In this week’s episode, we begin with reports that the US has engaged in direct negotiations with Hamas, bypassing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The discussion covers an analysis of a report by Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, which has suggested that Netanyahu’s own policies, including his approach to Hamas, helped pave the way for the events of 7 October 2023.
Amit Yagur, a former senior Israeli intelligence official, has called for a strategic shift in Israel’s response to Hamas. He has argued that Netanyahu is misreading the intentions of Hamas and suggested leveraging Trump’s Gaza “Riviera” plan to undermine the legitimacy of the Palestinian group. At the same time, Arab states have put forward a $53 billion alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan, seeking to counter his proposal for a US-led takeover of Gaza.
The discussion also explores the role of AI in surveillance and repression, including Israel’s development of an AI-driven tool to monitor Palestinians and the US’s push to use AI to revoke visas of foreign nationals supporting Palestinian rights. This comes as public opinion is shifting in the US, with support for Israel at its lowest level since polling began, a trend that may have influenced the outcome of the 2024 election.
Beyond Palestine, Qatar has called for Israel’s nuclear weapons to be placed under international safeguards, and Syria faces renewed violence with over 1,000 people killed in recent days. With the country’s transitional process underway, Qatar’s foreign minister has warned that in the region ‘peace has many enemies’, a phrase that resonates across multiple conflicts in the Middle East.
The episode concludes with a discussion on the continued erosion of international legal frameworks, including the failure to convene a conference on the Geneva Convention in Switzerland over Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, amid reported pressure from Washington and Tel Aviv.
