How Netanyahu’s rival would end Israel’s war in Gaza

You're going to have an election this. year and you are now formally running. In fact, many people think you're the. leading opposition candidate. Tell me. what's at stake in this election. >> There's never been such a crucial. election for the future of the Jewish. state. Um, it's about whether we go. continue down the path of chaos, tribalism, and internal fighting, uh, and and weakening Israel, or we go. through a Israeli renaissance and. revitalize Israel, unite Israel.

>> So, this sounds as though it's about. much more than policies. >> My opponent will try and position this. as right versus left. It's not about. right versus left. I'm a right-wing guy. in my positions, even stronger than BB. It's about do we want to fight ourselves. to death or unite and fix the country. because right now the direction is. horrible. Just all day internal. tribalism and fighting between and. religious and secular and right and. left. But the truth is that if you look.

at policies, the differences in public. are tiny. So most of this hate is. fabricated artificial hate. >> Is it therefore your your main position. that you are not Min Netanyahu? Is that. your is that what you're bringing to. this election? >> What I'm bringing to this election is to. be a unifier and to fix Israel. To fix. Israel Israel is broken. The Israeli. people are wounded. We need to heal.

Israel. It's a time for healing and uh. unity. and the current direction is just. spreading uh hate and internal fighting. between us. >> One of the other arguments that Prime. Minister Netanyahu is making and will. make is that he's the only person who. can keep Israel secure. That's been the. light motif in his telling of his entire. career. >> like October 7th. >> Well, I was I was going to go on to ask. you that. I mean, do you think that is. by itself a reason why he cannot stay. prime minister? >> I think the right thing for Israel is. for him to move on uh in a respectful.

manner. you know, I I respect him. He. has his rights. Um, but October 7th is. the single biggest uh strategic. defense security failure in Israel's. history by far. 1,200 of your citizens. were slaughtered. You had been allowing uh Qatar to funnel. money in to build Hamas for for a. decade.

So, who's responsible for it? A a prime minister is at the the top of. a of the pyramid and a prime minister. holds full responsibility. >> As you say, this was a act, a heinous. act committed by Hamas. The world should. have been on Israel's side. It should. have remained on Israel's side, but it. hasn't. What went wrong? >> To be fair, I fully back uh the the war. on Hamas. Uh and I'm not going to second. guess this action or that action. I.

fully back the fact that we had to fight. back and we still need to annihilate. Hamas. Hamas is still up and up and. living. Uh kamas cannot exist in Gaza if. we want a future there. So we had to do. that. Um then we we also have um folks. around the world who automatically are. against Israel because the the first. demonstrations against Israel started on. October 7th in the evening before we. started the war. So they they were ready.

with their packages of uh from the river. to the sea. They didn't make that up on. the spot. >> Let's assume you're prime minister. How. do you change that international. perception of Israel? >> We need to fix Israel from within. It. can't all be political cronyism. We need. good leadership. I I can tell you in in. my first two weeks, I would fly out and. meet President Cece and meet MBZ and. meet Abdullah and meet Bahrain and and. and reach out to our neighbors. Um uh we.

have to remain very strong and tough and. realize that that that's the. environment. My message would be Israel. is open again for business. It's a new. start for Israel. I understand that but. Gaza is broken too. >> Yes. >> Um how can is well can Israel thrive if. there's sort of Mogad issue on on the. med? >> No. >> So how do you how do you get some sort. of renewal inside. >> there? I I believe there's a sequence. and it has to happen by the sequence. It.

can't happen in parallel. The sequence. is we have to defeat kamas because as. long as kamas is there it's it's poison. ground. You can't you can't grow trees, healthy trees in a poison ground. There's no way around it. The notion of. bypassing that and rebuilding Gaza while. Hamas is is still there will not work. And in that sense, I'm I'm even uh more. hawkish than Netanyahu. But at the same. time, I would start uh the the uh work.

of of framing and and forming that next. that Gaza 2.0 O say what you want to do. and I I know what I want to do. I want a. thriving Gaza but with full security uh. for good. >> But what does actually I want to defeat. Hamas mean? I mean that's precisely what. Prime Minister Netanyahu would say. What. would you do differently? >> Here's what I would do. Here's what I. would do. Um I would set a vision of. Gaza 2.0. Okay. I would set a certain.

area that is clean of Hamas. Then I. would say folks, is anyone volunteering. to clean up Hamas? No one will. All right. And I'd say, "So, we're going to do it." I would say, "This will take uh a finite time." I. would uh then systematically uh um. isolate areas of Gaza and a groin area. Say anyone who's kamas get out and then. apply siege on a kamas only area. This. is all according to to law. And smoke.

him out. Once it's clean, I would. retrieve the the citizens there. Isn't. that me starting the war? >> Well, look, uh uh I I I didn't run this. war. I think uh it shouldn't have taken. two years. I what I just said is what I. think we should have done to begin with. So, is everything being handled well in. Israel? No. I I there there's also. something called competence. But on the. righteousness of the war, is it a just. war? Yes, it is. Uh and and there's no.

daylight between me and anyone on that. But when you divide a country from. within and expect everything to work. well, it's not going to happen. So our. biggest problems, I know that globally. everyone talks about Gaza and the. Palestinians. Israel's biggest challenge. is from within. It's always been in. Jewish history our biggest challenge. >> You say that you would go and see NBS, you would go and see President Cece, you'd go and see other leaders. throughout the Arab world. For many of. them, particularly for NBS in Saudi. Arabia, a clear and credible pathway to.

a Palestinian state is a sinuanon for. progress. Where what would you say to. him when he he says that's what I need? >> Well, first of all, I won't commit. suicide to plate any friend of ours, even if it's a friend. And and I believe. a Palestinian state is Israeli suicide. Okay? And by the way, an overwhelming. majority of Israelis now believe that. So first I I you when when you're a. leader of a country you have to be very. clear with yourself what are your basic.

positions. Then I would tell Cece look. this ain't going to happen but there's. so much we can do including with the. Palestinians to reduce the friction to. increase their uh quality of lives uh uh. dignity freedom of movement etc. So I. what I would do is what I always do. Take it to a pragmatic level and start. fixing.