? Why is no one talking about the occupation? And are we really about to see the end of the Netanyahu era? +972 writers talk about why these elections matter. Israeli voters will head to the…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland September 15, 2019

Palestinian fishermen prepare their nets near the sea in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 10, 2019. (Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90)

What do Palestinians in Gaza really think about the Israeli elections?

On the eve of the elections, four young Palestinians in Gaza open up about their thoughts on Israeli political parties, whether they think there’s hope for change, and what life is like under siege. By Yuval Abraham Muhammad The electricity cuts out at 2pm in Gaza, but Muhammad has charged his phone in advance so he’ll have enough battery…

By +972 Magazine September 12, 2019

Joint List head Ayman Odeh seen during a plenum session in the assembly hall of the Knesset, November 13, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Arabs in Israel want to join the government. You’ll never guess who’s stopping them

Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh said he would be willing to consider joining a center-left coalition, prompting a response from Israel’s centrist party that reveals the true face of those who hope to replace Netanyahu. I do not know whether Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh is a diligent paramedic or a doctor preparing for the long-term treatment of a 72-year-old patient suffering from…

By Samah Salaime August 25, 2019

Palestinian women cross the Qalandiya checkpoint outside Ramallah, West Bank, into Jerusalem to attend the first Friday of Ramadan prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, July 12, 2013. (photo: Activestills.org)

Not just toxic masculinity: Militarism also feeds gender-based violence

In a society dominated by male hierarchies, violence is not only a pervasive symptom but a defining feature — especially for Palestinian women. The Israeli media has been awash with reports over the past week about the case of a dozen Israeli male teenagers, some minors, accused of gang-raping a 19-year-old female British tourist in…

By Henriette Chacar July 23, 2019