Dov Waxman

And the Israelis are still in Gaza with no prospects in sight of them likely to leave.

So, you know, all of this has really imposed a lot of costs on the Israeli public.

And I think Netanyahu then is going to stand to be blamed for that.

On top of, of course, the belief that's widely held among many Israelis that he's partly responsible, if not fully responsible for

for the catastrophe that Israel endured on October the 7th, 2023.

That's right.

I mean, this current government, which is widely regarded as the most far-right government in Israel's history, this government came into being in 2022 as a result of Netanyahu really engineering a kind of political marriage between two far-right parties.

I was very controversial at the time because it put in power people like Ismail Ben-Gvir, who was and is somebody who's really a far-right extremist.

who actually has a criminal background.

And this has, I think, been something that has been, you know, was controversial within Israel and is certainly controversial around the world.

Well, I mean, it's a shocking video for anybody who hasn't really paid attention to the reports that have been coming out of Israel and from the human rights organizations about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

What's shocking is that this is now happening not just to Palestinian detainees, but to activists from around the world, including from countries that Israel has good relations with.

But I think from Itamar Ben-Gvir's perspective, although that video is disturbing to watch and to see that kind of treatment meted out to those activists, it plays well with Ben-Gvir's base.

The people who vote for Ben-Gvir and actually his party is predicted to do well in the next elections and to gain seats, they like this.

I think Ben-Gvir couldn't care less, really, what the international public or what foreign governments think of him.

What he cares about is his domestic audience, and particularly his far-right supporters.

And, you know, they, I think, quite happy to see this kind of mistreatment.

That's right.

I mean, on the one hand, you know, it was, I think, notable that Netanyahu did come out and criticize Ben-Gavir publicly for their video and for those actions.

But domestically, he needs Ben-Gavir.