Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu provided an amusing moment during an interview on the "Patriots" program this evening (Tuesday), when he stopped his flow of words and addressed the audience directly with a joking indignation: "No one is clapping, by the way?".
The incident occurred when the program's host, Yinon Magal, asked the prime minister about the future of Israel's diplomatic relations in the region and wondered whether new agreements were on the agenda.
Netanyahu responded in the affirmative and declared: "Unequivocally. I have opportunities for peace agreements. We have now done a great thing.".
Magal tried to press and asked whether this was a breakthrough with Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu refused to name names so as not to harm the results, but hinted at unexpected achievements in other sectors: "Everyone said, 'It can't be, there won't be an agreement with Lebanon,' okay, there are understandings with Lebanon that no one expected. There are contacts with other countries.".
The prime minister linked political successes to military strength: "This comes as a direct result of our relative strength. When you are weak, you are destined for destruction. When you are strong, they make alliances with you and also make peace with you. And we are very strong today, compared to the situation we were in on October 7th.".
Netanyahu continued: "No one would have believed what I described. Nor would they have believed that we would return all the kidnapped people to the last one. But we did it.".
At this point, when he finished describing the historic achievement of the Sabbath of the Kidnapped and noticed that the studio remained quiet and focused on his words, Netanyahu stopped, looked at the audience, and said with a smile: "No one is clapping, by the way?""
The audience responded with spontaneous bursts of laughter and loud applause that lasted for long seconds.
