TalkTV’s Julia Hartley-Brewer’s interview with the leader of a Palestinian party came off the rails earlier this week.
The exchange saw the two frequently speaking over each other with Hartley-Brewer regularly raising her voice. The presenter even ended up implying the Palestinian MP treated her differently because she was a woman, while he suggested she was “misleading the public”.
The chaotic interview – which quickly amassed more than a million views on X, formerly Twitter – took place shortly after a senior Hamas leader was assassinated in Lebanon earlier this week.
Although Israel has not taken direct responsibility for the killing, the move still sparked concern that the war in Gaza would start to expand into the wider region.
However, Hartley-Brewer put it to the leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, a party which supports “non-violent resistance to occupation”, that it was a “good thing when terrorist leaders are assassinated”.
Dr Mustafa Barghouti who is also a Palestinian MP, said: ”No, it is not because they are not terrorist leaders, and I am so surprised that you are encouraging the assassination of political people.”
Barghouti said the Hamas leader’s death was a violation of international law, and would provoke “a reaction for sure”. He also said because the incident happened in Lebanon, it was “insulting [to] the Lebanese people”.
Hartley-Brewer then said: “Did you make the same comments about the October 7 massacre?
“Did you also condemn Hamas for entering Israeli territory, provoking reaction from Israel, and killing innocent people?”
He swiftly replied: “Do you condemn that Israel is occupying us since 1967?
“Do you condemn that Israel is practising ethnic cleansing against Palestinian people [for] 75 years?
“Do you condemn that Israel has evicted 70% of the Palestinian people from their land, razing to the land 520 Palestinian towns and villages?
“Condemn that. And then I’ll answer you.”
The two then began to speak furiously over one another.
“I will not answer your question until you tell me if you condemn the atrocities that are happening in Gaza,”Barghouti said.
“I’m not sure you understand how interviews work,” Hartley-Brewer said, and briefly tried to reframe her question – before giving up.
She rested her head on her hand and said: “What’s the point in trying to have a conversation?”
Her guest replied: “You wanted me to answer the question without giving me the chance to answer it.”
“Did you condemn Hamas for entering another country and killing...” Hartley-Brewer asked again.
The politician interrupted: “I’m not answering that question until you give me the chance to respond.”
However, he eventually said: “I am a person of non-violence. I never accept the killing of a child, whether Palestinian or Israeli, I don’t accept the killing of the 30 children – as they say – that were killed on the October 7.
“But you should also agree with me that you do not agree with killing 12,000 Palestinian children.”
Although Hartley-Brewer agreed that she was “horrified” by the deaths of children and innocent people, within moments, they were shouting at one another again.
Eventually, Barghouti ended up saying that war with Lebanon is not the answer to the current crisis – a move he also claimed is not supported by many Israelis.
Hartley-Brewer then cut in to say Israel was the only democratic country in the Middle EAst – which sparked another row about the country and its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The presenter also tried to cut off her guest by saying they did not have time to talk about the history of the region, only for her interviewee to say he wasn’t talking about history.
Barghouti said: “Whenever I talk about Palestinian rights, you claim it is history. I’m talking about what is happening today!”
Hartley-Brewer shouted: “For the love of God, let me finish my sentence, man!
“Maybe you’re not used to women talking, I don’t know! But I’d like to finish my sentence, sir.”
The Palestinian MP replied: “No, you are misleading the public now, by claiming this thing that you just did.”
“Sorry to have been a woman speaking to you,” Hartley-Brewer concluded, before turning to her colleague and lamenting how “frustrating” that interview was.