Behind Netanyahu's dangerous Gaza takeover: A conversation with Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn
Haaretz Podcast8 Aug 2025

Behind Netanyahu's dangerous Gaza takeover: A conversation with Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is often portrayed as a political improviser who seizes opportunities and dodges land mines as they occur to preserve his hold on power, he is in fact guided by a clear and consistent mission, Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn tells the Haaretz Podcast.

“Netanyahu’s strategy, since the inception of his career, and even before he became a professional politician, has been to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and diminish the Palestinian national movement,” said Benn.

As the war has worn on and with Netanyahu’s latest decision to escalate the conflict in Gaza instead of working to end it, Benn says the contention that the argument that Netanyahu does not really share the ideology of his farthest-right coalition partners – National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – does not hold up.

“I've yet to see one area of disagreement between Netanyahu and Smotrich and Ben-Gvir,” Benn said.

While the premier may “hide behind” excuses of being pushed and pulled by outside forces, Benn believes he has a firm grip on power and knows exactly what he is doing.

In his wide-ranging conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Benn also discusses the 20th anniversary of the Gaza disengagement – which Israel’s right blames for the events of October 7, his brewing confrontation with the IDF Chief of Staff over Gaza, and whether Netanyahu can face the voters after essentially abandoning the remaining Gaza hostages.

Read more from Aluf Benn:

Opinion | Why Did the Self-righteous Opponents of Israel's Gaza Disengagement Ignore Security Warnings Before October 7?

Opinion | Don't Give Netanyahu a Free Pass. He Knows Exactly What He Is Doing in Gaza

Opinion | Can You Fight for Israel's Democracy but Collaborate With Its Persecution of Palestinians?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(100)

How a Haaretz investigation into stolen Ukrainian wheat triggered a diplomatic crisis

How a Haaretz investigation into stolen Ukrainian wheat triggered a diplomatic crisis

A diplomatic crisis over Israeli import of stolen grain from occupied Ukraine exploded this week following the publication of a Haaretz investigation that documents Ukrainian allegations that Russian ...

1 Mai 25min

'American Jews really hate Trump. But they hate Netanyahu even more'

'American Jews really hate Trump. But they hate Netanyahu even more'

The average American watched the Gaza war from afar as a "dramatic and gruesome humanitarian crisis that Israel was responsible for" – but the U.S.-Israel war in Iran is having a far greater impact on...

28 Apr 29min

Making Israel's case to ChatGPT and Grok: Hasbara meets AI in multi-million dollar PR push

Making Israel's case to ChatGPT and Grok: Hasbara meets AI in multi-million dollar PR push

Fighting antisemitism online was meant to be the focus of the Israeli government’s multimillion-dollar digital PR campaign run by President Donald Trump’s former digital guru, Brad Parscale. But inste...

24 Apr 28min

'You can't heal in a perpetual war': Israeli peace activist Yonatan Zeigen on following in his mother's footsteps

'You can't heal in a perpetual war': Israeli peace activist Yonatan Zeigen on following in his mother's footsteps

The final moments of Vivian Silver’s life were a “pivotal turning point” for her son Yonatan Zeigen, who now dedicates his life to Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, following in the footsteps of his...

20 Apr 27min

'The Hungarians turned their anxiety into hope, that's the main lesson for Israelis'

'The Hungarians turned their anxiety into hope, that's the main lesson for Israelis'

The dramatic landslide election in Hungary toppling authoritarian populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, resonated deeply for Israel in diverse ways, explained Haaretz’s David Issacharoff, who covered ...

17 Apr 25min

'We'll kill you, traitor': How far-right thugs and police target Israel's antiwar protest leaders

'We'll kill you, traitor': How far-right thugs and police target Israel's antiwar protest leaders

As diplomatic talks between Iran and the United States continue in an effort to extend the temporary cease-fire due to expire on April 22, public opinion surveys show that while a majority of Israelis...

14 Apr 32min

Iran war cease-fire update with Amos Harel: 'Trump wants out and Netanyahu is extremely disappointed'

Iran war cease-fire update with Amos Harel: 'Trump wants out and Netanyahu is extremely disappointed'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "extremely disappointed" by the terms of the temporary cease-fire hammered out between Donald Trump's White House and Iran, but has little choice but to accept it ...

9 Apr 17min

What Trump got wrong about Iran, what the IDF got wrong about Hezbollah: Amos Harel on wars with no exit strategy

What Trump got wrong about Iran, what the IDF got wrong about Hezbollah: Amos Harel on wars with no exit strategy

As the war with Iran drags on and the conflict with Hezbollah intensifies, a growing number of Israelis are “losing faith” in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promises of a decisive victory, Haaret...

6 Apr 30min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
popradet
stopp-verden
fotballpodden-2
rss-gukild-johaug
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
det-store-bildet
nokon-ma-ga
hanna-de-heldige
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-ness
aftenbla-bla
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
e24-podden
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
frokostshowet-pa-p5