Benjamin Netanyahu

People gather in memory of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem, September 1, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Hersh is gone, sacrificed on the altar of Israel’s ‘total victory’

The parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin pleaded for their son’s release. But Netanyahu chose to cling to power and spill rivers of blood in Gaza instead.

By Orly Noy September 2, 2024

Demonstrators protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, and for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, outside the Kirya army base in Tel Aviv, July 27, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

‘Israelis are frustrated, but do they want to stop the war? Not exactly’

Rallying around the flag, low trust in government, rebounding support for Netanyahu: Dahlia Scheindlin unpacks Israel’s peculiar public opinion trends.

By Dana Mills August 30, 2024

Pro-Palestinian protesters in Washington demonstrate against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his speech to the U.S. Congress, July 24, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

In Washington’s streets, a new popular consensus on Palestine

While Congress cheered Netanyahu, grassroots mobilizations of the Democratic base marked a sharp break from the party’s support for Israel.

By Ahmed Moor August 5, 2024

Latest

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv, October 18, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Deceive, defy, and defer: Netanyahu’s time-tested strategy to outmaneuver Biden

For 15 years, the Israeli prime minister has proven his ability to scuttle political agreements — while never losing the United States’ backing.

By Lev Grinberg July 16, 2024

Anti-government protesters gather outside the Likud's headquarters in Tel Aviv, calling for elections and for a hostage deal, June 22, 2024. (Oren Ziv)

As Netanyahu abandons the hostages, Hamas may seek to extend the war

The growing rift between the Israeli government and army — along with the prospect of all-out war in Lebanon — could push Hamas to continue fighting.

By Meron Rapoport June 24, 2024

Minister Benny Gantz speaks during a press conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, December 16, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

What Gantz’s exit reveals about Israel’s failed Gaza strategy

October 7 collapsed Israel’s decades-old ‘separation policy’ toward Gaza. Gantz and Gallant know it; Netanyahu and the far right still won’t admit it.

By Meron Rapoport June 11, 2024

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan sworn in at the seat of the International Criminal Court, 16 June 2021. (ICC-CPI)

Surveillance and interference: Israel’s covert war on the ICC exposed

Top Israeli government and security officials have overseen a nine-year surveillance operation targeting the ICC and Palestinian rights groups to try to thwart a war crimes probe, a joint investigation reveals.

By Yuval Abraham and Meron Rapoport May 28, 2024

Palestinians at the site of a destroyed building from an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 5, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

‘The international legal order needs repair — and Gaza is a part of this’

Al Mezan director Issam Younis explains the obstacles and opportunities for Palestinians following major interventions from the world’s top courts.

By Ghousoon Bisharat May 24, 2024

An Israeli soldier walks past a wall of photographs of Israelis still held hostage in Gaza, at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv, March 10, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Netanyahu isn’t the only one interested in prolonging the war

A broad coalition of political forces, from Israel's far right to the Zionist left, have differing motivations for turning the war into the new normal.

By Menachem Klein April 9, 2024

An Israeli tank seen near the Israel-Gaza fence, southern Israel, January 21, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Why do Israelis feel so threatened by a ceasefire?

Halting the Gaza war means recognizing that Israel’s military goals were unrealistic — and that it cannot escape a political process with the Palestinians.

By Meron Rapoport March 29, 2024

Bezalel Smotrich speaks with Channel 12 News anchor Dana Weiss during the conference of Channel 12/the Israeli Television News Company in Tel Aviv, September 5, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Journalism out, hasbara in: How Israeli TV news joined the Gaza war effort

Tectonic shifts in Israeli broadcasting have played a key role in shaping the country’s nationalist and militaristic discourse, with Oct. 7 marking their apex.

By Eyal Lurie-Pardes March 6, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visit at an army base near the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, July 4, 2023. (Shir Torem/Flash90)

Netanyahu is prolonging the war to save his life’s mission

While an endless military operation allows the prime minister to cling to power, it also fulfills a larger ideological goal: preventing Palestinian statehood.

By Meron Rapoport November 17, 2023

An Israeli soldier is seen among the destruction caused by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Nir Oz during their October 7 raid, southern Israel, October 30, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

How October 7 has changed us all — and what it signals for our struggle

It can be hard to recognize a historic moment while living through it, but this time in Israel-Palestine, it’s plain for all to see. Here’s what we know, and what we can surmise, one month on.

By Haggai Matar November 8, 2023