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Benjamin Netanyahu, the ever-present figure in Israeli politics for three decades is down and out.

“Bibi”, to give him his near-universal nickname, has been written off so many times, but now, the man they call “the magician” has run out of tricks and run out of road.

After four elections in just two years, 24 months of political stagnation, a new dawn has broken for Israeli politics. It heralds the beginning for a remarkable coalition and the end for an extraordinary political operator.

Anshel Pfeffer, Netanyahu’s biographer, said Netanyahu "was Trump before Trump"
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Anshel Pfeffer, Netanyahu’s biographer, said Netanyahu ‘was Trump before Trump’

Trump before Trump

Benjamin Netanyahu has been Israel‘s prime minister for the last 12 years: the longest serving leader in the country’s history. That wasn’t the start though. He was also prime minister between 1996 and 1999. In opposition before then and between those two stints, he was in the wings, plotting and driving his form of populist nationalist politics.

Bibi, the secular Jewish populist, cast himself as the defender of the nation against Iran, the defender of the Jewish State against the Palestinians, and most recently, as the saviour of the nation against coronavirus.

He is a politician who was channelling Trump while the former American president was still building casinos.

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“He was Trump before Trump,” Netanyahu’s unofficial biographer, Anshel Pfeffer told me.

“He is a constant campaigner, he’s basically running for re-election the whole time. He doesn’t take a break between elections. So many of the populist politicians we talk about today – Orban in Hungary, Boris Johnson; Netanyahu was doing a lot of what they are doing now long before they were on the scene.

“Probably the only politician who was doing this in the television era before Netanyahu is Silvio Berlusconi in Italy,” Pfeffer said.

A survivor not a winner

Curiously Netanyahu was never actually a landslide politician. While often compared, as a savvy political operator, to Blair or Clinton, he only ever scraped in, but he did it consistently and that’s what mattered.

Israel is a country that functions on coalitions and Bibi was always the man who managed to form them. Critics, though, say he did it through exploitation rather than consensus.

Ehud Olmert was Netanyahu’s predecessor as prime minister. The two men were once in the same party, Likud. But as it tacked to the right, Olmert remained a centrist.

Mr Olmert told Sky News: “We never we were never friends. I never liked him. I never felt close to him. I never felt that he is a genuine human being [but] I thought it was a highly talented performer, the greatest that I’ve met in modern politics… He’s a genius. I mean, there there will be no one that can compete with him in on television. Laurence Olivier?”

He continued: “He’s a great performer, but when you look at the substance of things, the divisions within the Israeli society today are greater than ever before.”

Ehud Olmert, Netanyahu's predecessor as prime minister, said 'we were never friends' but Netanyahu is 'a genius'
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Ehud Olmert, Netanyahu’s predecessor as prime minister, said ‘we were never friends’ but Netanyahu is ‘a genius’

Pfeffer agreed: “Netanyahu is the most divisive prime minister in history, he has exploited every divide in Israeli society between Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, left and right.

“All these all these divides have been exploited and the communities have been played off against each other to keep him in power. That’s something that Israeli society will be paying the price for for years to come.”

Danny Danon has been a close confidant of Netanyahu for decades. He is a former Likud party politician and a nationalist who doesn’t believe in a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Until last year he was Netanyahu’s ambassador to the United Nations.

He told Sky News: “Many Israelis were born knowing only Netanyahu as the prime minister of Israel.

“He is one of the greatest leaders in Israel’s history and his dedication to our security, I think that the most important thing in his legacy.”

Under Netanyahu, Israel enjoyed the longest period of economic growth in its history; an achievement only damaged by the coronavirus pandemic which ‘the magician’ managed still to turn to his advantage. From the beginning he was the consummate communicator.

Describing his early political years, Pfeffer, author of Bibi: The Turbulent Life & Times of Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “He had literally sat at home over weekends with a rented video camera and trained himself how to do sound bites, how to do have strong, strong interviews on television.

“And when he came along in the late 1980s, he literally blew everyone away and he’s kept that advantage ever since.”

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The lights have gone out on Netanyahu’s tenure as Israel’s prime minister

Bibi the peacemaker?

Despite his persona as a tough-man, the former captain in the Israeli special forces actually presided over a period of relative calm, in Israeli terms.

He has been risk-averse while building up the nation’s defences and moulding a stalemate with the Palestinians precisely because it played to his advantage.

Pfeffer said: “He has this warmongering image which he which he builds up himself, but he never pushed the button and he never launched the big attack on Iran… He didn’t launch another war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, as his predecessors did. So all these things have been talked about, but never actually happened. He’s been risk averse and that is to his credit.”

But it was all to the detriment of the Palestinian people. Netanyahu’s politics, combined with splits and failures in the Palestinians’ own leadership, have stalled the peace process.

Olmert believes the impact of this failure on the reputation of the Jewish State is huge: “The lack of political solution for the Palestinian issue is the greatest threat to the status of the State of Israel. We need to separate from the Palestinians. We need to end the occupation. We can’t be seen in the international community as occupiers because this will destroy the image of Israel, the status of Israel.”

The latest round of fighting in Gaza hinted at a consequence of the stalemate. The Palestinian cause seemed more united than ever before, but it was a street-level unity. The politicians on all sides remain intransigent.

Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi said Netanyahu's legacy was 'one of the most, if not the most destructive legacy for Israel, for the whole region'
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Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi said Netanyahu’s legacy was ‘one of the most, if not the most destructive legacy for Israel, for the whole region’

Hanan Ashrawi, a central figure over decades in the quest for Palestinian statehood has a scathing assessment of Netanyahu’s legacy.

She told Sky News: “I think Netanyahu’s legacy has been one of the most, if not the most destructive legacy for Israel, for the whole region, and I think in many ways, by legitimising fascism and violence and manipulation and control as well as corruption, he has created a situation where the chances of peace have become all that more difficult, if not impossible.”

Confronting Iran

After 12 years in power, Netanyahu as been central in reminding western nations of what he sees as the malign behaviour of Iran. Yet in that time, Iran has come closer and closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Mr Danon doesn’t see this as a failure.

He told me: “I think the fact that he put Iran on the spotlight in the last decade and everybody today sees the real threat coming from Tehran… maybe some people see different ways to deal with the threat, but he exposed it and he mobilised our intelligence agencies to bring information. And today the Iranians cannot work quietly, continue with their ideas. All the spotlights on them.”

The last few years of his premiership have been dominated by his corruption trial – three cases of fraud, bribery and breach of trust. The trial is ongoing.

Netanyahu is said to have used Trump-style tactics long before the former US president came to power
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Netanyahu is said to have used Trump-style tactics long before the former US president came to power

The legacy?

Netanyahu presided over a prolonged period of peace within Israel, but even that was in doubt with recent sectarian violence between Arabs and Jews which he did nothing to calm.

He signed unprecedented and laudable diplomatic normalisation deals with Gulf Arab nations, but on that core issue which defines the land he’s ruled for so long, the Israel-Palestinian conflict, something which many Israelis seem oddly oblivious to, there are no solutions.

Netanyahu failed to bring about a lasting peace and chose instead the status quo which works for Israelis but does not for the Palestinians.

In his final interview before he died in 2016, former Israeli president and prime minister Shimon Peres was asked if he still thought there was a chance for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

He said: “I don’t think there [is] another alternative. Neither for the Palestinians, nor for us. The only alternative is an ongoing war. But contrary to what people think, in war there are no victories, only victims. No war is ever finished unless its being replaced by peace.”

Netanyahu and his supporters will claim he achieved many victories. But he did not replace war with peace.

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Zelenskyy says Putin could attack a NATO member ‘within five years’ to test alliance

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Zelenskyy says Putin could attack a NATO member 'within five years' to test alliance

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Sky News that Vladimir Putin could attack a NATO country within five years to test the alliance.

The Ukrainian president made the comments in an interview with chief presenter Mark Austin.

But when asked if Russia could attack within months, Mr Zelenskyy said he did not “believe [Putin] is ready”.

Mr Zelenskyy also said plans for NATO members to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 are “very slow” – adding: “We believe that, starting from 2030, Putin can have significantly greater capabilities.

“Today, Ukraine is holding him up, he has no time to drill the army.”

Sky's Mark Austin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy
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Sky’s Mark Austin meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Russia’s soldiers are “all getting annihilated and wiped out at the battlefield”, he warned.

“In any case, [Putin] needs a pause, he needs sanctions to be lifted, he needs a drilled army.

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“And 10 years is a very long time. He will have a new army ready [by then].”

Zelenskyy appeared defiant – but he’s struggling to make himself heard


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Mark Austin

Chief presenter

He’s an embattled wartime leader struggling to make himself heard. For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the war in Iran could not have come at a worse time.

Suddenly the world’s attention is on a different conflict and most crucially so is the attention of the most powerful man in the world, Donald Trump.

But this is a big 24 hours for Zelenskyy, a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street followed by the NATO summit in The Hague.

When I sat down with President Zelenskyy in the last few hours he had two main issues on his mind.

Firstly, the proposed spending pledge by NATO countries of 5% of GDP by 2035 – that he said was too slow and warned that Putin would be ready with a new army within five years. He said the Russian leader would likely attack a NATO country within a few years to test Article 5.

Then he was on to sanctions, which he told me, were not working. Countries, including the UK, were allowing dual use components used in the production of drones and missiles to still get into Russian hands and must be blocked.

He also still insisted there would be no negotiations without a ceasefire. This war is not going well for Ukraine right now.

Three-and-a-half years into it, the fighting goes on and Zelenskyy appeared to be a defiant president determined to see it through.

The UK and its NATO allies will formally sign off the defence spending plans when the heads of state and government meet in The Hague today and tomorrow.

The spending goal is broken down into 3.5% of GDP to be spent on pure defence and 1.5% of GDP on related areas, such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.

Defence spending of 5% is the kind of level invested by NATO allies during the Cold War.

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Mr Zelenskyy met Sir Keir Starmer at Downing Street and Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle at parliament on Monday, before travelling to Windsor Castle for a meeting with the King.

The Ukrainian president has been invited to the NATO summit, but will not take part in its main discussions. It is still unclear whether he will attend.

You can watch the full interview throughout the day on Sky News

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Iran says it’s carried out ‘mighty and successful’ attack on US base – as Qatar air defences ‘thwart assault’

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Iran says it's carried out 'mighty and successful' attack on US base - as Qatar air defences 'thwart assault'

Iran claims it has carried out a “mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression” after launching missile attacks on a US military base in Qatar and Iraq.

The attack comes after the US dropped “bunker buster bombs” on three key nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend.

Iran’s response this evening is the latest escalation in tensions in the volatile region.

Qatar has said there were no casualties at the al Udeid base following the strikes and that its “air defences thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles”.

People in Qatar’s capital, Doha, had stopped and gazed up at the sky as missiles flew and interceptors fired.

Follow latest: Iran attacks US bases

Iran had announced on state television that it had attacked American forces stationed at the al Udeid airbase.

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A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression” as martial music played.

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Iran releases video after attack on US base

Initial reports claimed Iran had also targeted a base housing US troops in western Iraq, but a US military official later told Reuters news agency the attack in Qatar was the only one detected.

A US government official said the White House and US defence department was “closely monitoring” the potential threats to its base.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump was in the Situation Room in the White House with his team following the Iranian strikes.

Traces are seen in the sky over Qatar after Iran's armed forces targeted the al Udeid base. Pic: Reuters
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Traces are seen in the sky over Qatar after Iran’s armed forces targeted the al Udeid base. Pic: Reuters

He later said in a post on Truth Social that the missiles were a “very weak response”, which the US “expected” and “very effectively countered”.

He added: “Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE.

“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured.

“Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a post on X: “We have not violated anyone’s rights, nor will we ever accept anyone violating ours, and we will not surrender to anyone’s violation; this is the logic of the Iranian nation.”

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The attacks came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran.

Just before the explosions, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: “We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer.”

Kuwait and Bahrain briefly shut their airspaces after the attack, news agencies in each country reported.

Iraq also shut its airspace, while Oman Air suspended some flights in the region.

The Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it is rerouting several flights today and tomorrow due to restrictions in parts of the Middle East.

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US strikes: How much damage has been done to Iran’s nuclear facilities?

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US strikes: How much damage has been done to Iran's nuclear facilities?

Three of Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities – Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan – were targeted in US airstrikes on 22 June.

The prime target of the attacks was Iran’s most advanced facility at Fordow, suspected of being used to enrich uranium close to what’s needed for a nuclear bomb.

Satellite images from the aftermath of the US strikes suggest at least six bombs were dropped there.

Satellite imagery of Fordow after the US bombing. Credit: Maxar
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Satellite imagery of Fordow after the US bombing. Pic: Maxar Technologies

The secure nuclear facility, home to Iran’s main enrichment site, is buried deep under a mountain.

So exactly how much damage was done is unknown, perhaps even to Iran, which appears to have evacuated the site. The specific location of the strikes and the bombs used gives us an indication.

America used the 30,000-lb Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, or a GBU-57 – commonly known as a “bunker buster”.

The bunker buster is the only missile that had a chance of destroying the Fordow facility, and American planes were needed for them to be used.

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Blueprints from Iran’s Nuclear Archive, which date from before 2004 and were seized by Israeli spies in 2018, suggest the bombs targeted the tunnels under the Fordow site.

Blueprints of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant show tunnels running through the mountain. Pic: Google Earth
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Blueprints of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant suggest tunnels run through the mountain. Pic: Google Earth

The access tunnels overground lead to a 250 metre long hall which is thought to contain the uranium enrichment centrifuges, and well as the location of what is thought to be ventilation shafts.

Iran is thought to have likely moved any enriched uranium from the facility before the strikes occurred. But if the ventilation shafts were hit, that would allow the bombs to penetrate as far as possible and hit the centrifuge hall itself.

Iran’s major nuclear facilities seriously damaged, if not completely destroyed


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Tom Clarke

Science and technology editor

@t0mclark3

The loss of industrial-scale centrifuge “cascades” used to enrich uranium will certainly derail any imminent deadlines in weaponisation the Islamic Republic may have set itself – more on that below.

But it has already amassed a sizeable stockpile of highly enriched uranium and may even have already enriched some of it to the 90% or so needed to make fissile material necessary for a bomb.

And despite strikes on industrial scale facilities that have taken decades to generate that stockpile, the material itself weighs less than half a tonne.

Moving it, splitting it up, concealing it, is not beyond the wit of a nation that expected these assaults may be coming.

Iran’s nuclear programme is also more than its large-scale facilities. Iran has been developing nuclear expertise and industrial processes for decades. It would take more than a concerted bombing campaign to wipe that out.

The final steps to “weaponise” highly enriched uranium are technically challenging, but Iran was known to be working on them more than 20 years ago.

Iran also does not require industrial-scale facilities like those needed to enrich uranium, meaning they could be more easily concealed in a network of smaller, discrete lab-sized buildings.

But what’s far from clear is whether Iran had actually taken steps towards weaponisation in recent years.

Recent US intelligence assessments indicated that it hadn’t. Iran’s leaders knew that very significant moves towards making a bomb would be seen as a major escalation by its neighbours and the international community.

For a long time, a key deterrent to Iran developing a nuclear weapon has been an internal political one.

It’s possible of course that position may have been shifting and these latest strikes were designed to disarm a rapidly weaponising Iran.

But it’s also possible the attacks on its nuclear programme may be forcing a previously tentative government to push harder towards making a nuclear bomb.

Fordow is only one of three nuclear facilities targeted in America’s strike, however, and one of seven that have been targeted since the conflict began.

Natanz’s uranium enrichment facility, about 140 km south of Fordow, had been subject to multiple Israeli strikes before America’s advance.

Israeli raids targeted surface buildings, including stores of enriched uranium. However, post-strike radiation monitoring suggested there was little, if any, nuclear material there.

At the weekend, Americans dropped bunker-buster bombs there too, targeting thousands of enrichment centrifuges operating in bunkers below.

Pic: Maxar Technologies
Image:
Destruction at the Natanz Enrichment Complex from satellite imagery. Pic: Maxar Technologies

Then there is the Isfahan complex. Again, Israeli missiles destroyed a number of buildings there last week. And at the weekend, US cruise missiles targeted others, including the uranium conversion plant.

At the weekend, Americans also dropped bunker-buster bombs there, targeting thousands of enrichment centrifuges operating in bunkers below.

Esfahan facility. Pic: Maxar Technologies
Image:
Satellite imagery shows the impact on the Isfahan Nuclear Complex. facility. Pic: Maxar Technologies

Speaking from the White House after the attacks, Donald Trump said facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated”. But experts suggest it could take more to destroy it entirely.

“This is a very well-developed, long-standing programme with a lot of latent expertise in the country,” said Darya Dolzikova, a proliferation and nuclear security expert at RUSI, a UK defence and security thinktank

“I don’t think we’re talking about a full elimination at this point, certainly not by military means.”

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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