Episode description

Six months into Israel’s war in Gaza and with no sign of a ceasefire or breakthrough in securing the release of the 130 hostages, as yet unaccounted for, pressure is mounting on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There have been widespread protests in Tel Aviv and across Israel. There have been calls both from home and abroad for an early election to be called. And Israel’s greatest ally, the United States has sharpened its rhetoric in the past few weeks over Israel’s conduct of the war, with President Biden now saying that he believes Benjamin Netanyahu is making ‘a mistake’ in his handling of it.

For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister looks set to continue with his military offensive and has shown no indication so far that he is willing to step down or call an early election.

So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘How secure is Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership?’

Contributors: Professor David Tal, the Yossi Harel Chair in Modern Israel Studies, University of Sussex, UK Natan Sachs, Director of the Centre for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution, Washington DC, USA Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC, USA Professor Tamar Hermann, Senior Research Fellow, The Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey

Image credit: Reuters via BBC Images