FRANCE 24's François Picard welcomes veteran Israeli journalist and Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy. He offers a scathing analysis of Israeli politics, the Gaza war, the unprecedented rise of xenophobic nationalism and Israel's growing dependence on the United States. Speaking from Tel Aviv amid mounting electoral tensions, Levy argues that "everything – war and peace, domestic politics, legislation – is now covered by the shadow of the upcoming elections".
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Levy delivers a moral and geopolitical indictment of both the Israeli government and Western responses to the war in Gaza. He condemns this week's treatment of the Gaza flotilla activists as "really so shameful that you don't want to watch them and you don't want to be part of it," while accusing European governments of empty rhetoric and double standards: "Condemnation means nothing because Israel totally ignores all those European condemnations."
Perhaps most strikingly, Levy depicts contemporary Israel as increasingly isolated, radicalised and strategically dependent on Washington. "Israel is in a situation which it was never before: total dependence," he argues, asserting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has no other choice but to follow the instructions of Donald Trump."
Levy offers a stark assessment of Netanyahu as both "a leader in war" and "responsible for the genocide in Gaza", language that reflects the intensity and polarisation surrounding current Israeli politics.
