‘To isolate Israel or to punish Israel will be the most irresponsible and unacceptable step to boycott Israel, for example. I think it's a huge mistake, because what we need is a dialogue.’

Tim Franks speaks to Israeli author David Grossman about the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza as concerns grow over the increasingly fragile ceasefire. Grossman is one of Israel’s most prominent writers, and since publishing his first novel over forty years ago, his works have been translated into 36 languages. He’s won numerous literary awards over the years, including the Man Booker International Prize in 2017. Many of his works deal with the issues associated with Israel and Palestine.

The 71-year-old is also well-known as a peace activist, and has been a vocal, long-standing critic of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - expressing concern over the direction the country is being led in.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in August, Grossman described Israel’s actions in Gaza as ‘genocide’, lamenting that he had been forced to reach that conclusion by the ongoing military campaign that began following the events of October 7.

Thank you to the Newshour team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Tim Franks Producers: Ben Cooper and Jack Hunter Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: David Grossman. Credit Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

The Thinking Heart on Israel and Palestine

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