Bassem Youssef’s Epic Return: Provocative Open Dialogue on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict with Piers Morgan

In a two-hour special, the Egyptian comedian didn’t hold back on his second stint with British Journalist Piers Morgan.

Two weeks after their highly publicized viral interview, Bassem Youssef and Piers Morgan go another round, taking a closer look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with a deep dive into historical events.

Their previous interview has since garnered over 20 million views.

This exchange was considerably more relaxed than their previous one, which was more heated and tense, with Morgan acknowledging that he wasn’t sure how to steer the conversation given Youssef’s dark satirical humor, which brilliantly expressed his despair and frustration over the situation in Gaza.

Youssef explained how he uses satire, which exaggerates reality, to highlight the ridiculous. Morgan called his style of delivery, “savagely satirical and extremely effective.”

The comedian went on to lament how the people in the Middle East aren’t happy about the disparity in the media coverage and how their voices are silenced, saying, “From a very young age what they have seen is the plight and suffering of their brothers and sisters in Palestine and the Arab world, and they are not being heard by the media.”

He clarified his stance on the Oct. 7 attack and said that while he does not condone it, he can understand why so many were backing it, “They see Israel as a criminal state who is killing their people while receiving the support of the international community.”

“It is not right but this is what hate does, it escalates,” he said. While Israel’s extremist position against the Palestinians “makes them unable to get rid of the hate and radicalism”.

“If the Jewish people were expelled from Europe and went to Argentina or South Africa, you would have a Hamas in all of those areas,” Youssef said, as he described the factors that led to Hamas being an inevitable consequence.

While answering questions, Morgan repeated the question he has asked all Arab or Pro-Palestinian guests, what a ‘proportionate response’ would be to the Oct. 7 attacks and how peace could be achieved moving forward. Youssef tried to hammer home the point that the root of the conflict “was never about Hamas,” further stating, “If somebody tells you who they are, listen. Israel has been telling the world they need to clear the Gaza Strip into Egypt.”

According to Youssef, Israel’s policies have promoted radicalism and indeed some right-wingers have “openly boasted” that it practically endorsed it as a means to undermine the Palestinian cause.

Morgan appeared to agree that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu was “complicit in keeping Hamas in power.”

Source: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media during a press conference, in Tel Aviv, Israel

Youssef added, “Israel is a racist, apartheid country. It is projecting this shining example of secularism … so people can accept whatever they do. Because they look at Palestinians as lesser people, this is the whole point.” He continued, “There is a deep sentiment in the Middle East, that the West do not look at us as equals,”.

The two-hour special was viewed over 7.5 million views in one day.