Netanyahu’s decision to reignite the anguish of the Gaza war is a dark, painful milestone. On March 20, We were joined by Israeli policy and public opinion expert Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin and former White House Middle East Policy Advisor Ilan Goldenberg to give us their take on what’s driving the upheaval and whether there’s any hope of getting the ceasefire back on track.
“The biggest problem, at least in terms of the negotiations, was a refusal by Netanyahu to seriously engage in Phase II [of the ceasefire and hostage deal],” Goldenberg said. “Once you start talking about the aftermath of the war, you’re talking about the thing that could collapse the Israeli government. But there’s no winning the war without talking about the aftermath of the war.”
Public backlash is building, Scheindlin said at the briefing. The Israel Democracy Institute found that “in January, 70% [of Israelis] said they supported the hostage deal getting to Phase B, which involves a cessation in fighting. In February [that was] 73%,” Scheindlin added. Yet Netanyahu, who faced massive public protests as early as 2011, has spent 14 years perfecting the art of “containing, defusing and deflecting public anger.”
Watch the full briefing below: