Is Israel winning?

In this week’s UpFront, we speak to Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who cites the Bible as proof of Israel’s claim over the occupied West Bank.

And in a special interview, we speak to the “mother of South Sudan” and former adviser to President Salva Kiir, Rebecca Garang.

Headliner – Israeli minister: The Bible says West Bank is ours

Last week, in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump surprised the world by appearing to dismiss a long-standing US commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Prominent hard-right Israeli Education Minister, Naftali Bennett, welcomed the statement saying: “The era of a Palestinian state is over.”

“There already exists two states for the Palestinians: one in Gaza, a full blown state run by Hamas, and the other is Jordan, where 70 percent of the citizens are, indeed, Palestinians,” Bennett told UpFront. “So the discussion is whether we need a third Palestinian state smack in the heart of Israel, and the answer is no.”

When asked about the Israeli Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling describing the West Bank as under “belligerent occupation”, Bennett called it a “political decision” and cited the Bible as proof of Israel’s right to the West Bank.

“If you want to say that our land does not belong to us, I suggest you go change the Bible first,” says Bennett.

In this week’s Headliner, we challenge the Israeli education minister and prominent right-wing leader Naftali Bennett.

Who’s to blame for South Sudan’s civil war?

Civil war, famine, and warnings of genocide; what’s gone wrong in the world’s youngest country?

Two years after South Sudan gained its independence in 2011, a civil war erupted that has left the country devastated, with recent reports emerging of a man-made famine.

For “Mama” Rebecca Garang, widow of the country’s founder, its poor leadership is to blame, specifically President Salva Kiir.

“Anything being done good in the country, or bad, is always going to the president, so everything, I think, is with our president,” says Garang, who was a former adviser to President Kiir and has called for him to step down. “All of us, as the leaders of South Sudan, we did not lead our people properly.”

Asked why she did not speak out against human rights abuses while she was an adviser, Garang claims she made repeated attempts to address the issue with President Kiir.

“I’m supposed to talk on the ears of the president for what I have seen, and I did my role,” says Garang, adding the caveat that it was difficult to even get hold of President Kiir. “It’s very difficult to get appointment to our president … it can go even sometime to six months.”

In this special interview, the “mother of South Sudan”, Rebecca Garang, tells UpFront of her thoughts on President Kiir, human rights abuses and alleged child-soldier recruitment.

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