Ex-Israel Negotiator Hits Back At BBC Host ‘Warmongering’ Over Bombing of Gaza in Heated Exchange
Former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy confronted BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri’s outline of the Israeli response in Gaza as about “targeting Hamas” blasting the position as “lies” and “warmongering.”
The heated exchange took place during ongoing coverage of the conflict in the Middle East, following Saturday’s devastating surprise attack by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli military siege on the Gaza Strip, where the group resides.
“The Israelis would say, ‘well, look, we are defending ourselves. We are targeting Hamas targets in Gaza. We are trying to put an end to what we believe is a terrorist organisation once and for all,’” Moshiri started.
“Do you really keep a straight face when you say that?” Levy came back in a blunt response.
He continued: “Do you think terrorist organisations embedded in populations who are denied their most basic rights are ended once and for all in a military campaign? Does that happen in history? Can someone credibly tell me that when the leadership of a country says we are cutting off food, electricity, water, all supplies to an entire civilian population that they’re targeting militants?”
“I’m sorry these kinds of lies can’t be allowed to pass. And when you tell yourself the lie, it leads to the wrong policy,” he said.
“If anyone told me that what the militants did on the weekend was a legitimate response to years and years of occupation. I would say: ‘No, you’re wrong headed. You’ve lost sight of humanity and reality,’” Levy rationalised. “And if anyone tells me that what Israel is doing in Gaza today is a legitimate response to what happened on the weekend, it’s exactly the same.”
“And yet they are saying it,” he closed. “And yet the international community is, and people need to challenge them on it because it’s a lie and we’re war mongering if we allow them to get away with it.”
Levy served a notable role in the history of peace process relations between Israel and the Palestinians, working as an Israeli peace negotiator during crucial talks at Taba Summit in 2001 and also at the Oslo-B talks in 1994. He is currently the president of the U.S./Middle East Project, an organisation committed to advancing peace in the region.
