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Assad Calls Erdogan "Thief" and "Slave" to Americans; U.S. president Impeachment Inquiry; Johnson Threatens to Pull Brexit Bill if Timetable Doesn't Pass; Lebanon Protests; Netanyahu Fails to Form Coalition Government. Aired 11a-12:00p ET

Aired October 22, 2019 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: For you first in Britain, Boris Johnson tries to break the Brexit deadlock, saying he may pull his deal if votes don't go

his way. And that could bring about a general election.

Then in Russia, Vladimir Putin hosts Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in what is the Russian president's favorite beach resort.

Talks apparently running long in Sochi, very large. We're waiting for the two presidents to come to speak to the gathered media. They've been in

serious discussions on Northern Syria, where the clock is running down on a pause in what is this Turkish incursion against Kurdish militia there.

The withdrawal of U.S. forces has left the door wide open for Russia to get more deeply involved. Meanwhile, today, the Syrian president Bashar al-

Assad calling Turkey's president a "thief" and a "slave" to the Americans. He says Turkey is stealing land in northern Syria in what was his first

public appearance since the start of this Turkish operation.

Nick Paton Walsh is standing by in northern Syria, he's just out of Syria itself as the cease-fire gets set to perish. Barbara Starr is at the

Pentagon.

Let's start with you, Nick. These words from Bashar al-Assad, the first we've heard from the Syrian president for some time as we await the details

of the discussions between the Turkish and Russians presidents in Sochi. What do you make from what we heard from Bashar al-Assad?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not to read too much into it, I suppose, to some degree, in the eyes of those who value

Syrian sovereignty, yes, Turkey has been annexing part of that. That's his opinion they are a thief.

In terms of Erdogan being a slave of Trump, I think that's a misreading of the situation. To some degree you might consider that it was actually

Donald Trump that was doing President Erdogan's bidding in that phone call that set this incursion and the disastrous consequences of it rolling.

But Bashar al-Assad in a interesting position now, particularly given there are four hours left of this deadline and his forces are possibly going to

be what Vladimir Putin in that Sochi meeting has to play with, has to offer to President Erdogan, to not keep the peace but potentially keep the Syrian

Kurds more at bay.

That Sochi meeting, the signals before it looked like they probably found some kind of common ground to hatch an agreement. They said the prior

meetings had been satisfactory and they looked like old friends who hadn't seen each other for a while and were glad to have something to talk about.

We may well see out of this meeting, essentially the current division of land being formalized and possibly Russian soldiers coming in to act as

peacekeepers. And the Syrian regime may be assisting the Syrian Kurds in security and other areas as well.

That may be enough for President Erdogan now but whether or not that continues in the months ahead is an open question. The big unanswered part

of all of this are the forces that Turkey unleashed inside of Syria. The Syrian rebels, called it Free Syrian Army by some, they've been accused of

substantial atrocities as they raged across this area.

Are they fully under Ankara's control?

Will they switch off the moment President Erdogan has said he's reached a deal in Sochi?

We've got four hours left until the cease-fire expires and forces are positioning themselves around the area to make advantage of the resumption

of fighting. We're waiting for word out of Sochi. My personal hunch is it will be positive in terms of stopping the fighting but it will reshape the

geopolitics of the whole country.

ANDERSON: Barbara, we expect to see a burgeoning role for Moscow on the ground and behind the scenes -- and none of this is new when it comes to

behind the scenes and a burgeoning role for the Russians -- Donald Trump says his reasons for withdrawing American troops is they can't be

stationed there forever and ever. He goes on with a common refrain. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Bring our soldiers back home. It's time to bring our soldiers back home. Bring our young people home. I want to bring our troops back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Question is, when is a withdrawal not a withdrawal?

Withdrawal seems more like a reshuffle at best at this point -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is reshuffling, exactly, right now. We have to see when it stops where everybody is left

standing.

[11:05:00]

STARR: Several hundred U.S. troops have come out of northern Syria and gone into western Iraq. We saw a statement today from the Iraqi government

that they're welcome to come in but they can't stay there, they need to go.

Not clear if that is a diplomatic move by the Iraqi government, so it's not seen by its own people as an unending open arms to U.S. troops. The

Secretary of Defense, the president keep talking about the troops eventually will come home.

But we've been down this road before. Last year, Mr. Trump wanted all troops out of Syria; they wound up staying for a year. Again, he wants all

troops out of Syria. But some are staying in southern Syria, some are staying right now at least in the oil fields in the northeast, in Mr.

Trump's words, to keep an eye on all of that.

He likes to talk about taking control of the oil and some now off in Iraq. Still, I think it's fair to say most of our U.S. commanders will tell you,

they still have considerable concerns in the region about the rise again of ISIS if the U.S. is not present -- Becky.

ANDERSON: OK. I believe that we have got Fred Pleitgen on the line with us, joining us from the meeting room in Sochi, where we continue to wait

for the Turkish and Russian presidents to wind up their meeting and speak to the gathered press.

Donald Trump has, Fred, been doing a lot of justification on his decisions to withdraw troops out of northern Syria. He also indicated that, without

help from the U.S., Kurdish forces would not have been as successful in fighting ISIS. He talked about that during a cabinet meeting on Monday.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: A lot of people are good when they fight with us. When you have $10 billion worth of airplanes shooting 10 miles in front of your line it's

much easier to fight. But with that, they were a good helper.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Fred, to an extent, you know, you could say Donald Trump's musings are irrelevant at this point. What matters now is Moscow and

Russian strategy in Syria at this point.

Is it clear and what is the end game at this point?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: First of all, I think you're absolutely right. The U.S. has essentially been taken out of

most of the equation in Syria by President Trump's decision to withdraw most U.S. forces from the northeast of the country and, of course, also to

abandon America's former Kurdish allies, which were so important in the fight against ISIS.

You heard President Trump there saying that the Kurds would not be as successful if they hadn't been fighting on the side of the Americans. The

Americans wouldn't have been successful if they hadn't had the Kurds as their ground forces as well.

This meeting, which has been going on for a long time, this press conference was supposed to start three hours ago. You can tell these two

leaders are engulfed in very, very important discussions.

Essentially, they're trying to map out the border in northeastern Syria going forward. And of course, Russia right now, at this point in time, by

far the most important country that is involved in the Syrian conflict.

But what the Russians did when the U.S. started pulling out, is they immediately made an agreement with the YPG, with the Kurds, to have the

Russians and the Syrian government troops put on the border areas in the northern part of Syria on the border with Turkey.

That, of course, puts them in a very strong position here with negotiations going on with the Turks. Erdogan knows there's areas in northeastern Syria

that U.S. forces are not going to be able to go because the Russians are there.

The two will be involved in a barter game, they'll be involved in heavy negotiations. The Turks for their part have said they want security

guarantees; they want to know there's not going to be armed YPG Kurdish fighters in those areas where the Russians are saying, what they want is

Syria, as it calls it, territorial integrity.

They want the Syrian government, an ideal situation, for the Russians to take over all of Syria. That's not going to be possible but at least to

become the power once again in some of the areas of those Russian and Syrian forces are already moved into.

One of the things the Russians want to do, they want to integrate some of the Kurdish militia back into the Syria security forces and hope that will

calm things down. Right now -- and you've been talking about a lot -- of course, the end of those 120 hours of that cease-fire that was dealt up by

Mike Pence and the Turks.

[11:10:00]

PLEITGEN: And right now it seems the only way to stop fighting from once again erupting lies in the hands of Erdogan and Vladimir Putin.

ANDERSON: So I just want to read you a little of what we just heard from the Syrian president. Quote, "You, Erdogan, informed the Americans. You

are a slave. This is a big theatrical play we're living through, the play is written, produced and directed by the Americans with Erdogan playing the

role of a low quality star actor."

Fred, it's not clear what role President Assad believes Mr. Putin is playing in this theater, as he describes it. If you will, just describe

the current relationship between Damascus and Moscow.

PLEITGEN: It's by far the most important relationship and really the only relationship that Bashar al-Assad currently has. Basically two countries

essentially that are propping up the Assad government and have been over the past couple of years and has not let go of Bashar al-Assad, the

Iranians and the Russians.

The Russians have been much more important than the Iranians. The Iranians were important as far as mustering ground forces during the civil war. But

it was the Russian airpower that tipped the scales of the conflict.

I've been to Damascus and Syria so many times as the conflict's been unfolding. In 2016, before the Russians started their bombing campaign,

there were concerns that Assad's government could collapse and that essentially there would be chaos in the country.

It was only after the Russians stepped in that things started to turn around. I think Bashar al-Assad is very much aware of that. Where I am in

Sochi, it's one of the few places that Bashar al-Assad has visited. He thanked Vladimir Putin for all of his efforts.

Vladimir Putin has very much been in his corner. It's apparently been with the understanding that Russia is definitely going to shape a lot of the

policy and future of the Syrian Arab republic of Assad's country moving forward.

And the Russians certainly are doing that economically as far as getting back to the oil fields, getting contracts for those. And, of course,

militarily as well in keeping that port in Tartus they have but especially always that air base near Latakia they have as well.

So certainly for Bashar al-Assad, his relations with Vladimir Putin and maintaining those relations are by far the most important thing to even at

this juncture, is very strong at this point in time, for him staying in power -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Briefly, Barbara, finally, just how alarmed is the Pentagon by these videos, these images we're seeing of retreating U.S. troops, as it

were, moving out of Syria and into Iraq where they have been pelted by rotten fruit?

Quite frankly, abused by people in the street who will say they're frustrated, they feel let down, they feel abandoned. The images, quite

alarming.

STARR: Well, I mean, you know, it's not what anyone in the Pentagon, not what anyone in the U.S. military would want to encounter, not what they

would want to see.

I think the frustration of the Kurds in this region is completely understandable to U.S. military command, especially to the troops that

served in the region. So as long as it's an expression of frustration, I think nobody feels very good about it.

But they understand it as long as there is not a renewed direct, shall we say, combat threat to U.S. troops. That would be the major concern if

attacks were to suddenly start happening if U.S. troops could not be kept physically safe until they get out of the country.

That's the real focus of the Pentagon. This is not what they want to see. It makes a lot of the U.S. troops feel badly about having to leave. This

is a decision by commanders and the U.S. military follows the decisions of the commander in chief.

ANDERSON: Barbara is at the Pentagon, Nick on the ground in Iraq and to Fred in Sochi on the phone, we thank you.

Mr. Trump says he wants to focus more on his foreign files, like Syria, but instead he says he's fighting off the Democrats and their impeachment

inquiry. It seems the U.S. president just can't hide his fury and frustration.

A short time ago, he branded the process a lynching by a House Democrats and complained the probe is taking time away from making important

decisions on foreign policy. Now it comes as the acting ambassador to Ukraine is now testifying on Capitol Hill.

[11:15:00]

ANDERSON: Bill Taylor was one of the officials whose text messages were released by House Democrats earlier this month. White House reporter

Stephen Collinson is joining us live in Washington.

Bill Taylor, actually in front of committee now, subpoenaed to ensure that he attended and provided testimony.

Just how important will his narrative be today to this wider impeachment story?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think a lot of people are looking at this testimony as perhaps the most significant so far. Bill Taylor was

on this chain of text messages with two of the president's men in Ukraine, the people who were tasked with carrying out this off the books foreign

policy.

Kurt Volker, the former envoy to Ukraine who resigned among them. He said on one of these text messages that it would be crazy to hold up military

aid to Ukraine to get a political concession.

The question that the people, the lawmakers and the investigators on Capitol Hill want to know is that evidence that the president was, indeed,

trying to hold up military aid to get dirt on Joe Biden out of the Ukrainian president. It certainly looks very much like that.

The U.S. ambassador to the E.U., Gordon Sondland said he was told by the president, and he put that in another text message, that there wasn't a

quid quo pro. The question becomes, of course, was Sondland's text acting on behalf of the president trying to cover up for something. So this is

potentially a very significant moment in the investigation.

ANDERSON: At a cabinet meeting on Monday, President Trump slamming Democrats and calling out his own party for not being tougher. Just have a

listen to exactly what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think the Democrats fight dirty. I think they're lousy politicians. But two things they have: they're vicious and they stick

together. They don't have Mitt Romney in their midst. They don't have people like that.

Republicans have to get tougher and fight. We have some that are great fighters, but they have to get tougher and fight because the Democrats are

trying to hurt the Republican Party for the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: His words will not fall on deaf ears, of course, Stephen. The party's position is clearly a difficult one at this point.

But lawmakers, Republican lawmakers will know that, in fighting to support the president at this stage, things may get an awful lot trickier for them

as the election approaches. What does the Grand Old Party do at this point?

COLLINSON: It's in a tough position. It's nailed its colors to the mast. The last three and a half years, every single outrage or controversy the

president has perpetrated it has defended or at least acquiesced to his behavior.

I think what we saw and what the president is referring to over the last few days with the Syria withdrawal, especially, but also with his now

aborted decision to hold the G7 summit at his Florida resort, is intense frustration from Republicans that they are the ones who are going to have

to carry the can for protecting the president, potentially acquitting him in a Senate trial on impeachment, after it appears that there is

substantial evidence of his own misconduct and he still keeps doing these things that put them in very difficult positions.

So the president is trying to leverage his strong support among base Republicans, who vote in primaries, who could deselect some of these

lawmakers if they don't toe Trump's line and to remind them he's the face of the Republican Party and it's his Republican Party now.

So a lot of these lawmakers are in a tough position. Politically they don't have a great deal of choice. A new CNN poll shows only 6 percent of

Republicans favor impeaching and removing the president.

You know, the overall figure in that poll is that 50 percent of Americans now favor that. So you can see that, if you're a Republican and you want

to keep your job, you're in a difficult position.

ANDERSON: OK. Yes, and let's just have a quick look at that poll. Support for Mr. Trump's impeachment has steadily grown. Half of Americans,

as Stephen points out now say the president should be impeached and removed from office. That's up 14 percent since March.

March, obviously well before the impeachment probe as it stands at present. This impeachment inquiry, Stephen, is heating up. Trump is spinning

another conspiracy theory. This one involving Adam Schiff. Quick listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The whistleblower gave a false account.

[11:20:00]

TRUMP: I happen to think there probably wasn't an informant. You know, the informant went to the whistleblower, the whistleblower had second- and

third-hand information. You remember that. It was a big problem.

But the information was wrong. So was there actually an informant? Maybe the informant was Schiff. It could be Shifty Schiff. In my opinion, it's

possibly Schiff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Digging a hole for himself or is there something in this?

COLLINSON: I mean, it's just patently absurd the suggestion, that Schiff was the whistleblower since he would have had to listen to that call

between the president and Zelensky and then have told someone inside the White House about it, who then became a whistleblower and reported

ultimately to Schiff's committee. It just seems completely improbable and absurd.

What the president is trying to do is throw out some charm, if you like, for the conservative media establishment, for his defenders to continue to

cast doubt on the probity of this democratic investigation. That's what that's all about.

Who knows what's going on inside the president's conspiratorial mind. Clearly what his intention is, is to completely discredit this

investigation and everybody involved in it as a way of protecting himself.

The reason is testimony that's being given today by Bill Taylor is building a mountain of evidence that there was an off-the-books foreign policy

operation perpetrated by the president himself designed to use his power to get foreign dirt on a political opponent. That's a damning accusation.

And that is the reason why the president's perhaps best defense now is to try and discredit the people that are investigating him.

ANDERSON: And that's the reason for the impeachment inquiry. Stephen, always a pleasure. Thank you, regular guest and friend of our show Stephen

Collinson for you out of Washington.

Ahead, folks, fury at Lebanon's political elites has engulfed the country. We speak with one of Lebanon's leading activists, blogger Gino Raidy, why

he says mass protests must go on.

It was not a happy birthday for Israel's prime minister. Benjamin Netanyahu turned 70 as his hope of forming a coalition government vanished.

We'll head to Jerusalem for you straight ahead.

Mr. Quest, outside Parliament what have you got?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: We'll expect a vote in a few hours. The MPs finally getting a say on the Brexit bill. That's in a moment.

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[11:25:00]

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ANDERSON: British prime minister Boris Johnson trying to sell his Brexit bill before Parliament votes on the bill and a tight timetable to debate

it. He says if they don't back the three day timetable he'll pull the entire bill, putting a general election firmly in focus.

An election his party thinks they can win. Richard Quest is outside Parliament in London.

It feels like we're inching to some sort of conclusion on this. Whether this is -- this will be conclusive, though, is something else at this

point.

QUEST: I think you're right. Our political analyst, Carole Walker, is with me; Nina is in Brussels.

Becky says we're inching towards something that feels like there's going to be a denouement tonight at 7:00.

CAROLE WALKER, POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. There's an extraordinary sense at the moment of a calm before the storm I think as the debate

continues in the Houses of Parliament behind us because what is happening is we'll get a vote at 7:00 tonight and it looks quite possible that the

prime minister could actually pull off a vote, in principle, in favor of the deal that he thrashed out with the E.U.

And yet the extraordinary thing is that that may not prove to be the most significant development tonight because, after that, we will move straight

onto this program notion, which will be the government trying to get all the legislation through Parliament in the next three days.

And we've had this specific threat on the floor of the House from the prime minister, that if he can't get that through, if he can't get the bill

through the House in time, then he'll pull it all together and try to seek a general election.

QUEST: What would be the -- if the E.U. says we'll give you another 10 days, another two weeks so you can get all this through, we're at the point

where there's plenty of opportunities but nobody seems willing to take them.

WALKER: Well, the prime minister has said time and time again that the U.K. will leave the E.U. on October 31st. He has also said he'll not

negotiate a delay with the E.U. He was forced by that emergency law that was put through to send an official request for an extension to the E.U.

accompanied by a letter, saying it's not really what I want.

So the question is that what happens then, does the E.U. offer a further delay, even though it knows that the U.K. government doesn't really want

it?

Does it do that in order to avoid a no deal Brexit?

Because that's the other thing which, again, becomes a serious possibility, would be that while this hiatus continues, that October 31st date arrives,

passes and the U.K. leaves with no deal.

QUEST: Does he have, for those who are familiar with the terminology, does he have a majority for the second reading, for the actual bill to jump over

his next hurdle?

WALKER: That's what Downing Street believes; that's what senior government ministers have said, that they believe they do have the numbers. That is

hugely significant. Look at those three enormous defeats which Theresa May suffered.

If after three and a half years this is a prime minister who gets the approval of Parliament for a deal, that would be a symbolic victory.

QUEST: If it's so important, why then hang yourself, briefly, on the program notion rather than just taking a small delay to get it through

briefly?

WALKER: I think simply because he's promised so often that the U.K. will leave on that Halloween date and he simply doesn't want to be seen to be

the one who is going back on his word.

QUEST: Do or die, dead in a ditch, as he said.

Becky, we go back to you. I know you'll be wanting to be watching closely as the evening wears on. The voting is 2.5 hours from now. You'll be

ready to tuck into something appropriate.

ANDERSON: I certainly will. I'm relying on you to explain it all to us. Good luck. Richard Quest in the house. Thank you.

[11:30:00]

ANDERSON: We've got up to the minute live coverage of the debate in Parliament on our web page at cnn.com, where you'll find our team giving

instant analysis on what is going on.

Our live blog tracking the events in Parliament, keeping you bang up to date.

If you think Brexit is confusing, take a crack at Israeli politics. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to form a coalition government for the

second time this year. We take you to Jerusalem to walk you through what happens next.

Plus fury in Lebanon, interrupted by "Baby Shark." Why these protesters are singing the song to a toddler.

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ANDERSON: In mere hours, a five-day pause in fighting in northern Syria is set to end. Right now we're keeping one eye on the leaders of Russia and

Turkey, set to speak soon in Sochi, giving a key update on Syria's future. We'll take you there live as that happens.

Then to a country that's perhaps the most meddled with in the region, a microcosm of geopolitical competition for decades, where else but Lebanon,

where there's calls for a modern day revolution.

Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, young, old, Christian, Muslim, coming together with one message: end government

corruption. The country has been at a standstill for days now, with many businesses and schools forced to close.

[11:35:00]

ANDERSON: And an emergency economic plan approved by the cabinet on Monday has done nothing to ease public anger in places where protests turned into

partying. Residents gathered the next morning to clean the streets together.

Blogger Gino Raidy, one of the leading voices of these protests, is joining me now from Beirut.

So the government responding to these demonstrations, these protests, with a raft of proposals.

Do they get it?

Are they on message?

Are they listening at this point?

GINO RAIDY, BLOGGER AND ACTIVIST: As you said, no one thinks they get it. I think the tone deafness was amazing. And perhaps I think the worst thing

about that day is why they drafted those 13 points of non-action.

They passed an extension of a committee that should run our oil and gas sector, which expired 11 months ago. So they just added salaries for

people who weren't elected to get paid. So no one bought it. If the protests were raining down, people are back again just because of these 13

amendments or decisions.

ANDERSON: Are you surprised by just how many people and the type of people who have come out?

Or did you see this coming?

RAIDY: I think we've been warning about this happening for many years now. But personally a lot of my friends will share this street with me, we never

thought we'd see this day in our lives.

So you have people flying in from around the world, from the Lebanese diaspora, to be part of this. So we're all surprised, including the

authorities, where we have five days of radio silence from all of them. Even stations that are owned by their parties are putting on cooking shows

or reruns of old shows instead of showing what's happening here.

So a lot of it has been online, especially the new media, like Instagram and others, which are the tools that we're using to spread the news

horizontally instead of vertically anymore.

ANDERSON: That's fascinating. The suggestion, that the use of social media has allowed you to kind of own this rather than it be the top-down

political messages. Protesters, it seems, are determined to stay on the streets, despite the economic reform plan that you and I have just been

discussing. Let's have a listen to what a couple people told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm here, staying in the streets, demanding my rights and the rights of that exhausted soldiers. Soldiers

who are paying taxes like me, who're suffering like me. I'm staying on the streets for my children and for his children. To find a country to live in

and not have to emigrate and leave my country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: So what does happen next?

RAIDY: I'm sorry, can you repeat?

ANDERSON: What happens next?

RAIDY: This is the question on everyone's mind right now. And I think in previous grassroots movements that tried to start, like in 2015 with the

garbage crisis, the fear of vacuum is what government forces usually try to make people scared of and not go down.

But if you look at the average age of most protesters here, they're all close to our generation. So the vacuum to them is part of their life.

Most of my life we didn't have a president because they couldn't agree who it should be.

Most of my life, cabinets were resigned and life went on as normal. So we're not afraid of vacuum anymore. Honestly, if you just -- everyone's

concerns are different. And everyone agrees on one thing, enough is enough. Anything is better than the current situation we're in.

And maybe a lot of people thought, oh, it's about the tax for the first voter ID tax they wanted. For me, it's a lot more than that. This isn't

like a stab at the heart of the people, it's like death by 1,000 cuts.

So the insults and humiliation and the lack of gas and you can't withdraw from an ATM and no bread anymore and then armed escorts of ministers,

pulling their guns on unarmed protesters, was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

You can see the change with the rhetoric of people who were afraid to talk about their leaders. Now they're going out in the streets and the areas,

speaking about it. If this would happen maybe one year ago, they would be forced today apologize and go back on TV and say, oh, sorry, I didn't mean

to say what I said.

(CROSSTALK)

RAIDY: Hezbollah, the (INAUDIBLE) movement and others.

ANDERSON: And finally and to that point, should the prime minister now resign?

Certainly there have been multiple calls on streets for that.

Should Hariri step down?

[11:40:00]

RAIDY: He definitely should resign. I think it won't be enough for the people if only he resigns. In Lebanon, the cabinet of ministers is just a

reflection of the parliament and the politicians who all agree on dividing up the slices of the pie.

People know that anymore. Like we said before, we're using social media but so are they. And people's awareness about what's fake news is becoming

stronger.

So now like removing a figurehead, which is the government, while everything else stays in place won't work. You can see the chances

(INAUDIBLE) which means the system not just the cabinet. Everyone knows the cabinet is the just errand boy for the political establishment. That's

been in Lebanon since the civil war and never really went away.

Some of the chants you're hearing, today the civil war ends when everyone came together finally when most of the time it's been divided since the

civil war that just stopped magically and everyone pretended like nothing happened.

Gino, it's great to have you on. Stay in touch, Gino Raidy out of the Beirut bureau for you, as we continue to watch these images on the streets

of Lebanon.

There is also a softer side to the anger. Watch what happened when a mother told protesters surrounding her car that her 15-month-old son was

scared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The boy's mom said the video spread so fast her husband saw it before she could tell him about it. Look at the little fellow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Still to come, strike two, Israel's prime minister failed to form a coalition government. But can his rival succeed where he failed?

We take you to the latest live out of Jerusalem for you. Up next.

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[11:45:00]

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ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.

Long considered the magician of Israeli politics, it seems prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have lost his sparkle, announcing yesterday on his

70th birthday that he has abandoned his efforts to form a coalition government for the second time, remember, in less than a year.

September's deadlocked snap elections means President Reuven Rivlin should call on his rival, Benny Gantz, to form a government. His chances, like

the prime minister's are thin. Here to break down what all of this means is CNN's Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem.

It's important you break this down for us because this is complicated -- Oren.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The easiest way to look at this is that it was political deadlock that led, first of all to April's elections,

then to September elections and then to the situation we're looking at now where more elections are possible.

Why is that?

That's because political deadlock has remained.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): This was not the birthday celebration Benjamin Netanyahu wished for. The same day he turned 70, Netanyahu admitted

failure, once again abandoning his quest in trying to form an Israeli government.

He has secured control of the right wing and religious parties but lost his grip on Israeli politics. Now for the first time in a decade, someone else

will have a chance to form a government and lead the country.

This as potential indictments in ongoing corruption cases loom over the longest serving leader in Israel's history as he proclaimed his innocence.

Netanyahu blamed his rival for his failure to form a government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): I made every effort to bring Benny Gantz to the negotiating table. Every effort

in order to establish a wide national government. Every effort to prevent additional elections. Unfortunately, time after time, he simply refused.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Gantz, the head of the Blue and White Party and former IDF chief of staff, will now try to form a coalition.

"The time of spin is over and it's now time for action," his party said in a statement. "Blue and White is determined to form the liberal unity

government led by Benny Gantz that the people of Israel voted for a month ago."

Gantz has 28 days to form a government but even he has no clear path to secure the needed majority in Parliament. The web of Israeli politics is

perhaps too complex for its own good.

Here's where the situation is stuck. Gantz won't sit with Netanyahu while he's under criminal investigation. That's out. Netanyahu won't sit in a

government in which he's not prime minister. That's not an option either.

The potential kingmaker, Avigdor Lieberman, who has the seats that both Netanyahu and Gantz need, won't sit in anything that's not a unity

government. That's not really an option at all.

This democratically elected mess has no clear exit. A third general election seems increasingly likely and the campaign messaging has already

begun. Even that has no promise of breaking the impasse.

Israel's political engine is stuck in one gear: elections.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN: Netanyahu did get one present he certainly must have liked, that was a letter from President Trump that was signed, "You are great."

[11:50:00]

LIEBERMANN: That's one of the first warm messages we've seen between these two in what seems like quite some time.

ANDERSON: Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem.

We're going to stick with this. Next up, my interview with a key stakeholder in all of this. The Arab Joint List's leader and it's a list

of lawmakers that are extremely important here, that is just ahead.

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ANDERSON: Before the break, we were talking about Israeli politics. As we mentioned an incredibly important piece of that puzzle is the mostly Arab

Joint List alliance. That is a list of lawmakers who have carved out a significant caucus in the Israeli Knesset.

When I spoke to the group's leader, Ayman Odeh, just after he endorsed Benny Gantz for prime minister, have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYMAN ODEH, ARAB JOINT LIST LEADER (from captions): We outlined a clear goal during these elections. And it's to overthrow Benjamin Netanyahu. He

was the most to incite against Arab citizens among Israeli leaders. We wanted to tell him, incitement comes with a price. And we will make him

pay that price by leaving his post.

ANDERSON: I interviewed Ahmed Tibi, a member of the Joint List when I was in Jerusalem for the elections. He told me he would not join a coalition

government unless Gantz listened to some of his demands, such as resuming negotiations with the PLO.

What are your demands of Benny Gantz?

ODEH (from captions): The issue of fighting crimes and violence in our society, officially recognizing the unrecognized villages of Negev stopping

the demolition of Arab homes and passing an equality law in the state of Israel. All of these issues greatly concern us.

ANDERSON: Sir, Benny Gantz boasted about returning parts of Gaza to the Stone Age during the 2014 war. I know you said you won't sit in his

government.

But how can you offer any support to a party led by a man who said that?

ODEH (from captions): Firstly we are clearly against the crimes committed by Gantz against the people of Gaza. I am also aware that at this stage we

are not in an advantageous position to benefit. But we are certainly in a position to avert corruption.

In other words, preventing Netanyahu from forming a government, putting a stop to the "deal of the century," and all the crimes against Palestinians.

ANDERSON: While you have recommended Benny Gantz, he's not responded or commented on whether he's likely to sit with Arab parties in return.

Are you hopeful that your voice will be represented?

[11:55:00]

ANDERSON: And what could we expect from a Gantz led government?

ODEH (from captions): I don't have any expectations from Benny Gantz. He is part of the Israeli security establishment. He doesn't have a clear

political agenda nor has he expressed one. What I say must reach every politician in Israel: whomever incites against our people in this way, we

will be the ones to take him down.

ANDERSON: Why give this system any sort of support at all when it has never shown interest in a negotiated peace settlement?

ODEH (from captions): It is clear that the peace process and ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state on the basis

of the 1967 borders is our greatest dream. This is the way to establish true peace that will benefit Palestinians but also Israelis.

It is clear that Benny Gantz is far from establishing that. I can tell you, our stance is clear, peace under the two-state solution, equality,

democracy and social justice. We are the moderates; he, Netanyahu, is the extremist and we want to take him down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Ayman Odeh there.

If Israel were to end up with a unity government, that's a big if at that point, unity government, Likud and black and white (sic) and he could lead

the opposition. That would be significant in Israel. From Jerusalem to Sochi, northern Iraq to Washington, a stopoff in Beirut on the way on to

Brussels and a little whiz by London. That is your world, well and truly connected. I'm Becky Anderson. See you, same time tomorrow.

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