Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: This is a breaking news update from Bloomberg instant reaction
Speaker 2: and analysis from our three thousand journalists and analysts around
Speaker 2: the world. Hamas said it has agreed to parts at
Speaker 2: least of President Trump's peace plan, and it agrees to
Speaker 2: release all of the Israeli hostages. President Trump responding in
Speaker 2: a statement, saying in part that Israel must immediately stop
Speaker 2: bombing Gaza, but that believes Hamas is ready for peace.
Speaker 3: I want to thank the countries that helped me put
Speaker 3: this together. Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and so
Speaker 3: many others. So many people fought so hard. This is
Speaker 3: a big day. We'll see how it all turns out.
Speaker 3: We have to get the final word down and concrete.
Speaker 2: Joining us now with his perspective, Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks
Speaker 2: of New York. He is, of course, ranking member of
Speaker 2: the House Foreign Affairs Committee as well a member of
Speaker 2: the House Financial Services Committee. It's great to have you
Speaker 2: back with us, Congressman. How should we be viewing this moment?
Speaker 2: Donald Trump got the hostages released. Does he deserve vindication
Speaker 2: for the way he's handled this conflict?
Speaker 4: Well? I think that his twenty point proposal I agreed
Speaker 4: with as well as the regional partners, and so therefore
Speaker 4: that is a good thing. Came out in support of it.
Speaker 4: This is diplomacy. This is the way that I think
Speaker 4: that we ultimately will solve what's happening in the Middle
Speaker 4: East and to have some real and true peace. Now,
Speaker 4: I've been a big proponent, for example, of the Abraham Accords,
Speaker 4: and that too was started by Donald Trump in his
Speaker 4: first administration. Again, it's important, significant, and we've got to
Speaker 4: give diplomacy an opportunity to work. And just what you
Speaker 4: reported is important. Also, Israel should not continue bombing Gaza.
Speaker 5: I agree with the President on that.
Speaker 4: Let's try to see if we can get this thing done,
Speaker 4: that the negotiations continue in that regards at least the
Speaker 4: clarifications of what the twenty points is, and let's try
Speaker 4: to make sure we can finally change the situation in
Speaker 4: the Middle East where you can have a Palestinian state
Speaker 4: side by side with a Jewish state of Israel.
Speaker 2: Well, of course, I don't need to tell you congressmen
Speaker 2: that both parties here have a record of not making
Speaker 2: good on cease fire agreements on any agreements for that matter.
Speaker 2: That goes for both Hamas and Benjamin and Yahoo as
Speaker 2: the ranking member of foreign affairs, how much time will
Speaker 2: you give this before it has credibility?
Speaker 4: Well, I think that diplomacy leads more time than just
Speaker 4: to Sunday, that's for sure. I would think that, you know,
Speaker 4: a week of a couple of weeks should be able
Speaker 4: to hash this thing out. And I think that the
Speaker 4: aid of Golf countries and other countries that also have
Speaker 4: signed off on the twenty point plan, along with the
Speaker 4: United States and in Israel, we should be able to
Speaker 4: get it done. I think that we're getting close. We're
Speaker 4: getting very very close. But of course the devil is
Speaker 4: always in the details. Let these details be discussed and
Speaker 4: ration out, because you don't want a situation where there's
Speaker 4: been a misinterpretation of what should or should not happen,
Speaker 4: and then everything goes to put and we're.
Speaker 5: Back to where we started from.
Speaker 4: So let'swi and cross ant that we.
Speaker 2: Can Benjamin Etnia, who has been seen as a pariah
Speaker 2: by many in the region because of the high number
Speaker 2: of civilian casualties that we've seen among Palestinians living in Gaza.
Speaker 2: If this is real congressmen, and this is in fact
Speaker 2: the paths to peace. Did we just prove that you
Speaker 2: must meet strength with greater strength?
Speaker 4: Well, no, I think that what we're doing now is
Speaker 4: we are using diplomacy. Ultimately, we know that just bombing
Speaker 4: your way out of this will not create a peaceful situation.
Speaker 5: In the Middle East.
Speaker 4: So diplomacy has always been something that I've advocated, and
Speaker 4: what we've not been able to do to this point
Speaker 4: was to get an agreement on both sides. Diplomacy is
Speaker 4: always much harder and takes generally longer than just simply
Speaker 4: bombing or the military strikes. So we're at that point now,
Speaker 4: I think, and hopefully we can get across the tracks
Speaker 4: with an agreement that will make a substantial difference in
Speaker 4: the Middle East where we can bring some true fees.
Speaker 5: And what's the.
Speaker 6: Important to commsan as we can do really important is
Speaker 6: that all of the golf countries and along with the
Speaker 6: Pakistanis are all involved in this, our allies, and you.
Speaker 5: All agree with the twenty point plan.
Speaker 4: So we're at a point where you're talking about hostages
Speaker 4: being released and humanitarian aid getting in. This is what
Speaker 4: we want and then try to stabilize the region, rebuilding
Speaker 4: Gaza for the Palestinians without Hamas being in control of anything.
Speaker 5: So this is a very good but hard work.
Speaker 4: And I think there's no hard work to be done,
Speaker 4: but that's the way diplomacy works.
Speaker 2: It's good to have you, Congress when come see us
Speaker 2: when you get back into town. Democratic Congressman Greg re
Speaker 2: Meeks of New York. First reaction there from the House
Speaker 2: Foreign Affairs Committee on this breaking news on Hamas joining
Speaker 2: us now with details live here on Capitol Hill. Bloomberg's
Speaker 2: Eric Martin, who was just in Israel with the Secretary
Speaker 2: of State Marco Rubio only days ago. Eric, who deserves
Speaker 2: the credit for this.
Speaker 7: Joe, this is a historic day potentially what we're seeing here.
Speaker 7: Here we sit on October third, twenty twenty five, almost
Speaker 7: two years to the day since the Hamas terrorist attacks
Speaker 7: against Israel, and seeing this message from Hamas in response
Speaker 7: to the President's twenty point plan, and in particular what
Speaker 7: caught my eye is the President calling on Israel to
Speaker 7: stop the bombing. Now, as you mentioned, I was just
Speaker 7: a couple of weeks ago in Jerusalem with Secretary of
Speaker 7: State mark Or Rubio and with Prime Minister Netsngahu, and
Speaker 7: I asked both of them about this long planned Israeli
Speaker 7: offensive to go into Gaza City. Even as we were
Speaker 7: leaving for Doha, they were encircling Gaza City and planning
Speaker 7: this for this, for this increased escalation of the war,
Speaker 7: very controversial in Israel, a lot of people concerned about this,
Speaker 7: and both of them saying that, telling me that if
Speaker 7: they could find a way to get the hostages out,
Speaker 7: to get Hamas to give up the hostages without escalating
Speaker 7: the war, that was of course preferred. And so this
Speaker 7: is really a monumental moment that we're we're seeing here
Speaker 7: in terms of the potential for piece here. Still details
Speaker 7: to be worked out, but this initial response from President Trump,
Speaker 7: I think is quite important.
Speaker 2: Hamas is talking about accepting this deal with conditions. I
Speaker 2: know that we have some to learn still as to
Speaker 2: what those conditions are. But should we assume that Hamas
Speaker 2: actually knows where all of the hostages are, will they
Speaker 2: be able to produce them?
Speaker 7: That certainly is an open question. And I think there
Speaker 7: is a degree of skepticism towards the Hamaser response in
Speaker 7: that some of the things, including the twenty point plans,
Speaker 7: such as Hamas disarming and giving up control of Gaza.
Speaker 7: We've seen as part of their response saying that Gaza
Speaker 7: would be led by a group of technocrats, and that
Speaker 7: seeming to indicate that they're willing to give up this
Speaker 7: control of Gaza, which they've maintained for nearly twenty years.
Speaker 7: But of course, from the Israeli side, one of the
Speaker 7: fundamental things and President Prime Minister Natina who told me
Speaker 7: this in a press conference there was to make sure
Speaker 7: that Hamas can never return in the way they did
Speaker 7: on October seventh, and for Israel, that means to make
Speaker 7: sure that Hamas cannot be a threat, does not have
Speaker 7: the weaponry to pose a threat to Israel in the
Speaker 7: way that they did, and to ever repeat anything approaching
Speaker 7: October seventh.
Speaker 2: Glad you come see us, Eric, Thank you so much.
Speaker 2: Bloomberg's Eric Martin with us live on Capitol Hill. A
Speaker 2: joining us now with her analysis. Wendy Sherman, the former
Speaker 2: Deputy Secretary of State in the Biden administration, now senior
Speaker 2: fellow at Harvard's Belfast Center. Wendy, I'm really glad you
Speaker 2: could be part of our conversation. I'm wondering what you
Speaker 2: need to see to know this is real.
Speaker 1: Well, look, I agree with what Eric just said. This
Speaker 1: is a positive response from the White House. They're taking yes,
Speaker 1: even a yes butt for an answer and getting diplomacy underway.
Speaker 1: As Congressman Meek said in your previous segment, diplomacy's hard work.
Speaker 5: It all comes down to the details.
Speaker 1: So yes, this is a positive moment, but a heck
Speaker 1: of hot more work to be done here, and we
Speaker 1: don't know the answer to a number of questions, including
Speaker 1: whether really Hamas can produce all the hostages and bodies
Speaker 1: of those who are deceased within seventy two hours. But
Speaker 1: I do agree with Eric that the President saying that
Speaker 1: Israel must stop it's bombing now to create the space
Speaker 1: and the quiet to get those hostages back is a
Speaker 1: very positive statement in a very difficult situation. A long
Speaker 1: way to go, but better than where we were yesterday.
Speaker 2: What do you make of the timing here, Wendy? The
Speaker 2: President posted on truth Social another threat today, give him
Speaker 2: a deadline six pm Sunday or all hell, as he
Speaker 2: has said, will break loose. Gaza already is all hell?
Speaker 2: Did that threat unlock this acceptance?
Speaker 1: I don't know that the threat alone unlocked the acceptance,
Speaker 1: and I would say it's a yes, but acceptance. It's
Speaker 1: not a total yes acceptance yet. But I think that
Speaker 1: Egypt cut Her, you, probably United Arab Emirates, even Indonesia,
Speaker 1: Saudi Arabia, those who have signed on to this proposal
Speaker 1: have applied pressure to Hamas as well, cut Her being
Speaker 1: quite important to that. And as we all know, the
Speaker 1: President just gave cut Her, which is a key negotiator here,
Speaker 1: what amounts to an Article five security guarantee from the
Speaker 1: United States. Now, I don't know if that will hold
Speaker 1: up because usually those things are done by treaty, not
Speaker 1: by an executive action. But nonetheless, the President clearly wants
Speaker 1: to build a strong relationship with Gutter. And I will
Speaker 1: say one other thing, this probably, if it keeps going forward,
Speaker 1: puts the President in a slightly stronger position going into
Speaker 1: the APEC meeting at the end of October in the
Speaker 1: Republic of Korea, in his negotiations with China, and how
Speaker 1: he is seen in the rest of the world, if
Speaker 1: he really can be the driving force to bring PA
Speaker 1: not only to Gaza and the horrific conditions that the
Speaker 1: people in Gaza have been attempting to live under, some
Speaker 1: starving to death, a desperately needing to get in. There
Speaker 1: is a lot of work to be done here, but
Speaker 1: as I said, we are in a better place today
Speaker 1: than we were yesterday.
Speaker 2: Well, assuming this is real, Wendy, and we project to
Speaker 2: rebuilding Gaza, this could also be extremely complicated. I know
Speaker 2: the President has talked about making this the Riviera of
Speaker 2: the Middle East or something, But how do you rebuild
Speaker 2: Gaza without removing significant portions of the population.
Speaker 1: I think the riviera concept is a long way off.
Speaker 5: Gaza has been destroyed.
Speaker 1: The President has suggested that an Israel has suggested that
Speaker 1: people move out of Gaza city, but they don't have
Speaker 1: a fuel to do so, they don't have homes to
Speaker 1: go to, they don't have a way to move. They're
Speaker 1: worried about their children and their health. There is little
Speaker 1: healthcare left. Doctors without borders has left because it was
Speaker 1: such a dangerous situation. So what is critical here is
Speaker 1: to get aid in and to begin the rebuilding, and
Speaker 1: to go back to part of your previous discussion. We
Speaker 1: don't know whether Hamas will agree to the governmental structure
Speaker 1: that the presidents agreed to. We don't know if they
Speaker 1: will disarm, So there are lots of details here yet
Speaker 1: to go. I know the President United States is desperate
Speaker 1: for a Nobel Peace Prize. I don't think he's going
Speaker 1: to get one in twenty twenty five. That will get
Speaker 1: announced October tenth. All of the nominations are closed, but
Speaker 1: maybe he's trying to get to twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2: We'll see how that goes. I know it's something that
Speaker 2: he's been talking about quite a bit lately. What would
Speaker 2: this mean then for the future of a Palestinian state
Speaker 2: and what would it mean for Iran obviously pulling the
Speaker 2: strings for Hamas.
Speaker 1: Two very good questions I think for peace in the
Speaker 1: Middle East, clearly, both the Abraham Accords and the further
Speaker 1: work that's been done is trying to bring the whole
Speaker 1: region together. Obviously the fall of Asad was an important
Speaker 1: piece of that puzzle. Sort of degrading Hasbellah and Hamas
Speaker 1: and the Syrian militias supported by Iran critical to being
Speaker 1: able to move forward towards peace. But an enormous amount
Speaker 1: of work to go on, and it looks like the
Speaker 1: President is sort of pulling back as sanctions, including the
Speaker 1: new sanctions at the UN that have just been imposed
Speaker 1: on Iran, put pressure on Iran in hopes that Iran
Speaker 1: will do what it needs to do. I think it's
Speaker 1: a little bit of a risk here, however, probably more
Speaker 1: than a little bit, because Iran is moving forward to
Speaker 1: reconstitute its nuclear positions, reconstant to its facilities. Even Israel
Speaker 1: has said that the huge amount of enriched uranium is
Speaker 1: probably still there, they have advanced centrifuges to increase the
Speaker 1: likelihood of getting all that they need for a nuclear weapon.
Speaker 1: And even if they haven't decided to go there yet,
Speaker 1: what I call hard heard liners, the Islamic Revolutionary guardcore
Speaker 1: kud's force is probably pressing to make that decision to
Speaker 1: go for a nuclear weapon. So I hope there's some
Speaker 1: backchannel discussions going on with Iran because we cannot really
Speaker 1: get to peace in the Middle East unless we can
Speaker 1: also deal with Iran.
Speaker 2: What would this mean for Iran's other proxies, like those
Speaker 2: in Yemen, for instance, who've been attacking ships on behalf
Speaker 2: of what's happening or in protests maybe a better way
Speaker 2: to put it, of what has been happening in Gaza.
Speaker 1: Without a doubt what they're doing in Yemen still giving
Speaker 1: some support to Hesballah, clearly still engaged in some ways,
Speaker 1: probably with Hamas, and still trying to see what else
Speaker 1: they can do in the Middle East. So your point
Speaker 1: is well taken, Joe. This is an issue that really
Speaker 1: shouldn't be sidelined. The administration should continue, as I said,
Speaker 1: even if it's through quiet back channels, to make sure
Speaker 1: that people don't take their attention away from getting what
Speaker 1: is necessary here in order to make sure that peace
Speaker 1: can be longstanding if it can be achieved with ending
Speaker 1: the war in Gossip.
Speaker 2: Just lastly, Wendy, how does this end if the deal
Speaker 2: is real? Is there a signing ceremony? And who shows
Speaker 2: up for Hamas well?
Speaker 5: I don't know that there's a signing ceremony. I think
Speaker 5: that Cutter has really been.
Speaker 1: The country that.
Speaker 5: Houses Hamas.
Speaker 1: Whether Hamas's leader would sign a document, I don't see
Speaker 1: that happening, But I do see a collective action in
Speaker 1: the Middle East if in fact all these details can
Speaker 1: be worked out. As of I said, this is a
Speaker 1: good day, but there is still a lot of detailed
Speaker 1: work ahead, and I hope all of that detailed work,
Speaker 1: as the President seemed to indicate, is truly going on,
Speaker 1: because without it, there are a lot of pieces of
Speaker 1: the twenty point proposal that Hamas did not address, and
Speaker 1: we need those answers.
Speaker 2: A hopeful Wendy Sherman, Senior Fellow at Harvard's Belt for Senator,
Speaker 2: former Deputy Secretary of State and the Biden administration. Wendy,
Speaker 2: it's great to have you with this breaking news. Thanks
Speaker 2: for your insights.