What is hydrogen and how green is it?

Martin Kuebler

DW

Politicians and industry leaders meet in Namibia this week to hype hydrogen. DW takes a closer look at the pros and cons of the powerful gas, widely regarded as a key part of a green energy future.

Green hydrogen is used in fuel cells to power, among other things, electric vehicles

Image: Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa/picture alliance


African business and political leaders are betting big on hydrogen to fuel the continent's "green industrial revolution," as Namibia holds a major summit hyping the gas that many believe will play a key role in shifting away from polluting fossil fuels.

The three-day summit in Windhoek will bring together investors and project developers from across Africa and the world, all attempting to boost investment in the gas. Europe, in particular, is eyeing up the continent's production potential.

But how does hydrogen really stack up as a climate solution?

What is hydrogen?

Hydrogen, the universe's most abundant element, is a colorless, odorless and nontoxic gas. It's light, flammable and has a high energy density — but it's also highly explosive. So much so that the name Hindenburg — referencing the hydrogen-filled airship — became synonymous with disaster after the 1937 accident.

Germany partners with Africa on green hydrogen energy  01:30

Despite the notoriety, hydrogen has been used for decades in the petrochemical industry. It's used to refine oil, produce ammonia for fertilizers, to make plastics and steel and generate methanol.

Hydrogen is a potent carrier of energy. One kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of hydrogen has 2.4 times more usable energy than the same amount of natural gas, nearly three times more than a kilo of gasoline and roughly four times more than a kilo of coal.
Is hydrogen a clean energy?

By itself — used in a fuel cell to generate electricity for some cars, for example — hydrogen doesn't produce any direct greenhouse gas emissions. It only creates water, electricity and heat.

But hydrogen isn't as easy to source as fossil fuels, which can just be dug up and burned directly. In nature, hydrogen is most commonly found in water. It's the H in H2O. But isolating and storing the gas requires time and energy.

There are many ways to separate hydrogen from water. But today, more often than not, these processes are polluting. Hydrogen production contributes around 2.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, even if the hydrogen fuel at the end burns clean.

Gray, blue green, pink — how is hydrogen produced?

Hydrogen may be a colorless gas, but the industry has come up with a veritable rainbow of colors to describe the different production methods.

Today, most of what we produce is known as gray hydrogen. It uses a process called "steam reforming" which is powered by natural gas or methane. Every ton of gray hydrogen produced releases about 10 tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

Black and brown hydrogen is even more detrimental. It's made by transforming black or brown coal into gas at high temperatures and separating out the hydrogen. It pollutes the atmosphere with both planet-heating CO2 and poisonous carbon monoxide.

Gray, black and brown hydrogen are commonly used in oil refining and to produce fertilizers, and today make up around 95% of the hydrogen produced worldwide.

Germany is looking hydrogen to replace oil from Russia, with German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (left) visiting a green hydrogen plant in Norway in 2023

Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance

Blue hydrogen is more promising, but only marginally. This process captures the CO2 generated during the steam reforming process and stores it underground, rather than letting it escape. Though it's sometimes considered to be carbon neutral, some 10-20% of the carbon emissions can't be captured.

Pink hydrogen, meanwhile, is generated using nuclear power. No emissions, but you're still left with radioactive waste. And it's difficult to use on a global scale, with nuclear not readily available everywhere.

Turquoise, an experimental process which leaves behind solid carbon, and yellow — using either solar power or a mix of renewable and fossil fuel energies — also exist, but don't factor much into global production.

Neither does green hydrogen, the only method that doesn't emit CO2 during production. It's made using electrolysis — splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen — using renewable energy.

Green hydrogen produces no CO2 emissions — but it only makes up less than 1% of global hydrogen production.

What's holding green hydrogen back?

A few things: cost, proper infrastructure and the lack of renewable energy.

Today, green hydrogen costs more than twice as much to produce as gray. And to build up the wider hydrogen sector to supply 15-20% of the world's energy demand, we would need to invest $15 trillion (€13.5 trillion) by 2050, according to the Energy Transitions Commission, an international think tank.

The EU's ambitious hydrogen bet  13:29


But in its 2023 report on hydrogen, the International Energy Agency said the expansion of renewable energy where sun and wind are plentiful — places like India, the Middle East and Africa — could significantly increase the share of green hydrogen. And that would bring down costs, though some critics have said it would be more efficient to just use renewable energy directly.

That gas needs to be delivered to clients around the world, and hydrogen is notoriously difficult to transport in large quantities. It has to be stored in special pressurized containers, or liquefied (at minus 253 degrees Celsius/minus 423 Fahrenheit) and transported in pipelines, trucks or ships. It can also be moved in the form of ammonia, which is easier to ship as a liquid.

Before all that, the world would need to build up the necessary infrastructure. Germany and other countries aim to massively invest and scale up in this area over the next decade, in a bid to make hydrogen a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Edited by: Jennifer Collins

'White' hydrogen — climate savior?  04:33

Martin Kuebler Senior editor and reporter living in Brussels, with a focus on environmental issues

EU states dash von der Leyen's gender-equal top team dream

Ella Joyner in Brussels

DW

The EU Commission chief has not yet abandoned her goal of maintaining a 50/50 gender split among the blocs most senior officials. But after most members states defied her orders, she looks set to fall far short.

The first female European Commission president with the first gender-balanced top team to match: German conservative Ursula von der Leyen was lauded as a trailblazer back in 2019 when she insisted on parity of men and women among the 27 European Commissioners.

Every member state was instructed to nominate one woman and one man, with von der Leyen then divvying out the powerful portfolios spanning everything from trade, foreign policy, the economy and the climate. A newbie in EU politics, capitals nonetheless obeyed her. After weeks of grappling and a grilling of candidates by the European Parliament, she pulled it off, with 13 women including herself and 14 men.

Von der Leyen looked strong after her confirmation as president in July, but EU governments are already ignoring herI

mage: Johanna Geron/REUTERS

Five years on, and von der Leyen has been successfully reappointed for a second term at the head of the European Union's executive arm. Her orders to the other 26 countries — she herself represents Germany — were the same: gender parity, please.

'Sausage fest' in the making

But this time round, her request has been roundly ignored. The deadline she set for nominations has passed and, as of Monday, 17 EU states had put forward a man for the job and no female nominee. Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden had nominated a woman, while Bulgaria had nominated a man and a woman.

Von der Leyen should start interviewing candidates and handing out jobs in the coming weeks, but she has been dealt a deck of cards stacked with men — one that news outlet Politico branded a "sausage fest."

Sausage fest or not, Estonian Kaja Kallas is also tipped to become one of the most powerful politicians in the EU

Image: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/dpa/picture alliance

For those closely watching the dial of equality, it's more than unfortunate. "Your leadership in achieving a gender-balanced Commission in the last term was a groundbreaking step that set a new standard for governance within the EU and beyond," the European Women's Lobby wrote in an open letter to von der Leyen last week, urging her to stand her ground.

"The continued pursuit of this balance is crucial, particularly now that women's rights are under threat in various parts of the world," the umbrella association of women's rights organizations wrote.

A 'shocking' lack of respect for equality

At stake is more than just optics, according to Elizabeth Kuiper of the European Policy Centre. This is about real power and policy, she said, describing member states' behavior as "shocking" in a written statement sent to DW on Monday.

The EU politics expert pointed to key initiatives from von der Leyen's first term that bore the imprint of a gender-equal Commission: work on fighting gender-based violence and on the role of women in politics and the labor market, including addressing the gender pay gap.

It's also about the image the bloc projects on the world stage: "Internationally, it shows that the EU walks the talk when it comes to values like inclusion and diversity," Kuiper said. "Frankly, heads of state are showing a lack of political will and deterioration in respect for women's rights."

Von der Leyen in a bind

The European Commission President has yet to publicly comment on the snubbing of her orders. "The president has been very clear in what her ambition is," EU spokesperson Arianna Podesta said Monday at a press conference in Brussels. "She is doing everything in her power to have a gender-balanced college for the next mandate."

The problem for von der Leyen is there aren't many options to force the member states to play ball.

"What she could do is veto the nominees but that's unprecedented — and for a good reason," Sophia Russack, a researcher at the Center for European Policy Studies, explained in a recent statement. "By putting her foot down (e.g. on gender parity) she might spoil the beginning of a five-year working relationship with member state governments."

Kuiper of the European Policy Center think tank agrees: "She can decide to make a point and ask member states for additional names, but the question is whether she would like to do this, considering it will delay the start of the new European Commission."

Backroom persuasion and strategic appointments

Rather than entering into public showdowns, von der Leyen seems to be working behind the scenes to convince member states to fall in line. Romania swapped out its male candidate for a female one last minute, several media outlets reported on Monday. The government in Valletta also came under pressure from von der Leyen to change its nominee, local newspaper the Times of Malta reported last week.

In addition, von der Leyen has the option to give women more powerful portfolios, sending a message back to the EU capitals. One of the most important ones is set to be filled by a woman: Kaja Kallas, until recently Estonian Prime Minister, has been tapped to become the bloc's top diplomat.

Once von der Leyen has vetted the nominees, the ball passes to the European Parliament, who must accept or reject them after a series of hearings. The whole process takes weeks: last time round, von der Leyen and her team officially took office at the start of December.

Von der Leyen may well hope she can quietly extract a few more changes of heart in the next week. But as of Monday, with 18 male nominees to 10 women, according to various media reports, for just 26 spots, she was still a long way from parity.

The European Women's Lobby, for one, is hoping that EU lawmakers, who have the power to veto nominations but not propose Commissioners themselves, will flex their muscle. "We count on von der Leyen and the European Parliament to show to the Member States that EU leadership isn't a boys' club anymore," European Women's Lobby spokesperson Mirta Baselovic told DW on Monday.

Edited by: Andreas Illmer

Israel: Is a West Bank war imminent?

Jennifer Holleis

DW

August 30, 2024

Israel's deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since October 7 has stoked fears of an escalation. Will this part of the Palestinian territories turn into an open war front like Gaza?

Israel's current offensive in the occupied West Bank stokes fears of an escalation into an open-front war

Image: Majdi Mohammed/AP Photo/picture alliance

Fears of an escalation between the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian militant factions in the occupied West Bank have reached a new peak this week.

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Israel's largest ground-and-air operation in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began almost 11 months ago.

Meanwhile, Hamas, the Islamist militant organization that carried out the October 7 attacks that sparked the current conflict in Gaza, has called on Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up against Israel.

So far, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the Israeli raids, yet his forces are not expected to heed the call from Hamas. The Palestinian Authority, which officially governs the West Bank, lacks a standing army and cooperates in part with Israel.

However, members of the two largest militias in the West Bank, the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, both of which many countries categorize as terror organizations, could prove willing to carry out more attacks.

"The risk of a major escalation in the West Bank is certainly growing and looks far more likely now than it has done since October 7," Neil Quilliam, associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based think tank Chatham House, told DW.

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, when around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people kidnapped, the resulting Israeli military operations in Gaza have caused almost 41,000 deaths, according to the Hamas-run health authorities, which don't distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The current Israeli offensive has uprooted everyday life, observers say. Israel argues that this is necessary to prevent attacks and to curb Iran's influence

Image: Majdi Mohammed/AP Photo/picture alliance

Increasingly popular Iran-backed militias

The occupied West Bank is home to around 3 million Palestinians. While the Palestinian Authority officially administers the region from Ramallah, the West Bank capital, analysts widely agree that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, as well as their affiliated militias, are the ones that run the refugee camps near Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarm in the north.

These places are the focus of the current Israeli offensive as at least 150 attacks with weapons and explosives originated there since October 2023, according to the Israeli military.

"In these refugee camps, there is no faith in diplomacy, no faith in the Palestinian Authority, no faith in the possibility of a two-state solution or any alternative arising," Nathan Brown, professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, told DW.

In Brown's view, the combination of all these factors has led to political despair, and he added that the situation has been further exacerbated by Israel's steady stream of violence in the West Bank.

Since October 2023, at least 652 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. These numbers resemble a recent tally by the United Nations.

Some of the 600,000 Israeli settlers who live in settlements that are considered illegal under international law have increasingly taken up arms and attacked Palestinian civilians in the West Bank since October 7.

B'Tselem, an NGO that documents Israeli settler violence in Palestinian territories, concluded recently that settlers have forced at least 18 Palestinian communities — over 1,000 people — to flee their homes since October.

A comprehensive research paper by the independent Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) concluded that Israeli raids and worsening economic conditions have also driven more young men into the arms of Iran-backed militias.

Brown agrees. "Especially for some younger Palestinians in small groups, this has become a time to act," he said.

However, while the authors see an increase in cooperation between militias with different affiliations, they regard it as unlikely that the various militias would be willing to fully join forces.

"The West Bank's militant groups remain to be loosely organized and poorly trained," they wrote.

In Israel's view, however, these militias are increasingly supported by Israel's arch-enemy Iran, which also backs Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iran's influence in the West Bank

This week, Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, said the current offensive in the West Bank is necessary to prevent attacks on Israelis but also to curb Iran's influence.

In his view, the West Bank is on the brink of turning into a hot spot for Iran, which seeks to fund and arm terrorists and smuggle advanced weapons to the groups it supports. Katz also accused Iran of destabilizing Jordan by establishing an "eastern terror front," including drug smuggling. Jordan, however, has rejected these accusations.

Yet Fabian Hinz, a defense and military analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told DW that building up some kind of armed resistance in the West Bank has been an Iranian priority for years.

"Drug smuggling from Syria to Jordan is currently flourishing, and the Iranians are very happy to use existing private smuggling networks from Syria via Jordan into the West Bank," Hinz explained.

He added that it is very difficult to estimate how many weapons have been smuggled successfully into the West Bank.

"What we have seen so far in the West Bank are mainly small arms, assault rifles and submachine guns," he said.

"What I haven't seen yet are the more powerful weapons that are available in Gaza, such as longer-range rockets or anti-tank missiles."

West Bank war 'very different'

Quilliam, the Chatham House associate fellow, echoes this view, "A war in the West Bank would be a very different proposition to the one in Gaza."

"Israel would struggle to contain a major conflict in the West Bank, and it will put at risk Israeli civilians in population centers, something that the Gaza war has hardly done since October 8," he told DW.

In turn, he said Israel would be "leery about deploying a large military presence and, in effect, reoccupy the territory, as the cost in political, security and human terms would be very high."

Nathan Brown agrees. He, too, considers it far more likely that a level of violence within the West Bank will persist "in which Palestinians in small groups try to organize against Israel, and the Israelis acting basically as the occupier, take whatever actions, however heavy-handed they think is necessary to suppress those opportunities."

"What we're witnessing right now might be called the new normal," Brown told DW.

Edited by: Davis VanOpdorp

UN calls on Israel to stop military operations in West Bank  01:53

Jennifer Holleis Editor and political analyst specializing in the Middle East and North Africa.

Ukraine's Orthodox Church ban: Justified or not

Xenia Polska

DW

09/02/24

Ukraine's ban on church links with Moscow has provoked considerable controversy at home and abroad. Why is Kyiv carrying through with it? And what does the EU think of the move?

The Dormition Cathedral in Kyiv was once a center of activity for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate

Image: SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP


Ukrainian religious organizations will soon be forbidden to work together with the Russian Orthodox Church. The ban mainly affects the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Up until 2022, this church answered to the Russian Orthodox Church. However, some three months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year, it announced its independence and autonomy from the Moscow Patriarchate. Some of the current debate centers on whether the announcement was meant seriously or was just empty words.

The draft bill on the ban provoked months of heated debate, also in Europe. But when the Ukrainian Parliament, or Verkhovna Rada, finally approved the bill on August 20, there was not much reaction either from the European Union or other Western partners of Kyiv.

Under the law, Ukrainian religious organizations affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church have nine months to end their relations with the Patriarchate of Moscow.
EU: Ukraine guarantees religious freedom

Is the ban compatible with religious freedom? Ukraine's constitution and laws guarantee freedom of religion and belief, as laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Peter Stano, the EU spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, told DW that the European Commission had confirmed this in its report on Ukraine for the Enlargement Package adopted on November 8, 2023.

"In general, Ukrainian public authorities enforce these rights," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew (middle) in July 2023

Image: Francisco Seco/AP/picture alliance

Stano said the European Commission was aware that Kyiv is taking legal measures against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate because the Patriarchate supported Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

"We have taken note of Ukraine’s Parliament adopting today a law prohibiting the activities of religious organizations affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine on the grounds of national security and prevention of foreign interference from Russia," he said.

Complex situation

Teona Laverlashvili, a visiting fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, told DW that the EU obviously did not want to interfere in this matter and would also not make a big deal of it in accession negotiations with Kyiv.

According to Laverlashvili, the EU evaluates potential member states on the basis of the Copenhagen criteria laid down by the European Council in 1993. These place the main emphasis on stable institutions, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the protection of minorities, she said.

"In theory, the prohibition of religious organizations connected to the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine can be scrutinized under these criteria, particularly concerning freedom of religion and the right to association," she said.

"However, in practice, the complexity of the situation in Ukraine must be factored in," Laverlashvili said.

High treason, collaboration and complicity

At the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukrainian authorities began more than 100 penal procedures against priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Twenty-six of those priests were convicted, according to Ukraine's security service, most of them on charges of high treason, collaboration with Russia and complicity.

The Russian Orthodox Church calls the invasion of Ukraine "a holy war" and propagates the notion that the entire territory of Ukraine "must be brought under Russia's sphere of influence alone." That is why Kyiv sees this church as the ideological arm of the Kremlin and as its accomplice in war crimes.

The war and the church: a cathedral is damaged after a Russian airstrike

Image: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto/picture alliance

A study by the Ukrainian State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience showed that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate remains an organization whose center is in Russia. It said there were still internal links to the Russian Orthodox Church, to which it is subordinated, and that its affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate has not been cut as claimed.

The Ukrainian church has now officially dispensed with the supplement "Moscow Patriarchate," which the country's Constitutional Court ordered it to take on in late 2022.

No international legal examination of the ban

Before it presented the bill, the Ukrainian government could have consulted with international bodies as to the constitutionality of the move, such as the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which examines whether legal acts conform with European standards. An assessment of this kind was called for by 46 Ukrainian parliamentarians.

But the parliamentary speaker, Ruslan Stefantschuk, rejected the initiative, saying it was unnecessary. "We use this mechanism with really complex bills," he told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

There was no external assessment in the end.

According to the parliamentary committee for EU integration, the bill is line with Ukraine's international obligations.

The committee members referred back to the part of above-mentioned Ukraine report by the European Commission dealing with the guarantee of fundamental rights. That report describes how Ukraine has been taking legal steps since November 2022 against the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church — not to be confused with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which is autocephalous, or self-governing, and not the subject of any ban.

These steps included sanctions on high-ranking church representatives who are accused of supporting the Russian invasion and searches of church-owned spaces.

In its report, the European Commission said Kyiv wanted "to prevent foreign intervention by Russia through a religious organization, without prosecuting normal members of the church."

Russia: Clergy under pressure  05:12

National security wins over freedom of religion

Teona Lavrelashvili said the EU's intention is plain to see. She considers the ban necessary to protect Ukraine's national security.

"In the context of the ongoing war, the EU will likely avoid interference, recognizing Ukraine’s measures as symbolic acts demonstrating Kyiv’s desire for spiritual independence from Moscow," she said.

Dmytro Wowk, a law professor and religious expert from the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in Kharkiv who is currently teaching in New York, also believes that the ban will probably not hinder Ukraine's European integration.

Teona Laverlashivili believes that Brussels will demand assurances from Kyiv when negotiations on Ukraine's EU accession are resumed.

She said the government must ensure that no one is discriminated against because of their religious convictions under the new law.

This article was originally written in Ukrainian.

What is Germany's populist BSW party?

Ben Knight

DW

The new Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) has won double-digit support in state elections in Thuringia and Saxony. While some of its positions overlap with the far right, it draws voters away from other political parties.

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is a populist party that blends left-leaning economic policies with conservative migration and pro-Russian foreign policy initiatives

Image: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/picture alliance


Sahra Wagenknecht, one of Germany's most divisive political figures, has seen a resounding success in two state elections, even though she is not on the ballot. In both Saxony and Thuringia, the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) — which the former Left Party parliamentary leader founded in January — ended up well ahead of the parties that make up Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government: the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP).

Espousing an unusual mix of left-wing economic policy and anti-migration rhetoric, the BSW is now set to play a part in government building in the two eastern German states, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won over 30% on Sunday.

Wagenknecht the disrupter

The emergence of the BSW underlines the disruption in eastern German politics that has taken place over the last decade. Disruption is also a good way to describe the BSW's influence on German politics.

In July, Wagenknecht described her own party's position in these terms to Germany's daily taz newspaper: "I believe that we simply represent and embody what many parties no longer stand for: enlightened conservatism in the sense of preserving traditions, security — on the streets and in public places, but also jobs, health care and pensions. The need for security, peace and justice has found a new political home with us."

How German politics could be reshaped by them   07:17

The party presented a manifesto that political analysts say has not existed in Germany in quite this way before.

"The BSW program is aimed at people who, on the one hand, have economically more left-wing positions but have more conservative cultural attitudes," said Daniel Seikel, a researcher at the Hans Böckler Foundation, which published an analysis of BSW supporters in June. "That explains to some extent why the BSW is so popular among people who voted for the AfD and the Left Party before."

The emergence of the BSW has decimated the support for Wagenknecht's former party, the Left, while the AfD does not seem to have been overly affected by it.

That might be considered surprising, given that the AfD and BSW appear to be fishing for similar voters. A recent study by the German Institute for Economic Research found that BSW and AfD policies overlap in several areas. Both are in favor of limiting migration, increasing deportations of rejected asylum-seekers and creating more controls at Germany's borders, for example.

Where they differ is on issues like social welfare: The AfD wants to limit benefits, and the BSW wants to maintain or expand some.

Seikel's research suggests that though the BSW has taken some support from the AfD and the Left Party, the biggest group among BSW supporters in eastern Germany was people who voted for the left and center-left at the last election.

Wagenknecht is an expert in attracting media attention

mage: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Populist, but not extremist

For Ursula Münch, director of the Tutzing Academy for Political Education, an independent institute, the BSW simply represents yet another threat to the traditional parties.

"The other parties are being put through the wringer by both the BSW and the AfD," she told DW.

Münch thinks immigration remains the key issue for German voters, and she believes that the BSW has successfully managed to present itself to voters as a non-extremist alternative to the AfD.

"The BSW can at the moment claim not to be an extremist party," she said. "It avoids racist rhetoric and has relatively decent main candidates, who have local political experience and federal political experience. I do see a difference with the AfD there."

The BSW has ruled out forming coalitions with the AfD, but it has called for a less dogmatic approach to the far-right party.

Why is the far-right AfD so powerful in eastern Germany?  13:55

Russia-friendly and anti-NATO

The BSW also attracts voters who are skeptical about Germany's support for Ukraine — another position that the BSW shares with the AfD and the Left Party.

The Left Party, which headed the state government in Thuringia until Sunday's election, is the successor to the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the communist party that once led the East German dictatorship. East Germany was part of the USSR-friendly Eastern Bloc, and there is still some residual hostility to the United States and NATO to this day.

Wagenknecht has sought to capitalize on anti-American sentiment in the former East.

She has suggested that opposing the stationing of US long-range weapons in Germany — a plan supported by the conservative Christian Democrats, Germany's largest opposition party, as well as the SPD, Greens and FDP — would be a condition for any coalition negotiations with the BSW.

"These weapons do not close a defense gap but are offensive weapons that would make Germany a prime target for Russian nuclear missiles. There are reasons why no other European country has stationed such missiles on its territory," Wagenknecht told the RND news network in early August.

"It's a relatively cheap demand to make because everyone knows very well that that can't be decided at the state level anyway," said Münch. "I'd say that's just electioneering, but also a clever chess move, because she touches certain fears — that Germany might be making itself a target — while knowing she doesn't necessarily have to stick to it."

Experts have said making headline-grabbing statements is Wagenknecht's strength.

"She was always a populist, even when she was in the Left Party," said Münch. "She's someone who is very good at picking up the mood among the population. She is good at stirring the mood of anti-elitism, even though from her education and language, she is part of the establishment."

Nevertheless, the BSW appears to have established itself as a significant force, at least in eastern Germany, by filling in gaps and finding voters left behind by the other parties.

Edited by: Rina Goldenberg

This article was first written on August 16, 2024 and later updated to reflect regional election results in Saxony and Thuringia.

The Ghost of Social-Fascism

Why should anyone today want to bother with such a relic of the past as "the theory of social-fascism"? 

What will Bangladesh's post-Hasina era look like?

Zobaer Ahmed in Dhaka

DW

Four weeks after former premier Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh during a student-led revolt, the absence of her Awami League has left a notable void in the country's political landscape. Who will step up to fill that void?

Sheikh Hasina's tenure came to an end in August after 15 years of iron-fisted rule

Image: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images


On August 5, Sheikh Hasina resigned as Bangladesh's long-serving prime minister following weeks of deadly protests over a controversial quota system for government jobs that would have reserved more than half of the well-paid and secure civil service positions for specific groups.

The student demonstrations morphed into a mass movement that forced Hasina to leave office and flee to India, ending her 15-year iron-fisted tenure. An interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus — which includes two student leaders in senior positions — now runs the country.

According to Human Rights Watch, hundreds were killed and thousands more injured in what were among the deadliest crackdowns on protests in Bangladesh's recent history.

"Over 1,000 people have been killed and over 400 students have lost their eyesight," according to a statement from the interim Health Ministry cited by Reuters news agency.

Bangladeshi students on July 17 mourned classmates killed in protests over civil service hiring rulesImage: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images

Will the BNP fill the political void?

For most of the past three decades, Bangladesh has been governed either by Hasina's Awami League or the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of her rival Khaleda Zia.

With Hasina out of the picture, the opposition BNP is keen to talk to other parties to create a road map for political reform and elections.

"When a void is created in politics, a storm comes to fill that void," BNP spokesman Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed told DW. "If an artificial void is prolonged, it will inevitably be filled somehow. Therefore, the best approach is to engage in dialogue."
Jamaat's goal: 'political unity'

While the center-right BNP is pushing for discussions, their long-time ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, has taken a different approach.

Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, had been banned by Hasnia's government under an anti-terrorism law, however the interim government last week revoked the ban on the Islamic party, saying it did not find evidence of its involvement in "terrorist activities."

Sheikh Hasina was at the helm of Bangladesh for 15 consecutive yearsImage: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/REUTERS

Jamaat is now looking to strengthen its political position and, according to local newspaper reports, it wants to unite Islamic parties in areas where these parties have a strong presence.

Jamaat's central publicity secretary, Matiur Rahman Akand, said the party has discussed forming an Islamic alliance.

"We have said that all political parties and forces should unite to build the country," Akand told DW. "No minority, no majority, we want unity."

When asked whether there are any future plans for an Islamic alliance, he said, "We can't say anything about the future right now. Given the current situation, we are trying to figure out how to build the country."

Students want a 'non-binary' system

Meanwhile, Hasnat Abdullah, a leader of the anti-quota student movement, recently told DW that they want to move beyond binary politics.

"We will expect change," Abdullah told DW. "The binary system that has been created, either right or left, either up or down, either Awami League or BNP, this binary politics that has developed, Bangladesh will come out of it."

In an earlier interview, he also mentioned that he wanted to see a change in the family-based politics of Bangladesh.

"We Bangladeshis haven't seen any sustainable change through this family-based politics," Abdullah said. "I hope Bangladesh will come out of this family-based politics for sustainable change."

Abdullah also addressed speculation that students would form a new political party, insisting that no decision had been made.

Bangladesh's youth call for unity through graffiti   02:21

But the BNP's secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said they would welcome the formation of a student party.

"Democracy is about a multi-party system," Alamgir said. "We should let a hundred flowers bloom."

GM Quader, chairman of the Jatiya Party, the third largest in Bangladesh, expressed similar sentiments, saying that, "if students form a party, we will commend it."

But when asked if a student party would pose a political challenge to the BNP, Alamgir pointed out that his party has been established for decades.

"We were born in 1979," Alamgir told DW. "When elections are held, it will be clear who has how much support. We have proven it on the streets, so I don't want to argue about that."

Quader, referring to the two student leaders who are currently part of the interim government, said, "However, if they form a political party while being in the government, it won't be a level-playing field."

When will elections take place?

Balgladesh's interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, recently outlined some guidelines for state reforms in an address to the nation — but he did not present a clear plan for the elections.

He called for patience and said that the decision on the election road map would be made through political discussions. He emphasized the importance of strengthening local government institutions and decentralizing power to solidify democracy.

"To give a successful outcome to the mass uprising of students and people, we will complete the necessary reforms in the administration, judiciary, election commission, electoral system, law enforcement, and information flow to organize a free, fair, and participatory election," Yunus said.

However, some analysts believe that the current interim government should at least announce a broad road map.

"They should make it clear that their first task is to compile a database of those killed and injured in the July massacre, and outline the steps they are taking for justice," Samina Lutfa, associate professor of sociology at Dhaka University, said in reference to the deadly student demonstrations.

Bangladesh students demand generational change  02:40

Clock ticking

Lutfa believes that the interim government should clearly explain how the economy will be managed in the short term and then outline the long-term issues.

"It is certain that the constitution will have to be amended," she said.

"Otherwise, nothing currently happening in Bangladesh can be done under the current constitution. If they want to form a constituent assembly or hold a convention to amend the constitution, that would be the second step," Lufta said, adding that as a third step, Bangladesh could move towards elections.

According to her, if the current government clearly communicates these matters, all political parties will gain confidence, and even non-reactionary parties will have the time and opportunity to organize themselves.

Edited by: Keith Walker

EAST GERMANY

TikTok likely helped far right in elections: researchers

Janosch Delcker

DW

The AfD was twice as effective at reaching first-time voters on the app than all other parties combined, according to an analysis of platform data. This may explain why the party performed so well among young voters.

POLL CHARTS INFOGRAPHICS
https://p.dw.com/p/4kC1l

The AfD and its co-leader Alice Weidel have been extremely active on TikTok

mage: Guido Schiefer/IMAGO


To what extent did TikTok help Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) achieve record results in two regional elections?

The AfD emerged as the strongest party among young voters between the ages of 18 and 24 by a wide margin, according to pollster infratest dimap.

Given TikTok's popularity among young users, this could be linked to the strong presence of AfD content on the platform, said Roland Verwiebe, a professor at the University of Potsdam and one of the coordinators of a project monitoring the activity of German parties on TikTok.

"We believe that the AfD's success on TikTok very likely contributed to the AfD's electoral success," Verwiebe told DW.

"Half of all 16-24 year olds only get their political information from TikTok," he added: "That makes the platform extraordinarily influential."

In Sunday's elections in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia the AfD garnered the best results of any far-right party since World War II. The AfD alone secured more than double the votes of the three parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government combined — the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the environmentalist Greens, and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP).

AfD dominance in user feeds

The researchers in Potsdam conducted an analysis of user data, which suggests that in the weeks leading up to the vote, AfD-related content reached a much larger audience on the social media platform than content related to other political parties.

For their analysis, they created 30 fictitious TikTok profiles of users born in 2006 and living in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg, where regional elections were about to be held.

They then analyzed more than 75,000 videos that appeared in their feeds during the weeks leading up to the election.

On average, they found that users were shown nine videos per week with AfD content — compared to just over one video per week related to the center-right Christian Democratic Union or the newly formed populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), and significantly less content related to any other party.

At the same time, the researchers observed that the number of videos appearing in user feeds did not correlate with the total amount of content created by the parties.

"The SPD, for example, produced more videos than the AfD in the eight weeks before the state elections,” said Verwiebe, "but the party's videos were barely played in users' feeds."

One reason could be that a network of well-connected right-wing influencers on TikTok share AfD content and help amplify it, according to Verwiebe; another could be that the majority of AfD candidates, more than any other party, are themselves active on the platform.

The AfD has been more active on TikTok than any other political party in the German parliament, according to a June 2024 study by the Anne Frank Educational Center.

Political analysts attribute the AfD's rising popularity among young voters, at least in part, to this social media presence.

In the June 2024 European elections, 16% of young Germans voted for the AfD, tripling the party's share of this demographic compared to the last election five years ago. This trend was reflected in last weekend's regional elections, Verwiebe said.

The pro-AfD content he and his co-researchers observed before the state elections varied widely, he added, ranging from clips of political speeches to emotional videos on topics such as immigration, and seemingly non-political content such as travel or cooking videos.

"The AfD has mastered the entertaining nature of TikTok very well," he added. "They have understood the TikTok playbook very well."

Reclaim - The struggle for democracy on TikTok  28:34

Edited by Rina Goldenberg

 AN ELECTION DOES NOT A DEMOCRACY MAKE 

Tunisia's electoral body dismisses court ruling that reinstated presidential candidates

Tunisia's electoral commission rejected on Monday an administrative court ruling that had reinstated three presidential election candidates, leaving just two challengers to face incumbent leader Kais Saied in next month's vote.

Issued on: 02/09/2024 - 

A demonstrator carries a banner during a protest in Tunis demanding the reinstatement of three prominent candidates in the upcoming presidential race, on September 2, 2024. © Jihed Abidellaoui, Reuters

Tunisia's electoral authority on Monday announced it had approved three presidential candidates for the October 6 election, including incumbemt President Kais Saied, dismissing three other would-be candidates despite court rulings allowing them to run.

The three dismissed candidates had last week won appeals at the Administrative Court against a decision from the High Independent Authority for Elections (ISIE) disqualifying them from running.

The authority had said they had not obtained enough of the endorsements required to run for the top post. They were among 14 hopefuls whose bids for the race were rejected.

On Monday, the ISIE said its initial list was "definitive and not subject to appeal".

It said it was maintaining the same list announced on August 10 because "the administrative court did not officially communicate its decisions within the 48-hour deadline according to the law".

As it stands, former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui and businessman Ayachi Zammel are set to challenge Saied, the election's frontrunner.

Zammel was however arrested earlier Monday on charges of lying about details of his campaign, according to his team.

Zammel is the only approved candidate to be arrested, but he joins a list of presidential hopefuls who have been imprisoned or are facing prosecution.

Saied was democratically elected in 2019 but orchestrated a sweeping power grab in 2021.

On Saturday, a petition signed by prominent Tunisians and civil society groups urged that rejected candidates be allowed to stand in the October election.

Among the rejected candidates are Imed Daimi, an adviser to former president Moncef Marzouki, former minister Mondher Zenaidi and opposition party leader Abdellatif Mekki.

The petition said the administrative court's rulings on appeals "are enforceable and cannot be contested by any means whatsoever".

It called on the ISIE to "respect the law and avoid any practice that could undermine the transparency and integrity of the electoral process".

Tunisia election body ignores court in presidential vote

Tunis (AFP) – Tunisia's electoral board said Monday it approved three candidates for an October 6 presidential election, ignoring court rulings that had granted appeals by three other hopefuls who had been rejected.


Issued on: 02/09/2024 -

Tunisia's President Kais Saied pictured on December 24, 2023 

© FETHI BELAID / AFP

The three dismissed candidates were among 14 potential contenders to be turned down by the electoral board, ISIE, last month for not obtaining enough endorsements to challenge President Kais Saied.

Last week, the three hopefuls unexpectedly won appeals at the administrative court against ISIE's decision, in a verdict the court called "definitive".

But on Monday, ISIE chief Farouk Bouasker said the board's initial list of candidates was also "definitive" and "not subject to appeal".

Bouasker said the ISIE was maintaining the initial list because "the administrative court did not officially communicate its decisions within a 48-hour deadline, as per the law".

Saied, the incumbent and election frontrunner, was democratically elected in 2019 but orchestrated a sweeping power grab in 2021 and has since ruled by decree.

Former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui and businessman Ayachi Zammel are now his only challengers in next month's poll.

Isabelle Werenfels, a political scientist at the Germany-based SWP institute, told AFP that ISIE's decision "has practically decided the outcome of the vote".
'Clear path ahead'

She also said that "part of the justice system under Saied's influence will obstruct the campaigns" of challengers Maghzaoui and Zammel.

On Monday, Zammel was arrested on charges of forging ballot endorsements and was later placed in police custody for 48 hours, members of his campaign said.

His arrest came a month after the treasurer of his Azimoun party was arrested on similar charges.

Several would-be candidates were accused of forging such signatures and barred from running for office.

Hatem Nafti, a political commentator and author of a forthcoming book on Saied's authoritarian rule, said the incumbent "now has a clear path ahead of him".

"The candidates who could have hindered Saied have just been eliminated," he told AFP, adding that ISIE's decision "has proved that there is no longer any rule of law".

"We now have a candidate from within the regime," he said of Maghzaoui, who supported Saied's 2021 power grab, "and another one in prison since this morning".

Zammel is the only approved candidate to have been arrested, but he joins a list of would-be hopefuls who have been imprisoned or are facing prosecution.

Prior to Zammel's arrest, Human Rights Watch said Tunisian authorities "have prosecuted, convicted or imprisoned at least eight prospective candidates" for the October vote.

The North African country under Saied was "gearing up for a presidential election amid increased repression of dissent and free speech, without crucial checks and balances on President Saied's power", HRW added.

The rejected candidates whose appeals were granted are Imed Daimi, an adviser to former president Moncef Marzouki, former minister Mondher Zenaidi and opposition party leader Abdellatif Mekki.

Zenaidi's campaign staff said Monday they would again appeal ISIE's decision with the administrative court.

In a Facebook post, they said ISIE "showed that it is no longer independent".

On Saturday, a petition signed by prominent Tunisians and civil society groups urged that rejected candidates be allowed to stand in the election.

The petition said the administrative court's rulings on appeals "are enforceable and cannot be contested by any means whatsoever".
'Pure formality'

It also called on ISIE to "respect the law and avoid any practice that could undermine the transparency and integrity of the electoral process".

But ISIE's announcement Monday of the official list of candidates dashed such hopes.

Activists and political figures gathered near the ISIE offices to protest against the electoral board's final list.

"Today, ISIE decides whatever it wants and even goes beyond the rulings of the highest judicial authority," said Rim Mahjoub, leader of the Afek Tounes party, referring to the administrative court.

Houssem Hami, coordinator of the Soumoud centre-left political coalition, said that with only three candidates "the election will become a pure formality, without much excitement for Tunisians".

For Werenfels, however, the conflict between ISIE and the administrative court showed "there are elite struggles behind the scenes among proponents and opponents of Saied".

"This could be positive for what remains of democracy," she said. "But it is also problematic if not dangerous."

"The president could become more authoritarian if he feels he is being challenged."

© 2024 AFP

Tunisia Police Arrest Presidential Candidate as Pre-Election Tension Rises

Asharq Al Awsat
2 September 2024 

AD ـ 28 Safar 1446 AH

Tunisian police arrested presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel on Monday, a member of his campaign told Reuters.
The electoral commission is preparing to announce on Monday the final list of accepted candidates for the presidential elections scheduled for Oct. 6.
Mahdi Abdel Jawad said police had arrested Zammel at his home at about 3:00 a.m. on suspicion of falsifying popular endorsements.
Last week, the Administrative Court, the highest judicial body that adjudicates electoral disputes, reinstated three prominent candidates, Mondher Znaidi, AbdelLatif Mekki and Imed Daimi, to the election race after the electoral commission had rejected their candidacy filing.
They joined accepted candidates Ayachi Zammel, Zouhair Maghzaoui and Kais Saied, the current president.
However, electoral commission head Farouk Bouasker said the commission would study the Administrative Court’s decision and other judicial decisions against candidates before issuing the final list.

UK govt announces partial suspension of arms exports to Israel

A PARTIAL VICTORY

By AFP
September 2, 2024


A Palestinian man who returned to Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip to check on his home sits atop items salvaged amid the devastation - Copyright AFP Eyad BABA

Britain said Monday it would suspend some arms exports to Israel, citing a “clear risk” that they could be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law.

Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said he was “deeply disheartened” to hear of the sanctions but rights groups said the suspensions did not go far enough.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy told parliament that the UK would suspend 30 out of 350 arms exports licences following a review by his department into Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas militants.

He said the partial ban covered items “which could be used in the current conflict in Gaza”, including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones.

The ban does not include parts for Israel’s advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets, Lammy added.

Lammy announced a review looking at the arms sales shortly after Labour swept to power in a landslide general election victory over the Conservatives in early July.

“It is with regret that… the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” he told lawmakers.

He stressed that the suspension was “not a determination of innocence or guilt” and that the situation would be kept under review.

“We have not and could not arbitrate on whether or not Israel has breached international humanitarian law,” Lammy said, adding that Britain is “not an international court”.

Lammy restated Britain’s support for Israel to defend itself and stressed the suspension would not have a “material impact on Israel’s security”.

– ‘Bad decision’ –

Britain’s centre-left Labour government has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and for the speeding up of aid deliveries into Gaza, since taking power on July 5.


Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the partial suspension in parliament – Copyright PRU/AFP –

It has largely followed the same approach to the conflict as the previous Conservative government, with Lammy and other ministers at pains to demand Hamas release the hostages seized in its October 7 attacks as part of any ceasefire.

Some commentators have suggested however that Labour, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer — a former human rights lawyer — may take a tougher long-term stance towards Israel and how it conducts its military operations.

Last week, the UK foreign ministry said it was “deeply” concerned by an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, urging it to “exercise restraint” and adhere to international law.

Amnesty International’s UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said the government’s decision was a belated acceptance of “the very clear and disturbing evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza”.

But he and other rights groups said it did not go far enough, and called the exemption for F-35 components “a catastrophically bad decision” as the jets were being used “extensively” in Gaza.

A trio of rights groups took the Dutch government to court this year over its supply of parts for the jets.

“We need to see a complete halt — with no loopholes, including for components for F-35s supplied to the USA for onward export to the Israeli military — to all UK arms transfers to Israel,” Deshmukh added.

The UK government has faced legal action from rights groups about its export of arms and military components to Israel.

Britain’s strategic licensing criteria states that weapons should not be exported when there is a clear risk they could be used in international humanitarian law violations.

That led to claims that the government was ignoring its own rules in the Gaza conflict

UK suspends some arms exports to Israel over risk of international law breach

Britain will immediately suspend 30 of its 350 arms export licences with Israel because there is a risk such equipment might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, UK Foreign Minister David Lammy announced on Monday, in a move rights groups said did not go far enough.

Issued on: 02/09/2024 - 

Protesters call for a ban on arms exports to Israel outside the House of Parliament in London on April 17, 2024. © Justin Tallis, Reuters


Britain said Monday it would suspend some arms exports to Israel, citing a "clear risk" that they could be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law.

Israel's defence minister Yoav Gallant said he was "deeply disheartened" to hear of the sanctions but rights groups said the suspensions did not go far enough.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy told parliament that the UK would suspend 30 out of 350 arms exports licences following a review by his department into Israel's conduct of its war against Hamas militants.

He said the partial ban covered items "which could be used in the current conflict in Gaza", including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones.

The ban does not include parts for Israel's advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets, Lammy added.

Lammy announced a review looking at the arms sales shortly after Labour swept to power in a landslide general election victory over the Conservatives in early July.

"It is with regret that... the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law," he told lawmakers.

He stressed that the suspension was "not a determination of innocence or guilt" and that the situation would be kept under review.

"We have not and could not arbitrate on whether or not Israel has breached international humanitarian law," Lammy said, adding that Britain is "not an international court".

Lammy restated Britain's support for Israel to defend itself and stressed the suspension would not have a "material impact on Israel's security".

'Bad decision'

Britain's centre-left Labour government has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and for the speeding up of aid deliveries into Gaza, since taking power on July 5.

It has largely followed the same approach to the conflict as the previous Conservative government, with Lammy and other ministers at pains to demand Hamas release the hostages seized in its October 7 attacks as part of any ceasefire.

Some commentators have suggested however that Labour, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer – a former human rights lawyer – may take a tougher long-term stance towards Israel and how it conducts its military operations.

Read moreFrance under pressure to suspend military sales to Israel as war in Gaza grinds on

Last week, the UK foreign ministry said it was "deeply" concerned by an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, urging it to "exercise restraint" and adhere to international law.

Amnesty International's UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said the government's decision was a belated acceptance of "the very clear and disturbing evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza".

But he and other rights groups said it did not go far enough, and called the exemption for F-35 components "a catastrophically bad decision" as the jets were being used "extensively" in Gaza.

A trio of rights groups took the Dutch government to court this year over its supply of parts for the jets.


"We need to see a complete halt – with no loopholes, including for components for F-35s supplied to the USA for onward export to the Israeli military – to all UK arms transfers to Israel," Deshmukh added.

The UK government has faced legal action from rights groups about its export of arms and military components to Israel.

Britain's strategic licensing criteria states that weapons should not be exported when there is a clear risk they could be used in international humanitarian law violations.

That led to claims that the government was ignoring its own rules in the Gaza conflict.

(AFP)

'Devotion to security can kill': 'Contradiction between return of hostages and destruction of Hamas'

Issued on: 02/09/2024 

Video by:Nadia MASSIH

Israeli protesters took to the streets for a second day and the largest trade union launched a general strike to press the government to reach a deal to return hostages still held by Hamas, after six more captives were found dead in Gaza. The strike disrupted transport and medical services in several Israeli districts and many shops and businesses were closed after the head of the Histadrut union, which represents hundreds of thousands of workers, called a national stoppage. The recovery at the weekend of the six hostages, who authorities said were shot dead between just 48-72 hours before being found by Israeli forces, triggered a wave of grief and fury in Israel, prompting at least half a million people to take to the streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire agreement with Palestinian militant group Hamas to bring the remaining 101 hostages home. As Israelis take their anger to the streets to demand a Gaza hostage deal, FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih is joined by Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg. "Israel has defined two goals for this war: the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages," explains Mr. Goldberg. "For the past eleven months, we have perpetuated, we have encouraged the lie that those two goals are commensurate, and perhaps even complimentary." And now, Mr. Goldberg asserts, the "preventable" deaths of the 6 hostages that has shocked the nation has "snapped that connection: Israelis now realize there's a contradiction between the return of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas. We are still unable, as a collective, as a people, to call for an end to the war. We are very much attached to the notion of security." And now Israelis are discovering a cruel, even ruthless, irony in the notion of security and pursuing national defense at all costs: "This devotion to security can actually kill us."