Benny Gantz

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

Zaid Abdulnasser, a Palestinian refugee from Syria living in Berlin, and activist with Samidoun, October 1, 2023. (Courtesy)

Germany to strip Palestinian refugee’s status over his activism

Echoing dubious Israeli claims against his advocacy group, Germany could force Zaid Abdulnasser into a legal limbo faced by thousands of Palestinians.

By Hebh Jamal October 2, 2023

Itamar Ben Gvir visits the Jewish settlement of Beit Orot near the neighborhood of At-Tur, occupied East Jerusalem, October 13, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The generals are the supremacists of the past. Ben Gvir is the supremacist of now

The Kahanist lawmaker offers a ‘democratized’ version of supremacy: taking power from the old elites and handing it to the marginalized Jewish masses.

By Orly Noy November 3, 2022

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The office of the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees following an Israeli army raid, Ramallah, West Bank, August 18, 2022. (Oren Ziv)

Israel storms Palestinian NGO offices after months-long failure to discredit them

Seven NGOs denounce raids as message of impunity against Palestinians and foreign governments, after army seizes equipment and welds office doors shut.

By Oren Ziv August 18, 2022

Attorney Michael Sfard. (Oren Ziv)

Israel sends veiled threat to attorneys of outlawed Palestinian NGOs

A letter from the Defense Ministry to the lawyers representing the six groups hints that their legal work may be viewed as violating anti-terror laws.

By Oren Ziv July 18, 2022

Illustrative photo of Israeli soldiers taking part in a raid on the West Bank city of Hebron, June 18, 2014. (Oren Ziv)

Secret Israeli dossier provides no proof for declaring Palestinian NGOs ‘terrorists’

Israel hoped a classified Shin Bet document would convince European governments to stop funding Palestinian rights groups. +972 and Local Call got hold of the dossier's testimonies — and found no real evidence to justify Israel's claims.

By Yuval Abraham, Oren Ziv and Meron Rapoport November 4, 2021

Sahar Francis, Director of Addameer, seen at the organization’s offices in Ramallah, the West Bank on February 19, 2019. (Photo: Mohannad Darabee for +972 Magazine)

‘They targeted us for one reason: We’re succeeding in changing the paradigm’

After being outlawed as 'terrorist organizations' overnight, Palestinian human rights groups talk to +972 about why Israel's allegations are not just unfounded, but amount to an act of political persecution.

By Yuval Abraham October 25, 2021

Leader of the Joint List Ayman Odeh seen during a protest for coexistence in Tel Aviv, May 15, 2021. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Ayman Odeh still wants to be Israel’s first Palestinian prime minister

In his first interview following the new government's formation, the Joint List head talks Ra’am’s decision to join the coalition, his steadfast support for two states, and why he thinks he can lead Israel's democratic camp to victory.

By Meron Rapoport July 5, 2021

Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas (center) speaks to his supporters on election night in the city of Tamra, March 23, 2021. (Oren Ziv)

How an Islamist became Israel’s unlikely political kingmaker

The fall of the Joint List and rise of Ra'am's Mansour Abbas show that Israeli politics can no longer ignore Palestinian citizens — even if it may end up boosting the right.

By Edo Konrad March 24, 2021

A police water cannon douses protesters in central Jerusalem during clashes that followed a mass demonstration outside the Prime Minister's Residence, July 14, 2020. (Oren Ziv/Activestills)

The Balfour protests helped to topple Netanyahu. But at what cost?

Even if the next government is worse, the anti-Bibi protests show that when enough people mobilize around a single message, they have a chance to win.

By Meron Rapoport December 23, 2020

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak change the epaulets of Israeli Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, February 14, 2011. (Abir Sultan/Flash90)

Why are Israeli generals such terrible politicians?

The popular myth that army generals have the skills to excel in politics will continue so long as Israeli society idealizes the military and masculinity.

By Noa Balf December 11, 2020

Young Jewish Israelis celebrate Jerusalem Day at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, May 21, 2020, marking 53 years since Israel occupied East Jerusalem. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

‘How can a Palestinian feel a sense of equality in a Judaizing state?’

In a wide-ranging interview, Prof. Amal Jamal talks about the exclusion of Palestinian citizens from Israel's COVID-19 response, Netanyahu's consolidation of power, and the possibility of a different Israeli identity.

By Tom Mehager July 12, 2020

Israelis take part in an annual 8-km march in the Jordan Valley, led by then-Interior Affairs Minister Gideon Saar. February 21, 2014. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

Liberal Zionism paved the Israeli right’s path to annexation

The world's frantic attempts to stop annexation remain stuck in the liberal Zionist fantasies that kept the occupation running smoothly for decades.

By Yousef Munayyer June 23, 2020