Speaker 1: Live on Sky News. This is Sharry.
Speaker 2: Good Evening tonight, the new Liberal leader Susan Lee finally
Speaker 2: declares expenses paid by the Palestinian Authority. My exclusive. In
Speaker 2: a moment, this is Andrew Hasty declares he has future
Speaker 2: leadership ambitions. I'll play you his comments shortly. Plus will
Speaker 2: cross live to Abu Dhabi, where Donald Trump is on
Speaker 2: his first official state visit. He's being grilled over that
Speaker 2: lavish gift of a plane from Saudi Arabia. Surely he's
Speaker 2: worried about surveillance. Plus, the director of the grouping new
Speaker 2: documentary October eighth, will join me to explain how anti
Speaker 2: Zionism is the new anti Semitism.
Speaker 3: Rather than the outrage being directed against those slaughtering the Jews,
Speaker 3: the outrage was being directed at the Jews for objecting
Speaker 3: to being slaughtered.
Speaker 2: It's a powerful documentary. It's all coming up, but first tonight,
Speaker 2: an investigation has found the new Liberal leader Susan Lee
Speaker 2: failed to declare personal expenses paid by the anti Semitic
Speaker 2: Palestinian Authority. Her office launched an internal investigation after I
Speaker 2: had discovered in January that Susan Lee had failed to
Speaker 2: declare accommodation, meals and transport paid by the Palestinian Authority
Speaker 2: on a trip to the West Bank in twenty eleven.
Speaker 2: Other labor politicians who went on that trip did declare
Speaker 2: gifted meals, transport and accommodation from the Palestinian Authority, but
Speaker 2: Susan Lee did it. At the time, she was a
Speaker 2: strong critic of Israel. She demanded Palestinian statehood, accused Israel
Speaker 2: of occupation, and even sponsored a Palestinian child. But it's
Speaker 2: her failure to declare expenses that's in breach of parliamentary guidelines.
Speaker 2: When I reported this in January, her office told me
Speaker 2: they'd launched an internal investigation, and today, just one day
Speaker 2: after she became leader, her spokesman said an administrative oversight
Speaker 2: occurred whereby Misley's disclosures were not updated to reflect the
Speaker 2: fact that some accommodation, some meals and ground transfer were
Speaker 2: provided by the Palestinian National Authority. In January twenty twenty five,
Speaker 2: Misslee formally made that declaration to the Deputy Clerk of
Speaker 2: the Parliament and the Deputy Clerk confirmed the matter was resolved.
Speaker 2: This is highly embarrassing having to make a declaration to
Speaker 2: the Deputy Clerk in twenty twenty five for expenses paid
Speaker 2: by the Palestinian authority fourteen years after her trip, and
Speaker 2: only declaring this after our revelations. Treasurer Jim Chalmers this
Speaker 2: week described the Liberal leadership contest as a of the duds,
Speaker 2: and it's hard to disagree with him. The reality is
Speaker 2: that Labour's now sitting on some ninety three seats, the
Speaker 2: Coalition on forty three. It's an unbelievable fifty seat difference,
Speaker 2: and of the coalition's forty three seats, only twenty eight
Speaker 2: are held by the Liberals. The challenge for the Liberal
Speaker 2: Party is monumental. It's been reduced to a shadow of
Speaker 2: its former self. It's a virtual wipeout. They need to
Speaker 2: regain credibility. They need to regain the trust of Australians.
Speaker 2: They need to regain the opportunity to govern and to
Speaker 2: call back upwards of thirty seats. And this simply can't
Speaker 2: be done with a mediocre or untested politician. It needs
Speaker 2: an extraordinary talent, a politician who can capture the imagination
Speaker 2: of Australians, who can connect with voters and convince them
Speaker 2: to sup the party. It needs to be a leader
Speaker 2: with charisma, of standout intellect and someone who's inspiring, who
Speaker 2: has vision for our nation. There's no one like this
Speaker 2: at the moment in the Liberal Party and there are
Speaker 2: no good options currently to lead the party in the
Speaker 2: House of Representatives. There is only one credible and genuine
Speaker 2: option if the Liberal Party ever wants to govern Australia again,
Speaker 2: and that's for the party to convince Josh Friedenberg to
Speaker 2: run again. As the Liberals have learned in Victoria against
Speaker 2: Daniel Andrews at the last election, it doesn't matter how
Speaker 2: hopeless a government is if the opposition isn't strong, if
Speaker 2: it doesn't provide a credible alternative, voters won't elect them.
Speaker 2: And then in terms of funding, which is essential for
Speaker 2: fighting and winning election campaigns, Freedenburg would be the best
Speaker 2: bet as well to engage donors and the business community,
Speaker 2: because right now Liberal donors are currently walking away from
Speaker 2: the party. They can't walk away fast enough and you
Speaker 2: can't blame them who would give their heart earned to
Speaker 2: this shambles of a party. One Liberal donor described Susan
Speaker 2: Lee to me as a lemon. That's brutal, But the
Speaker 2: reality is Susan Lee is a placeholder. She's not the answer.
Speaker 2: No one believes that the current leader will ever be
Speaker 2: Prime minister, but her comeback story from resigning in disgrace
Speaker 2: in early twenty seventeen is quite something. You might recall.
Speaker 2: She was forced to resign from the front bench after
Speaker 2: an expensive scandal where it was revealed she bought an
Speaker 2: eight hundred thousand dollars Gold Coast investment unit while on
Speaker 2: a taxpayer funded trip. This scandal emerged on the front
Speaker 2: page of The Herald's Son whereas it was bild is
Speaker 2: a big exclusive, and it was, and Susan Lee then resigned,
Speaker 2: but it later emerged that the entire story was the
Speaker 2: work of Labour's dirt unit. Sam Maiden revealed in her
Speaker 2: book Party Animals that Bill Shoden's dirt unit secretly orchestrated
Speaker 2: her downfall by leaking a dossier of travel records to
Speaker 2: newspaper outlets to engineer a political crisis. And Scott Morrison
Speaker 2: later brought Susan Lee back to the front bench and
Speaker 2: she's part of his center right faction that's led by
Speaker 2: Alex Hawk. But the main reason Susan Lee then became
Speaker 2: deputy leader is that after the Brittany Higgins, Scoundal and
Speaker 2: the Me Too movement. There was the perception that the
Speaker 2: Coalition had a women problem. It was one of the
Speaker 2: reasons the Coalition lost in twenty twenty two. So Peter Dutton,
Speaker 2: when he became leader, decided he needed a female as
Speaker 2: his deputy and there were very limited options in the
Speaker 2: lower House. They were either new or lower profile MPs,
Speaker 2: and so it was that Susan Lee was elevated to
Speaker 2: the senior role. But there was then a problem with
Speaker 2: her views on Israel, which were out of step with
Speaker 2: where the Liberal Party sat and in fact with the
Speaker 2: Liberal Party's official policy position, and Susan Lee's beliefs belonged
Speaker 2: in the albert Easy left faction. I reported on this
Speaker 2: back in January this year. Susan Lay was a pro
Speaker 2: Palestinian advocate for some fifteen years, at least before she
Speaker 2: visited Israel for less than a week in late twenty
Speaker 2: twenty two and changed her perspective. That visit was after
Speaker 2: she became the deputy Liberal leader in the wake of
Speaker 2: the May twenty twenty two election. And here's some of
Speaker 2: what Susan Lee said. As a lifelong Palestinian advocate.
Speaker 4: As someone with a long term affinity for the Palestinians,
Speaker 4: including co chairing this Parliament's Friendship Group over many years,
Speaker 4: I wish to highlight the Palestinian perspective. Less than five
Speaker 4: percent would remember a time without Israeli occupation. I support
Speaker 4: the Palestinian bid for statehood in part because it will
Speaker 4: give heart to the ordinary people of the West Bank
Speaker 4: and Gaza.
Speaker 2: And her call there in twenty eleven for Palestinian statehood
Speaker 2: was even to the left of the Labor Party at
Speaker 2: the time, but it was the following comments that were
Speaker 2: the most offensive. The ones I'm about to show you.
Speaker 2: They're on par or perhaps worse than comments made by
Speaker 2: both Albanesi and Pennywok. Again, this is from my expose
Speaker 2: in January this year. In a two thousand and eight speech,
Speaker 2: Susan Lay said, and I quote, Israel has many friends
Speaker 2: in this country and in this Parliament, the Palestinians, by comparison.
Speaker 1: Have few.
Speaker 2: Theirs. Is not a popular cause, but it is one
Speaker 2: I support in part out of knowledge that the victors
Speaker 2: in World War II, including Australia, wrote a homeland check
Speaker 2: to cover the sins of the Holocaust and centuries of
Speaker 2: anti Semitism in Europe, but it was the Palestinians who
Speaker 2: had to cash it. I find that particularly shocking because
Speaker 2: it feeds into the narrative that the Jews don't belong
Speaker 2: in Israel, when in fact, Jews are indigenous to the
Speaker 2: land of Israel and lived there for thousands of years
Speaker 2: before Islam was even invented. And then Susan Lee was
Speaker 2: asked about those specific comments in her press conference yesterday.
Speaker 2: She now says she had a change of heart after
Speaker 2: her trip in late twenty twenty two when she became
Speaker 2: deputy leader of the party, and she said yesterday in
Speaker 2: her press conference that she now supports Israel but remains
Speaker 2: a friend of the Palestinian people.
Speaker 4: Following my appointment as deputy, I took a trip at
Speaker 4: the invitation of Julian Lisa, an outstanding colleague and dear
Speaker 4: friend to Israel, and I spent a lot of time
Speaker 4: seeing what was happening on the ground and the impact
Speaker 4: of that trip and the change geopolitical circumstances of the
Speaker 4: Abraham Accords with Israel reaching out for peace to Saudi
Speaker 4: to Morocco, and then of course, the hideous events of
Speaker 4: October seventh in Gaza have changed my thinking on the
Speaker 4: entire subject.
Speaker 2: Now, you heard there that she said that Abraham Accords
Speaker 2: were one of the reasons she changed her views, but
Speaker 2: she claimed they were with the Saudis. Well, of course,
Speaker 2: the Abraham Accords were not with the Saudis. They were
Speaker 2: with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and Israel is
Speaker 2: still trying to do a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia,
Speaker 2: and Trump spoke about it just today, And of course
Speaker 2: the fact that they were on the verge of such
Speaker 2: a deal is one of the reasons why her mass
Speaker 2: attacked Israel on October seven. But the point is, Susan
Speaker 2: Lee changed her long held criticism of Israel just a
Speaker 2: year or so before October seven, and she did so
Speaker 2: in order to be in line with the policy position
Speaker 2: of the Liberal Party. Now I think it is terrific
Speaker 2: she visited Israel, that Julian and Lisa took her and
Speaker 2: that she then changed her perspective, and we need more
Speaker 2: people who are open minded like this. But I'm unconvinced
Speaker 2: she's best placed to lead the Liberal Party after holding
Speaker 2: views further to the left than Alban Easy and Penny Wong.
Speaker 2: She's also changed her views on other issues as well,
Speaker 2: like banning live sheepexpots. She once argued strongly in favor
Speaker 2: of the ban for animal cruelty reasons, now she supports
Speaker 2: the trade. This flip flopping has led to accusations she
Speaker 2: isn't a woman of conviction, that she doesn't know what
Speaker 2: she stands for. In The Nightly writes that it was
Speaker 2: telling that the first note that went to journalists after
Speaker 2: Susan Lee's victory was to clarify that Susan Lee's last
Speaker 2: name is pronounced Lee as opposed to lay Letika says
Speaker 2: that so little is known about the former Deputy leader,
Speaker 2: who's been in federal politics for a quarter of a century,
Speaker 2: should be of concern, particularly given that if she survives
Speaker 2: to fight the twenty twenty eight election, she'll be older
Speaker 2: than John Howard was at the time of his last
Speaker 2: win in two thousand and four.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 2: Susan Lee also wanted to be Shadow Minister for Foreign
Speaker 2: Affairs when Simon Birmingham retired, but Peter Dutton didn't think
Speaker 2: she was up to the job. He didn't think she
Speaker 2: was good enough. Yet she's now the leader of the party.
Speaker 2: Make of that what you will, but at least twenty
Speaker 2: five members in the Liberal Party don't have confidence in her,
Speaker 2: and under her leadership the party will remain divided, there
Speaker 2: will be no union. Look, she has a tough job
Speaker 2: ahead of her and we can only wish her luck.
Speaker 2: But if the party wants to govern again, if it
Speaker 2: wants to provide a serious alternative to the Albanezy government,
Speaker 2: which actually the nation needs for democracy, then Liberal MPs
Speaker 2: and Liberal senators need to put their own egos aside
Speaker 2: and do everything they can to beg Josh Friedenberg to
Speaker 2: run again at the next election. Okay, we've got a
Speaker 2: lot coming up in the show tonight, the Extraordinary interview
Speaker 2: with the director of the documentary a bit later. But
Speaker 2: now let's bring in former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael
Speaker 2: Kroger and labor legend Graham Richardson. Welcome to you both. Look,
Speaker 2: I want to get your reaction to Susan Lee Graham Richardson,
Speaker 2: You've got to you'd have to agree, Sully that she
Speaker 2: is a placeholder. She's not someone who provides any threat
Speaker 2: to Albanezy at all.
Speaker 6: I can't imagine her becoming Prime Minister, that's for sure.
Speaker 6: I don't think that she's got what it takes to
Speaker 6: attract our votes for that. So I think she's a
Speaker 6: leader who's temporary. I think she's there till they decide
Speaker 6: who they want to be leader. The difficulty is, I
Speaker 6: don't think there's anyone there. I mean, this is just
Speaker 6: a time when the Liberal Party covered as Bear.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't disagree. I mean that's what I've just
Speaker 2: been saying. So, Michael, do you think they need to
Speaker 2: look at who is a genuine, credible, talented individual and
Speaker 2: isn't that Josh Friedenberg.
Speaker 5: Well, it's obviously matter for Josh down the track. But
Speaker 5: can I just say, Shari, and you know my position
Speaker 5: on Israel, there would be few people as passionate about
Speaker 5: Jewish and Israeli rights in the Liberal Party than me.
Speaker 5: I have discussed these matters with Susan Lee not so
Speaker 5: long ago, and I am in no doubt as to
Speaker 5: the solidarity she has with the Jewish community and the
Speaker 5: people of Israel without necessarily saying it's her view. When
Speaker 5: people look at the issue from a Zeri knowledge base,
Speaker 5: you think, oh, yeah, Jewish rights, Palestinian rights, fair enough, Okay,
Speaker 5: they should have their rights, they should both have land.
Speaker 5: But the more you look into it. The more times
Speaker 5: you visit Israel, and particularly her visit in twenty two,
Speaker 5: the more you understand that this is a country that
Speaker 5: has for decades had on its borders countries committed to
Speaker 5: its destruction. And eventually, over time a peace deal was
Speaker 5: done with the Egyptians, resolution of conflicts with the Jordanians,
Speaker 5: but there's no peace deal with Assyrians, the Lebanese or
Speaker 5: the other Arab countries apart from the four and the
Speaker 5: Abraham Accords. So the more you know Susan went there
Speaker 5: and you see the borders, you see how close I mean,
Speaker 5: Gars is an hour drive from Jerusalem, and when you
Speaker 5: go there, you get a seat, You get a seat
Speaker 5: before she'd been there before, she'd been there before. But
Speaker 5: the more you look at the issue, the more you understand.
Speaker 5: And I'm in no doubt whatsoever about the solidity of
Speaker 5: Susan's views in relation to Israel. I think she fully
Speaker 5: understands the issue, made that point yesterday, and Jewish Australians
Speaker 5: should absolutely no concerns whatsoever about her.
Speaker 2: Positions now well Andrew has By the way.
Speaker 5: There's plenty of politicians have changed their positions over issues.
Speaker 5: I mean, elbow was opposed to turnbacks on a completely
Speaker 5: unrelated issue for years. Remember that he didn't want the
Speaker 5: boats to turn back, and then he changed his vision.
Speaker 5: So this is not unusual for politicians. Reagan was a
Speaker 5: Democrat once.
Speaker 2: All right, Well, Andrew Hasty clearly has leadership ambitions, and
Speaker 2: he admitted as much on a podcast today.
Speaker 7: Have a look, I'd be foolish to say I don't
Speaker 7: have a desire to lead.
Speaker 5: I do have a desire to lead.
Speaker 2: Graham, what do you think? I mean, you've studied political
Speaker 2: hope fools over decades and decades. Do you think he'd
Speaker 2: make a good future leader?
Speaker 6: Yeah? I do. I don't know the fellow. I've never
Speaker 6: met him.
Speaker 2: You've never met You've never met him.
Speaker 6: Now, I've never met him, But I find, you know
Speaker 6: when I when I look at him on the telly,
Speaker 6: he looks pretty good to me. Certainly, the guy has
Speaker 6: a real understanding I think of world issues more certain
Speaker 6: than a lot of liberals do. And I think he
Speaker 6: he's the goods. I think he's going to do well
Speaker 6: in the future. He looks to me like a leader
Speaker 6: for sure.
Speaker 2: What do you think, Michael, do you think Andrew Hasty
Speaker 2: would be a future leader.
Speaker 5: Look, sharing, as Richard knows better than any of us,
Speaker 5: there's not a single member of the Federal Parliament, in
Speaker 5: the House of Reps and the Senate who doesn't want
Speaker 5: to be a leader of their party. I mean, this
Speaker 5: is an ambition business. You know, find me one.
Speaker 2: This isn't about personal ambition. There's sorry to interrupt, but
Speaker 2: this isn't about personal ambition. There's very few people who
Speaker 2: have the intellect, the leadership ability to lead our entire nation.
Speaker 2: And clearly we haven't had those figures, you know, in
Speaker 2: those positions because well as much as you don't have
Speaker 2: it with elbow, yeah.
Speaker 5: You don't have it with elbow and charmers right elbow.
Speaker 5: You know, he's got an economics degree, he's got no
Speaker 5: in to the economics, and Gym's got a degree in
Speaker 5: Paul Keating. I mean that these are not these are
Speaker 5: not serious economic managers, which is why the debt level
Speaker 5: in this country is out of control and we've got
Speaker 5: deficits for thirty five billion. Until you know into the Nevin. Ever,
Speaker 5: Susan Lee's got a master's degree in in tax and accounting.
Speaker 5: So don't underestimate the elect of this woman and all
Speaker 5: these women out there, all or left women criticizing her.
Speaker 5: I mean, you're talking about intellectually gifted person in Susan Lee.
Speaker 5: And if label want to fight her on tax on
Speaker 5: super good's, that's the Liberal Party's number one brand equity
Speaker 5: on tax. So if Albo and Charmers want to fight
Speaker 5: Susan on that, well, good luck.
Speaker 2: I think the point is for people who are extremely
Speaker 2: unhappy with the alban Easy government and with the Prime
Speaker 2: Minister himself. We've covered that at length on this show,
Speaker 2: there needs to be an extremely strong leader of the
Speaker 2: Liberal Party otherwise they will never get back into power richer.
Speaker 2: Would you agree with that? I would never, but at
Speaker 2: least for the next six years. Anyway, they need to
Speaker 2: win back fifty seats.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's going to take a while, hopefully a long while.
Speaker 6: It is going to It is going to take a while.
Speaker 6: There's an awful lot of ground and makeup. I mean,
Speaker 6: I don't think people quite understand just how bad this
Speaker 6: election result has been. They're in strife that the rules.
Speaker 6: I mean, they'll get out of it. I'm not one
Speaker 6: of those doomsday sayers. The Liberals will certainly recover and
Speaker 6: they'll be back in government. But how long And I've
Speaker 6: got a feeling it's going to be quite a while.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, if they don't mustle up and get a
Speaker 2: proper leader in place, it will be at least a decade.
Speaker 2: It's extraordinary.
Speaker 5: Well, they've got a proper letter and don't underestimate it.
Speaker 5: The Whitlam government lasted three years? How long did Campbell
Speaker 5: Newman last? He won what ninety percent of the seats
Speaker 5: and was gone. You know, tony one and thirteen will
Speaker 5: almost gone in sixteen.
Speaker 2: This gover will be about as Whitlam.
Speaker 5: Michael, Well, I mean I think they're appalling, and you
Speaker 5: know I keep saying and let's let you know, we're
Speaker 5: adults in this show and people watching, so let's let's
Speaker 5: not bet around the bush. Labour didn't win because of
Speaker 5: their positive plan for the future. They don't have a
Speaker 5: positive plan future. They won because in eight weeks they
Speaker 5: ran a brilliant, nasty, dirty campaign attacking Peter Dutton's personal credibility,
Speaker 5: which is what Labor best at, and preyed on elderly
Speaker 5: Australians by convincing that their Medicare cards would be stolen
Speaker 5: from them under Peter Dutton and Urgent Care clinks would
Speaker 5: be closed and Medicare funding would be slashed and burned,
Speaker 5: and the nuclear was going to cost six hundred billions.
Speaker 5: And seriously, it was built on the Titians and it
Speaker 5: was built on a tissue of lies.
Speaker 2: Let's be honest fort the young vote by promising to
Speaker 2: pay off. Of course, Hex stats.
Speaker 5: Well, sixteen billion dollars, sixteen billion dollars to people who
Speaker 5: are going to earn a huge amount of money when
Speaker 5: when they're older and people are at university now don't
Speaker 5: get the benefit and what being paid for by tradespeople
Speaker 5: and nurses and teachers are having to pay off these debts.
Speaker 5: I mean, that's just improper. I mean, it's bad politics
Speaker 5: and it's bad policy, and it's costing a sixteen billion.
Speaker 2: I'm going to get to this fascinating story. It's a
Speaker 2: new book that covers Joe Biden's mental decline and it
Speaker 2: has details on that fundraiser. You remember when Jeorge Clooney
Speaker 2: finally admitted that Biden wasn't the man to leave the
Speaker 2: Democratic Party. Now, in this book, it says that Joe
Speaker 2: Biden didn't recognize George Clooney backstage before the event, and
Speaker 2: he even needed an aid to remind him who he
Speaker 2: was Richo. I mean, if this is true, and you
Speaker 2: expect it is, it's written by a CNN journalist, where
Speaker 2: does the effort to hide Biden's mental decline rank in
Speaker 2: the great political cover ups? I mean, that's unbelievable.
Speaker 6: Oh, it's right up there. There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 6: I mean, poor old Joe, he didn't know what room
Speaker 6: he was in. Literally, literally the leader of the Free
Speaker 6: will didn't know where he was half the time. I mean,
Speaker 6: it was a really dangerous situation, I think for the world,
Speaker 6: and I'm delighted in the end that he resigned that.
Speaker 6: You know, we've got a different a different government, and
Speaker 6: it's I think going to be a better one. I mean,
Speaker 6: even though Trump's not so's my fan favorite, I none
Speaker 6: the less recognize that Trump's some real abilities. I Mean
Speaker 6: one of the things that he is that you could
Speaker 6: never accuse Biden of is his decisive He'll make up
Speaker 6: his mind, he'll make decisions. Biden just wanted to put
Speaker 6: him in the bottom drawer and hope they'd go away,
Speaker 6: but they don't.
Speaker 2: You know what, Well, there's one thing I can say
Speaker 2: about you, rich Or. Your comments never ceased to surprise.
Speaker 2: It didn't think you'd be sitting here saying that Trump's
Speaker 2: current administration was better than Biden's. I mean, you hated
Speaker 2: Trump every week he said you'd prefer Kamala Harris. Now
Speaker 2: you're saying he's running a good presidency.
Speaker 6: I think, Look, I think I've got a responsibility to
Speaker 6: have a look at things and judge them not by
Speaker 6: what God thought in the past, but by what's happening
Speaker 6: in front of me.
Speaker 2: Good on you. I appreciate that ability to change your mind,
Speaker 2: and I'm glad I'm pleasing it. At least run Australian
Speaker 2: over here.
Speaker 5: I have to say, though, Shari Jake Jake Tappa has
Speaker 5: a nerve to write this book. He was one of
Speaker 5: the biggest apologists before election for Biden. He went, there's
Speaker 5: a million Internet clips of his on his show where
Speaker 5: he's criticizing the Republicans and anyone else that said Biden's
Speaker 5: in mental decline. He was a ferocious, ferocious defender of
Speaker 5: Biden's mental capacity. You play them will be gob smecked
Speaker 5: at the Shia ghul of this bloke. No wonder, no one,
Speaker 5: what's your CNN could point.
Speaker 2: Indeed, all right, Michael Kraigi, Graham Richardson, Great to see you,
Speaker 2: and they're are regular Wednesday panel. Well, let's turn now
Speaker 2: to the Middle East. So Israel has launched a strike
Speaker 2: targeting himasa's top leader in Gaza. His name is Mohammed
Speaker 2: Sinhwa and he's the brother of Yaya Sinha, who was
Speaker 2: the mastermind behind October seven and he was killed last year. Now,
Speaker 2: Israel's air strike hit an underground HIMASK command and control facility,
Speaker 2: but it's unclear whether Mohammed Sinhwa has been killed. This
Speaker 2: comes as there are now reports Israel as preparing a
Speaker 2: ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in order to bring
Speaker 2: home the remaining hostages, and that's said to begin as
Speaker 2: soon as Trump's visit to the region ends on Friday.
Speaker 2: Well from all, let's bring it now, Israeli TV news
Speaker 2: anchor Littao Schameesh Littel, great to see you again. Look
Speaker 2: what can you tell us about what Israel is reportedly
Speaker 2: planning in Gaza.
Speaker 8: Hi Cheri, Well, thank you for having me so at
Speaker 8: the moment. Yesterday, one American Israeli hostage, I Don Alexander,
Speaker 8: got released with a deal the trop has made with
Speaker 8: Hamas need to be said without Israel including in the
Speaker 8: talks with Kamas. At the moment to Israel is planning
Speaker 8: to go on a wider operation in the Gaza Strip starting.
Speaker 2: The upcoming Sunday.
Speaker 8: So Israel has recorded reservist tens of thousands of reservists
Speaker 8: and it's about to launch a wider range operation in
Speaker 8: the Gaza Strip in order to pressure Commas to release
Speaker 8: more hostages. We're talking at the moment about twenty live
Speaker 8: hostages and an estimation of another thirty hostages for dead.
Speaker 8: And that's the plan.
Speaker 2: So this is Donald Trip's first official foreign visit apart
Speaker 2: from the Vatican. But he's not visiting Israel, even though
Speaker 2: he's in neighboring countries. How has this been received by
Speaker 2: Israelis and by the Israeli government.
Speaker 8: Yeah, so I have to tell you it's a weird
Speaker 8: few incidents that are occurring in the recent few weeks.
Speaker 8: So Trump is closing a ceasefire with the Hoteis in
Speaker 8: Yemen whilst the Hoodies are keep firing bisals in Israel.
Speaker 2: He's about to close a few with Saudi.
Speaker 8: Arabia without asking or including Israel in some sort of
Speaker 8: anormalization with the Saudis, and just an hour ago he's
Speaker 8: been meeting the leader of Syria, signing or hoping to
Speaker 8: sign a peace agreement with Syria and include them into
Speaker 8: the abram Accords.
Speaker 1: And no one in the Israeli.
Speaker 8: Government up to this stage has to die the fact
Speaker 8: that it asked Donald Trump not to leave down the
Speaker 8: sanctions of Syria. So Israel is kind of asking itself
Speaker 8: what is going on. But on the other hand, we
Speaker 8: need to remind ourselves that Donald Trump is a man
Speaker 8: of closing deals and in the Middle East, at the
Speaker 8: end of the day, it's told about interest and joint interest.
Speaker 8: And if you can get Syria to take down their weapons,
Speaker 8: even for a temporary few years, and to create some
Speaker 8: sort of peace agreement with Israel, that would be a
Speaker 8: blessing to Israel. And to remind you know, the viewers
Speaker 8: who are viewing us, we have a peace agreement with Jordan,
Speaker 8: we have a peace agreement with Egypt.
Speaker 1: It's not a warm peace agreement. It's not a warm piece.
Speaker 8: It's joint interest. It's a lot of money involved, it's
Speaker 8: a lot of interest over water regarding the Jordanian border.
Speaker 8: So they're recognizing Trump's strength, They're recognizing Trump's will need
Speaker 8: to bring into bring in.
Speaker 1: Saudia money into this area.
Speaker 8: So Israel at the moment is just holding or waiting
Speaker 8: to see what will be the outcome of all of this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think giving him the benefit of the doubt
Speaker 2: for show the tealshamesh thank you very much, appreciate that update.
Speaker 2: And later in the show we'll cross to a CNN
Speaker 2: reporter who's in Abu Dhabu for just what negotiations Trump
Speaker 2: is engaging in as well. Now still to come, going
Speaker 2: to in Chris Bowen thinks the election outcome is an
Speaker 2: endorsement of his radical green policies. Adam Crichton will be
Speaker 2: here to discuss. Plus, the director of the gripping new
Speaker 2: documentary co produced by Hollywood star debraah Messing sat down
Speaker 2: with me to explain how anti Zionism is the new
Speaker 2: anti Semitism that's next Welcome back. Well, I wasn't here
Speaker 2: hosting last night because I saw a preview screening of
Speaker 2: a powerful and confronting new documentary. It's called October eight,
Speaker 2: directed by Wendy Sack. Now it is going to be
Speaker 2: in Australian cinemas in the next few weeks and I
Speaker 2: really hope that we'll be able to show you the
Speaker 2: film as well here on Sky News, and we'll keep
Speaker 2: you updated with that. But here was one powerful point
Speaker 2: in the documentary that really resonated with me.
Speaker 1: Less than twenty four hours ago.
Speaker 9: On the lands, from the sea and from the air,
Speaker 9: the people.
Speaker 1: It was October eighth.
Speaker 9: There were still homos terrists in communities in southern Israel.
Speaker 9: There was still fighting going on. Israel was still counting
Speaker 9: the numbers of the dead and the mutilated, and the
Speaker 9: raped and the kidnapped. And there's a protest against Israel
Speaker 9: Times Square. Rather than the outrage being directed against those
Speaker 9: slaughtering the Jews, the outrage was being directed at the
Speaker 9: Jews for objecting to being slaughtered.
Speaker 2: The outrage directed at the Jews for objecting to being slaughtered.
Speaker 2: It's such a compelling comment. And I'll never forget the
Speaker 2: total confusion I felt when those pro Palestinian marches with
Speaker 2: tens of thousands of people took place around the world
Speaker 2: right after October seven. I still don't understand it. And
Speaker 2: the documentary partly examines the forces behind that movement, and
Speaker 2: director Wendy Saxis here in Australia and I spoke with
Speaker 2: her a little earlier. Wendy's so great to finally meet
Speaker 2: you here in Australia.
Speaker 1: Welcome, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2: Now, what made you decide to make this film and
Speaker 2: how early on did you realize something like this needed
Speaker 2: to be, Doctor Hu manded.
Speaker 10: Really, it was on October eighth that I saw what
Speaker 10: was happening in Times Square in New York, in Australia,
Speaker 10: when I saw what was happening in front of the
Speaker 10: Sydney Opera House, in the streets of London, where we
Speaker 10: saw Hamas being celebrated as freedom fighters rather than being
Speaker 10: condemned as terrorists, and we saw what was happening on
Speaker 10: college campuses. On October eighth, you had thirty student groups
Speaker 10: at Harvard had signed onto a letter blaming Israel for
Speaker 10: the attack on itself, as if Israel had it coming.
Speaker 10: And we saw that at campus after campus after campus,
Speaker 10: there was so much hostility pointed at Israel, but where
Speaker 10: Israel had even retaliated. But it was that mixed with
Speaker 10: the silence coming from the world, silence coming from Hollywood,
Speaker 10: silence coming from women's rights organizations, and from you and women.
Speaker 10: It was that combination and silence from groups that, by
Speaker 10: the way, speak out of every other social injustice, but
Speaker 10: didn't have the words to speak out about the Brew
Speaker 10: mentality that the Israelis had just based about women being
Speaker 10: reaped and tortured and kidnapped and mutilated. But it was
Speaker 10: that combination that made me. I knew that I needed
Speaker 10: to create this film. So it was within two weeks
Speaker 10: of October seventh that I got to work, I wrote
Speaker 10: a treatment, and I started booking people for the film.
Speaker 2: Wow, I mean, it's incredible that it was that early on.
Speaker 2: I mean we were all around the world, as you say,
Speaker 2: even in Australia with those protests on the steps of.
Speaker 1: The opera house.
Speaker 2: You know, any reasonable, reasonably minded Australian and certainly the
Speaker 2: Jewish community was still grieving from October seven, and then
Speaker 2: we couldn't understand why there was this protest movement against Israel,
Speaker 2: against the victims that was arising around the world. Now,
Speaker 2: one of the things you delve into in your documentary
Speaker 2: is the power of the social media algorithms.
Speaker 1: Can you tell us a bit about that.
Speaker 10: What we exposed in the film is that these algorithms
Speaker 10: are being manipulated, manipulated by foreign actors in Iran, in
Speaker 10: Russia and China, that these are not authentic. There are
Speaker 10: bot farms that are controlling what people are seeing, what
Speaker 10: young people are seeing on TikTok. We show this sort
Speaker 10: of fifty four to one ratio, fifty four being the
Speaker 10: pro Palestinian pro Hamas hashtags that are coming out versus
Speaker 10: the pro Israel or anything that's sympathetic to Israel hashtags,
Speaker 10: and we can see that it really varies between TikTok
Speaker 10: and Instagram and the other platforms, so we know that
Speaker 10: it's not authentic.
Speaker 2: We know to explain that when you say fifty four
Speaker 2: to one, you're saying for.
Speaker 10: Everyone, for everyone's pro is that's right for every one,
Speaker 10: for everyone hashtag that's pro Israel, there are fifty four
Speaker 10: times pro Hamas pro Palestinian hashtags being being sent out,
Speaker 10: And so what young people are seeing, those who are
Speaker 10: you on TikTok, they're seeing just a distorted amount of
Speaker 10: content that is really presenting the pro Hamas pro Palestinian narrative,
Speaker 10: and it's just not authentic and it's being controlled. And
Speaker 10: we know that foreign actors are trying to atomize the
Speaker 10: American population, not just in America, by the way, but
Speaker 10: I would argue throughout the West that there's someone who has,
Speaker 10: you know, their finger on the scale countries who want
Speaker 10: to separate populations. We saw this with the twenty sixteen
Speaker 10: campaign in America, the presidential campaign. We see it around
Speaker 10: the world and all sorts of conflicts. It's not just
Speaker 10: the Israeli Palestinian one, but we know that there really
Speaker 10: is a foreign influence and there's a there's a there's
Speaker 10: a reason that they're targeting young people. There's a propaganda
Speaker 10: campaign that's out there and it's distorting the reality. It's
Speaker 10: making young people believe, you know, mistruths about actually what's happening.
Speaker 2: One of the things that I think way need to
Speaker 2: do a better job in the media of explaining is
Speaker 2: you know this idea and a lot of anti Semites
Speaker 2: do it. They say, oh, no, we're not expressing anti Semitism,
Speaker 2: this is just anti Zionism.
Speaker 1: And that was one.
Speaker 2: Of the themes you explode as well, that actually the
Speaker 2: two are now largely indistinguishable.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 10: So what we show in the film is that anti
Speaker 10: Semitism has morphed over the generations, and the latest form
Speaker 10: of that is a fanatical anti Zionism. And so make
Speaker 10: no mistake, anti Zionism is anti Semitism. Delegitimizing the state
Speaker 10: of Israel is anti Semitic. When you exclude Israel, when
Speaker 10: you make Israel the prie state among nations, that is
Speaker 10: anti semitism. And we're not talking about politics. We're not
Speaker 10: talking about arguing against the policies of the Bbnatan Yahoo government.
Speaker 10: This is not what this is about. The film is
Speaker 10: not political. The film is not litigating the war. The
Speaker 10: film is explaining what anti semitism is today, and that
Speaker 10: is anti Zionism.
Speaker 2: Of course, because when we hear phrases like from the
Speaker 2: River to the Sea, I mean that's saying that there
Speaker 2: should be no Jews at all in Israel, which is
Speaker 2: the main message that's being perpetuated.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 10: And you hear those chants on college campuses, I would
Speaker 10: be standing in groups, mobs, at protests at Columbia University
Speaker 10: at MIT, and what you're hearing is they're chanting for
Speaker 10: one state, one state, we want it all nineteen forty eight,
Speaker 10: that's what they're chanting. They're not saying we want peace,
Speaker 10: they're not saying we want two states.
Speaker 1: You know, we would have.
Speaker 10: No film if that's what these students were chanting at
Speaker 10: these rallies. But they're saying we want it all River
Speaker 10: to the sea, we want it all.
Speaker 1: That means no Jews.
Speaker 2: You did a really beautiful You had a really beautiful
Speaker 2: chat with Sarah Murdock at the first screening the sneak
Speaker 2: pick of your documentary last night, and she asked you
Speaker 2: about your message of hope at the end. I have
Speaker 2: to say, I really struggle to see you know.
Speaker 1: Where this ends.
Speaker 2: It feels like it's just the beginning of a new
Speaker 2: way of anti Semitism that's been such a shock for
Speaker 2: all of us. Why do you feel hopeful? Why is
Speaker 2: there any reason for any of us.
Speaker 1: To feel hopeful.
Speaker 10: I know that it feels really dark and bleak and grim,
Speaker 10: and there's been a lot of anti semitism here in Australia.
Speaker 10: Firebombings of synagogues and daycare centers, graffiti.
Speaker 1: Swastikas, all of it kill the Jews. It can feel
Speaker 1: really dark.
Speaker 10: What gives me hope are the young people, and we
Speaker 10: highlight so many young people in the film, and these
Speaker 10: young people are extraordinary. They have such a strong sense
Speaker 10: of identity, they knew who they are. They're speaking out,
Speaker 10: they're being vocal, they have a moral clarity and a
Speaker 10: courage about them.
Speaker 1: They give me hope.
Speaker 10: But we also end the film on allyship, because let's
Speaker 10: be clear, this is not just about the Jews or
Speaker 10: the state of Israel. In fact, I would argue it's
Speaker 10: not about that at all. It begins with the Jews,
Speaker 10: but it doesn't end with the Jews. We are talking
Speaker 10: about jihadism and extremism democracy in the West.
Speaker 1: That's the big issue here, and.
Speaker 10: We need our allies, and we end the film on
Speaker 10: our allyship with the Black community, and the Christian community,
Speaker 10: and the Evangelical community, in all the indigenous community, all
Speaker 10: of the various communities.
Speaker 1: We can't fight this alone.
Speaker 10: And I know, and I am optimistic and I am
Speaker 10: hopeful that outside of the Jewish community, we have allies
Speaker 10: who want to also fight down this hate because they
Speaker 10: know that it's not just about the Jews. It's about
Speaker 10: something much bigger.
Speaker 1: It's about all exactly.
Speaker 2: It's about the values on which our Western democracy, our
Speaker 2: civilization is built on. Wendy, I have to congratulate you
Speaker 2: on such a powerful film, so confronting to watch, but
Speaker 2: every moment of it was truly gripping.
Speaker 1: Thank you for being here, thank you so much for
Speaker 1: having me.
Speaker 2: All right, And as I said a bit earlier, the
Speaker 2: film will be in Australian cinemas in the next few
Speaker 2: weeks and we also hope to show it here on
Speaker 2: Sky News. And I'll keep you updated when all of
Speaker 2: that happens so you can see it for yourself. Now
Speaker 2: still to comm we'll cross live to Abu Dhabi for
Speaker 2: the light on Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East,
Speaker 2: from the deals he's signing to those extravagant gifts, plus
Speaker 2: Chris Bowen's gloating over the election outcome. I'll talk about
Speaker 2: that with Adam Crichton after this quick break. The Coalition
Speaker 2: is currently debating whether to keep or drop its net
Speaker 2: zero emissions target. Now, Chris Bowen says Australians have backed
Speaker 2: in his Green agenda.
Speaker 11: Despite some of the rhetoric and the Arji Barjie. There
Speaker 11: was a swing to the Labor Party pretty much in
Speaker 11: every offshore wind seat. I take that then, that as
Speaker 11: well as an endorsement, as I said in an op
Speaker 11: ed today by Silent Majority, to say keep going, get
Speaker 11: on with the job.
Speaker 2: Well, joining me now is the Institute of Public Affairs
Speaker 2: chief economist Adam Crichton. Adam Chris Bowen sees this election
Speaker 2: outcome as an endorsement of his personal policies, despite the
Speaker 2: fact that Labour's primary is still only thirty four percent.
Speaker 2: Now the coalition seems to be undecided on their energy policy.
Speaker 2: What would you say other pros and kinds of keeping
Speaker 2: net zero?
Speaker 12: Well, the pros are that it is momentarily popular. Certainly,
Speaker 12: if you did a survey of the community, I think
Speaker 12: most people would say that they like the idea of
Speaker 12: net zero, and that's probably because they think net zero
Speaker 12: means no pollution. But of course you know the emissions,
Speaker 12: the carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Sadly, that's what
Speaker 12: the general public thinks. But I think as time goes on,
Speaker 12: I think public opinion is going to change. It's already
Speaker 12: changing in Europe. You're seeing in Germany, you're seeing in
Speaker 12: the UK, you're seeing a lot of skepticism about net zero.
Speaker 12: The reality is net zero might sound a nice idea,
Speaker 12: but it's an extraordinarily huge tax on the Australian economy.
Speaker 12: It's a much much bigger tax, say than the Trump tariffs,
Speaker 12: which we've all got so exercised and upset about. You know,
Speaker 12: it's basically destroying our manufacturing. It's putting up energy bills.
Speaker 12: You know, we have solar and wind in Australia and
Speaker 12: it's much easier to introduce it. But the more you
Speaker 12: introduce the more costly that it becomes. And I think
Speaker 12: they're reaching that point now in Australia where it's getting
Speaker 12: harder and harder to roll more of it out without
Speaker 12: the serious risk of blackouts. And I think Chris Bowens
Speaker 12: made a judgment, you know, very cynical political judgment that
Speaker 12: in the next three years it's still going to be popular.
Speaker 12: But I would guarantee that in the next six years
Speaker 12: or nine years, it's not going to be popular. It's
Speaker 12: going to be very costly and it's going to wreck
Speaker 12: the Australian economy. So I would say the coalition should,
Speaker 12: you know, should dump it now and should get ahead
Speaker 12: of public opinion. Plus they'd have something to take to
Speaker 12: the next election because the last election they really didn't
Speaker 12: have much to take that was distinct from labor.
Speaker 2: And somewhere in the Nationals are saying it should be
Speaker 2: dumped and there's already disagreements emerging between the Nationals and
Speaker 2: the Liberal Party. Of course, the Nationals did outperform the
Speaker 2: Liberals in the election, and now they're also demanding more portfolios,
Speaker 2: better portfolios. Here was National Senate Leader Bridget mackenzie stoking
Speaker 2: some of these flames a bit earlier.
Speaker 1: In our one hundred and twenty year history.
Speaker 7: For sixteen of those years we held the treasury portfolio
Speaker 7: in government. So I think there needs to be a
Speaker 7: very serious conversation heading into any coalition discussions about the
Speaker 7: role of the National Party.
Speaker 12: On portfolio primarily or policy or both.
Speaker 7: Well, I think this is a partnership that has to
Speaker 7: work for both parties.
Speaker 2: It's just going to be a mess for the coalition.
Speaker 2: They're not going to agree on policy and now it
Speaker 2: looks like they might demand the treasury portfolio.
Speaker 12: Well it's a reasonable request. I think the reality is
Speaker 12: just the raw numbers in the Parliament, in the Senate
Speaker 12: and the lower House, or that the Nationals are a
Speaker 12: much more powerful political force than they were relative to
Speaker 12: a Liberal Party, so they may have to give up.
Speaker 12: They may have to give up that position. And you know, personally,
Speaker 12: I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. The
Speaker 12: National Party were well ahead on the issue of the voice.
Speaker 12: They came out against it first. They dragged the Liberals
Speaker 12: into that position. I think that's full credit to them.
Speaker 12: And I think, you know, he may not have won
Speaker 12: the leadership Matt Canavan, one of the regulars on your show,
Speaker 12: but he, you know, he appears to have pushed the
Speaker 12: National Party into dumping that zero. I think that's the
Speaker 12: right view, as I was just saying, and I think
Speaker 12: it may it may cause the Liberals to dump that
Speaker 12: as well. So I think, you know, in the national interests,
Speaker 12: you know, you full credit to the National Party for
Speaker 12: you know, for leading the debate on these things. And
Speaker 12: you know, if there's not unity in the coalition for
Speaker 12: the next year or so, does that does that really matter?
Speaker 12: I mean, let's you know, let's see a debate. Let's
Speaker 12: let's see an intellectual debate on these very important issues.
Speaker 12: The problem at the last election is the major parties
Speaker 12: basically agreed on everything substantive.
Speaker 2: Just finally, Adam, it looks like Jim Chalmers is going
Speaker 2: to legislate labors super attacks. A Legras spender has come
Speaker 2: out and said, you know, an appeal to not do this.
Speaker 2: Poul Keating has as well. Do you have concerns over
Speaker 2: this policy?
Speaker 12: Yeah, look, it's extraordinary, is it. I mean Paul Keating
Speaker 12: would be considered a far right figure I think now
Speaker 12: in Australian political seeing the Labor Party, you know, there's
Speaker 12: moved so far to the left. This is a terrible
Speaker 12: tax as es. Actually the unrealized gains component, it's not
Speaker 12: going to be index three million dollars is the threshold
Speaker 12: at the moment that's been specified. You know, it's just
Speaker 12: so depressing that, you know, we have bracket creep. The
Speaker 12: government has bracket creek every year, which gives it three
Speaker 12: five billion dollars of extra tax every year. But that's
Speaker 12: still not enough.
Speaker 1: They need to legislate this other tax.
Speaker 12: So look, I hope it doesn't happen. I hope, And
Speaker 12: this is just my personal view that maybe the Liberals
Speaker 12: can negotiate with Labor to pass a less bad tax
Speaker 12: than Labor negotiating with the Greens to get it through
Speaker 12: the Senate. But the Greens may well insist that the
Speaker 12: threshold has to be two millions. So look, that's for
Speaker 12: the parties to decide. But it's a terrible tax. Let's
Speaker 12: hope it doesn't.
Speaker 2: Happen, all right, Adam Crichton, thank you so much, appreciate
Speaker 2: your time. After the break, will cross live to Abu
Speaker 2: Dhabu with a CNN journalist covering Trump's Middle East trip
Speaker 2: and why he's not going to Israel. That's next. Well
Speaker 2: to the Middle East now, where US President Donald Trump
Speaker 2: has begun his four day tour and Trump has announced
Speaker 2: a sweep of major deals. He's lifted sanction on Syria,
Speaker 2: quite controversial, and a nine hundred and twenty seven billion
Speaker 2: dollar investment with Saudi Arabia. He's also defended his decision
Speaker 2: to accept an extravagant plane. Have a look.
Speaker 12: Some people say, oh, you shouldn't accept gifts for the country.
Speaker 2: My attitude is, why wouldn't I accept the gift? That
Speaker 2: was an interview with Sean Hannady on Fox News. We're
Speaker 2: joining me now as CNN reporter Paula Hancock's Paula, thank
Speaker 2: you so much, Really appreciate your time. Look, what is
Speaker 2: the main purpose of Trump's four day trip to the
Speaker 2: Middle East. It is his first official state visit after
Speaker 2: the Vatican.
Speaker 13: Well, shre what we were expecting is pretty much what
Speaker 13: we have seen so far, and that is that the
Speaker 13: US presidents wanted to secure some significant investment deals into
Speaker 13: the United States. We were expecting some i watering figures.
Speaker 13: That is what we have had from Saudi Arabia in
Speaker 13: agreeing to invest in defense, also in AI, in technology,
Speaker 13: and we saw some of the CEOs of the biggest
Speaker 13: tech companies in America and Saudi Arabia all convene to
Speaker 13: hear Donald Trump and also the Crown Prince speak in
Speaker 13: a Saudi US investments forum. That was always going to
Speaker 13: be the key for the US president to get those
Speaker 13: big deals secured. But what we have seen, which is
Speaker 13: the most significant and a significant shift in US foreign policy,
Speaker 13: is Donald Trump deciding that he is going to plan
Speaker 13: to lift sanctions on Syria. He also in just recent
Speaker 13: hours met with the president dakhmedal Sharah, the Syrian president
Speaker 13: who ousted Vashar al Assad at the end of last year.
Speaker 13: He met him in Riad and he spoke to him
Speaker 13: for over half an hour and he said after that
Speaker 13: meeting that he is exploring the possibility of normalizing relations
Speaker 13: with Syria. So this is a very significant development. It
Speaker 13: is something that Saudi Arabia and Kata wanted the US
Speaker 13: president to do. We know that Saudi Arabia and KATA
Speaker 13: have both paid about fifteen million dollars of debts to
Speaker 13: the wto that Syria had. We know KATA is paying
Speaker 13: public sector wages to try and get Syria back on
Speaker 13: its feet. So this was a really key decision by
Speaker 13: the US presidents that Saudi and Kata and of course
Speaker 13: Syria were really hoping for on this trip.
Speaker 2: Sure, and of course the Syrian president is a farmer
Speaker 2: Islamic extremist figure, you know, whose treatment of many Syrians
Speaker 2: when he did overthrow the Asad regime was quite brutal.
Speaker 2: So there's some criticism of the president therefare for having
Speaker 2: that long meeting with him. Paula Tramps also have been
Speaker 2: criticized for not visiting Israel on this tour. What his
Speaker 2: explanation for missing Israel when he's in neighboring countries.
Speaker 13: He was asked about it and he said, Israel will
Speaker 13: be a country I will visit, just not on this trip.
Speaker 13: The general assumption is that these three countries that he's visiting,
Speaker 13: the Golf Nations are easy wins for him. There will
Speaker 13: be no protests, there's no contentious meetings with leaders that
Speaker 13: he has to worry about, and he will be treated
Speaker 13: like a king as he was in Saudi Arabia, with
Speaker 13: all the pomp and ceremony that goes with it. He
Speaker 13: had some significant deals to announce in these three countries,
Speaker 13: and we're expecting more from Kata and the UAE in
Speaker 13: the coming days, but he doesn't have that in Israel
Speaker 13: at this point. He has not secured the ceasefire between
Speaker 13: Israel and Hamas, which he had claimed credit for at
Speaker 13: the beginning of his term, that since has collapsed, and
Speaker 13: so certainly that could be one reason why he has
Speaker 13: decided not to visit Israel on this particular tour. It
Speaker 13: will be noticed quite keenly in Israel, though, especially considering
Speaker 13: the fact he has now just dropped sanctions with Syria,
Speaker 13: he has met the Syrian president, which Israel desperately did
Speaker 13: not want him to do either of those things. And
Speaker 13: there are a number of issues ongoing at this point
Speaker 13: where the US seems to be going it alone rather
Speaker 13: than conferring closely with Israel. So there will certainly be
Speaker 13: a lot of concern in that country.
Speaker 2: Yeah, indeed, Paula Hancocks, I really, really appreciate you taking
Speaker 2: the time to speak with us tonight. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2: And she's right there. A lot of curious moves from
Speaker 2: Donald Trump. Let's see where it ends up, all right, Well,
Speaker 2: thank you so much for your company tonight. I'll see
Speaker 2: you tomorrow at eight o'clock. And right now here is
Speaker 2: poor Mary.