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Quest Means Business
Palestinians Protest As Israel-Gaza Violence Grinds On; Amazon In Talks To Buy MGM Studio For $9 Billion; Jordan Calls On U.S. To Push To Reach Ceasefire Between Israel and Palestine; U.S. Blocks U.N. Security Council Statement On Middle East. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired May 18, 2021 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Good evening. A second hour QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight, I'll have all the business news and business agenda
in just a moment. But of course, we must begin in the Middle East where Palestinians throughout the day have been uniting and declared a general
strike.
Demonstrations like these which took place in Bethlehem which were protesting against the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza and they turned
violent. We're seeing similar scenes across the West Bank and in Arab towns in Israel where at least three Palestinians have been killed in clashes.
Meanwhile, Israeli war planes continue their strikes in Gaza unabated. Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says 270 people have died there since the
conflict started, more than 1,500 have been wounded after an overnight pause. They surely continued with Hamas resuming its barrage of rockets
towards Israel.
Two civilians were killed in Israel along the border, and that's the total number of deaths in Israel to 12. In Ramallah, protesters explained why
they were striking and why they took to the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, today is our nationwide strike. It's a nationwide strike. We're striking for our dignity. We have endured 73 years of
occupation and humiliation, and we've had enough. So we're now all taking to the streets until we put an end to the humiliation and indignity that we
have to live through every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Ben Wedeman is in Jerusalem. So Ben, factor in for me, please, how these general strikes in the various places, how will they play into the
bigger picture?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in fact, the bigger picture, if you're thinking about the Gaza-Israel conflict in fact,
is something that's passing. What you're seeing is an even bigger picture which is that the Palestinian people writ-large have sort of discarded
their traditional ruler, Fatah-Hamas, their leaders.
And what we're seeing is a lot of it, even though Hamas and Fatah sort of endorsed this general strike. This is really a grassroots movement. A
grassroots movements where, for instance, in these demonstrations for instance, in Al-Birah, just north of Ramallah, they weren't waving
factional flags, the flag of Hamas or Fatah, the popular front for the liberation of Palestine, they are waving the Palestinian flags.
So, it does seem that after years of division between the main Palestinian factions, that there's been a movement that's been catalyzed by the
tensions in Jerusalem over the expulsion of these four Palestinian families from Al-Shajara. The tensions over restrictions placed on the entry to the
old city by --
QUEST: Right --
WEDEMAN: The Israeli security forces during the holy month of Ramadan, all these things coming together, what seems to be a critical turning point in
the development of sort of Palestinian -- the Palestinian political movement.
QUEST: But Ben --
WEDEMAN: Richard?
QUEST: You are well familiar, of course, from Beirut, where large popular uprising that's populist and does not necessarily have leaders or finds it
very difficult to make progress in actually reaching a result. So whilst these risings or these demonstrations and strikes might be notable, do they
advance the cause, the Palestinian cause?
WEDEMAN: I think if you spoke to most Palestinians, whether that be in Jerusalem, the West Bank or elsewhere, they -- there's a great energy in
the streets. There's a feeling that, you know, they've discarded the old political models and pushed them aside. Yes, it's relevant that you
mentioned Lebanon, but keep in mind, Lebanon, the revolution or so it was called back in October 2009 was, you know, along came COVID.
The collapse of the Lebanese economy, and in the August 4th Beirut port blast which is really gutted the movement in Lebanon so that people are
just too busy trying to make ends meet to worry about the grand political scheme.
Here, it is somewhat different situation. But I think what is happening is an alarm bell to the leaders of the old political movements that they
perhaps should listen to the street and stop squabbling with one another. Richard?
QUEST: Ben Wedeman, who is in Jerusalem, thank you, Ben. When there's more to report, please come back to us.
[16:05:00]
Now, plans to re-open two crossings into Gaza quickly dashed on Tuesday. For the first time since the conflict began over nine days ago, Israel
briefly allowed trucks carrying badly-needed international aid over the border. However, the authorities said incoming mortar fire from Hamas
forced them to halt the trucks. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military operation will continue as long as necessary to
restore calm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL (through translator): Hamas and Islamic Jihad received blows they didn't expect. We've taken Hamas years
back. We'll continue as long as necessary to bring the quiet back to the citizens of Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Nic Robertson is in Ashdod to the northeast. First of all, let's talk about this opening of the border, which was then closed after rocket
fire. Now, UNICEF were telling us earlier in the program, the significance or the Palestinian representatives, special representative, that the urgent
need to get more supplies in. But I pointed out, the difficulty is if the border is open or the crossing is opened and then comes under fire, what
happens then, Nic Robertson?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: What happened today, an Israeli soldier was injured and the sort of temporary agreed sort of
humanitarian pause, if you will, that evaporated and the Israeli authorities closed the border again. So, you know, when mortars are fired
at the border, that's going to have one impact only, and that is to shut them down.
So, it does sort of raise the question, why would -- why would Hamas fire at the border if the humanitarian aid is desperately needed inside Gaza,
and the answer you'd get from Israeli politicians is quite simply this -- that just shows that Hamas cares more about the fight than it does about
the population.
That's a very sort of political message if you will. But the reality on the ground is the border won't stay open if mortars are being fired at it. So
in the midst of a conflict it does take both sides to come to some sort of even temporary, even limited, even very sort of soft understanding that you
can have a pause to get the humanitarian aid in. And after a week, yes, a lot of that is needed. The medical equipment, the medical authorities in
Gaza have been calling out for, for days now.
QUEST: Seeing that it's sort of the inequity or inequality of it could be seen in this situation where although Israeli hospitals may be under
pressure, I'm guessing they're well stocked.
ROBERTSON: That's certainly a reasonable assumption. You know, Gaza is a very small area, and it has a population of over 2 million people. And when
the border to Egypt at the south end is closed and the border to Israel is closed, you can imagine that a relatively small area with a densely-packed
population is going to very quickly run out of the things that it needs.
Hamas have stockpiled their rockets. There's an estimated 13,000 to 14,000, at least a week ago at the beginning of the conflict, and there will be
stockpiles of food and stockpiles of medical supplies, but nothing by comparison that a much larger entity like Israel can have. So yes, Israeli
hospitals are --
QUEST: OK --
ROBERTSON: In relative terms well supplied, good technology.
QUEST: Slightly impossible question, but I'll ask it any way. Nic, the Prime Minister -- the Prime Minister -- the Israeli Prime Minister says
we'll keep going as long as necessary. They've already done severe degradation of Hamas resources, tunnels and the like. So, in your -- with
your experience, how long is as long as necessary?
ROBERTSON: Fifty days in 2014, although the rate of rocket fire at this time has been much greater. And Israel has been able to speed up the way
that its Iron Dome operates and the way that it responds to the strikes. So, you could therefore say, maybe that 50 days would be much shorter.
It's hard to imagine that at this stage, eight days in that you would have this conflict going, you know, for double that amount of time, but it's not
impossible. You know, you have to go by what has happened in the past. Israel feels the need and historically has exorcised the feel of that need
to make sure that Hamas cannot target them again.
Remember, a week ago yesterday, Hamas fired six rockets at Jerusalem. That was a shock and a surprise. If you're the Israeli government, you want to
make sure that the population -- your population is safe and that, that cannot happen again and you will take -- and they are taking the steps they
believe that are necessary to do that.
[16:10:00]
And they're quite boldly saying there are still plenty of steps to go. They say that there are hundreds of miles of Hamas tunnel network, and they've
only taken out about 60 miles of it so far, and they want to move on to other areas. So, that speaks to a much greater duration.
It's hard -- it's civilian casualty is -- are kept to a minimum, the international anger and outrage will not be as great as it will be if
there's a horrific incident where many civilian casualties happen, and then the pressure would come on to Israel. So, it'll be very hard for me to
stand here today and say how long it would go. I would be surprised if we were having this conversation next week. I would tell you this time next
week that I wouldn't be surprised that this happened.
QUEST: Nic Robertson, I appreciate that, thank you. Now, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight extended version, extra hour, as it will pretty much be
all this week as we continue to follow the events in the Middle East in Israel and Gaza.
So, other business news now, and the roaring lion could soon have a new home. The lion involved of course is MGM's lion and Amazon is casting a
golden eye over Hollywood studio much valued. Also, Jordan is calling for the U.S. to do more reach to do more, I should say to reach a ceasefire in
the Middle East. Jordan's first ever ambassador to Israel joins us in this program in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now, the man who saw the 2008 financial crash before anyone else, arguably some would say helped caused it, but that's another story for
another day. That man now says that Tesla's stock is destined to fall and he's betting half a billion dollars that he's right again. The man of
course is Michael Burry, who is a contrarian and hugely successful.
And it was his play against sub-prime loans that rose to fame through the big short book and the movie. Now his firm is taking a bearish position on
Tesla. As Clare Sebastian is with me in New York. What is the basis for this short? Where does he believe the weakness is in Tesla?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, there's no stated reason behind this as this is just a regulatory filing that came
back -- that came out with his hedge fund. But looking back over things he said in the past, particularly things he tweeted from his -- now deleted
Twitter account.
[16:15:00]
We know that he believed the stock price was overvalued. Back in December, he announced that he was shorting the stock, he called it ridiculous, he
used to hash tag Tesla's souffle. He's also called out the issue of regulatory credits. These vast sums of money and the millions that Tesla
makes by selling its environmental credits which it has extra of because it produces only zero carbon emissions cars by selling those to rival car
markers.
In the last quarter, for example, Richard, they made more than 500 million from those credits. In the whole of 2020, more than $1.6 billion, without
which they would not have made a net profit. So, he called out those as a risk to the company.
So, he clearly believes that Tesla has sort of run up too far, up 740 percent over the course of 2020 and has some room to fall. This is a very
large bet in the context of his portfolio.
QUEST: Yes, but the actual company itself, I mean, they're still making cars, although they're not making as many of them according to the China
Passenger Association, Tesla sold 25,000 DVAs, down sequentially from what they did in March. So, the numbers are lower. And -- but I get the feeling
that this short, if that which it is, is not necessarily predicated on car sales and the like.
SEBASTIAN: Well, I think you just have to consider the frequency at what you're trading. Clearly, Michael Burry is a very experienced trader. He may
be looking to sort of move in and out at a higher frequency than a lot of people. Many people look at Tesla, Richard, in the long term, it is
producing far fewer cars than legacy car companies with a much lower market cap than Tesla at the moment.
But it is the leader of the pack when it comes to electric vehicles. It's got a factory now in China. It's building one in Germany, Elon Musk was
actually there. At the moment, he's building another factory in Austin, it has a lot of growth on the horizon despite as he point out, some headwinds
with the sales, with production issues and the like at the moment.
So, it really depends who you talk to when it comes to Tesla. It's still extremely divisive, but there are a lot of people who strongly disagree
with what Michael Burry has done today.
QUEST: All right, thank you, Clare Sebastian. Dan Ives is with me, he covers Tesla's stock for Wedbush Securities. He is with me now, he joins me
from New Jersey. Dan, the Tesla shares, they are higher today marginally, but they're no longer the Wall Street darling they once were.
They're down a third since the January peak over the last two years as you're aware of. Now, I suppose we can say one shouldn't be surprised
they're down after that runoff, but I'm wondering, what do you see in Tesla that Michael Burry also sees?
DAN IVES, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF EQUITY RESEARCH, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: Yes, I mean, look, right now it's a glass half empty view on the street. And I
think you've seen across all electric vehicle stocks, but of course, Tesla, being the poster child of momentum, no, right now, especially on the chip
shortage, you know, you're starting to see the bears pile on.
And I think that's all result not just in evaluation compression, but I think a lot of skeptics thinking that this is the start of a structural
downfall of Tesla. But remember, we were here three years ago and we were here five years ago, and it's our view, it's hard to bet against --
QUEST: Yes --
IVES: A trillion-dollar EV market.
QUEST: Right, but are you -- what would the market be basing a structural downfall on? Tesla is making cars -- admittedly, it's had a few problems in
China, but it's making cars that are exceptionally profitable -- I'm sorry, exceptionally popular and are now starting to become profitable. So where
is that structural downfall?
IVES: Yes, and that's where I strongly disagree. I mean, I view Tesla as opening a trillion-dollar mark cap when we look out over the next 18
months. And I think it really speaks to one where they continue to bet against Tesla, but if you look right now, they're on a trajectory to do --
call 1.2 million, 1.3 million vehicles next year in China despite all the noise continues to be the lynchpin of success. So, I believe that right now
is a tough bet to make and you know, we continue to be on the opposite side of that short bet and continue to be bullish here.
QUEST: In fact, I'm looking at your last numbers that you wrote, you've got a 12-month price target of about 1,000 bucks or so on the stock and where
it is now, it is sort of 5 and something. So, you know, you've -- what has to happen in your view for the market to shift its perspective to be more
favorable to Tesla at the moment?
IVES: Yes, well, I think China -- you hit on it, China is key. I think they need to show continued success in China, you know, especially as we go into
the rest of the year. And the chip shortage, that's temporary. And I think as that ultimately lifts, especially with the green tidal wave coming to
the U.S. and across Europe, the win factor, it will be key. We think a year from now, we're looking at Tesla with a four-digit stock.
[16:20:00]
QUEST: Dan, the beauty of this -- I'll say again, but the beauty of this business is a year from now, we'll know who was right. But that is one of
the great things about the market. People nail their colors to the mast and then for better or worse, all is revealed in the fullness of time. Good to
have you, Dan, we always love talking to you on this --
IVES: Thank you --
QUEST: Thank you very much. Now, it's a risk off day for Wall Street. Truly risk off. All the three major averages were down in the red, holding their
ground most of the day, and then in the last couple of hours of trading, they just all went -- all went pear shaped.
Thirty-four thousand is just about held on the Dow, 13,000 on the Nasdaq. Everybody is looking, we're getting Fed minutes out tomorrow which will
give us an idea of what that was all about. But as you can see, the Dow itself was way off at the worst point of the day.
The world is not enough for Amazon, now it wants the lion, too. I love it when Leo roars. Amazon is reportedly in talks with MGM, the studio behind
Hollywood's classics such as "James Bond", "Rocky" and of course, wow, "The Lion". It's a deal that MGM between $7 billion and $10 billion.
Brian Stelter is here. Brian is with me. Look, Frank Pallotta last hour said this was really all about James Bond. I mean, MGM has got a nice
catalog, it's -- but if you're looking for recent movies, it's all about Bond.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and that's a fair assessment. There is real growing value in exclusive IP. That's a big
promise of the "Discovery" Warner Media deal. That's what "Discovery" CEO David Zaslav was talking about yesterday in promoting that deal.
And then we learned that MGM and Amazon have been talking for several weeks predating the tie-up between Warner Media and "Discovery". And we'll see if
this actually happens or not. MGM has been rumored as a potential target for several years. You can see out there, different sources putting
different price tags on the idea.
Some say in the studios, it's only worth $5 billion or $6 billion, others saying $10 billion. So there's some haggling going on in public and
definitely in private. But the notion that exclusive unique intellectual property is of value in this marketplace --
QUEST: All right --
STELTER: All these companies feel they need more of it. Well, this is another sign of that.
QUEST: I was on assignment yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to talk to you about the deal Warner Media and "Discovery". So, look, Is this the end
of vertical integration? Because, you know, with the exception of Comcast, which is a cable distributor as well, is vertical integration just one of
those fads that came and went?
STELTER: It doesn't seem as any big company out there that's plotting a move, a vertical move right now, then again we've seen these happen in
waves. We've seen this generationally. We saw this 20 years ago with Time Warner, and then much more recently with AT&T and Time Warner. I don't want
to say never because it seems to me there are bankers and analysts and investors who --
QUEST: Sure --
STELTER: Have been able to make the case again and again and again, but the history books are not going to be kind to this notion, at least in the last
two generations.
QUEST: No, but I was there -- we have time to talk a bit more detail. I was there when Jerry Levin, Steve Case and Ted Turner off to the side, at AOL
and Time Warner. Those of us who said this doesn't make sense at that press conference were looked upon as naive on je news who clearly --
(LAUGHTER)
Had not been -- had not been able to see the light. And the same again for people who said that AT&T would end up making a mess of buying Time Warner
were looked upon as not having seen Damascus and the light. But it's hard to make sense of it today.
STELTER: Can I suggest to you that execution, the devil in the details is a big part of this story? You know, AT&T brought CNN and the rest of Warner
Media three years ago. And yet, as an "AT&T" customer today, I can't tell you a big benefit that resulted for me as a customer, not an employee, but
as a customer.
You know, my phone doesn't light up with CNN breaking news just because I'm an AT&T wireless customer. So, the synergies that might have been imagined
weren't actually put into place.
In some cases, not all cases they were. "HBO Max" was promoted to AT&T subscribers --
QUEST: Right --
STELTER: But some of those synergies that might have been and dreamed about --
QUEST: Right --
STELTER: Were not actually implemented.
QUEST: OK --
STELTER: So I could see somebody come along in 10, 20 years and saying let's actually -- let's actually act on the idea. Let's actually implement
the idea --
QUEST: Right --
STELTER: And see if it works.
QUEST: Brian, I read in the press release yesterday, are we --
STELTER: Yes --
QUEST: We talk about our own company as we talk about any better story --
STELTER: Right --
[16:25:00]
QUEST: That we're calling and talking about. I read in the press release yesterday where it said that now there would be two pure play companies,
one Broadband, one media, and investors would be able to focus one versus the other and make their choices. Four years ago, we were told exactly the
opposite was the way forward.
STELTER: Different management team, different activist investors, different threat from Netflix, hasn't the world changed a little bit, Richard?
QUEST: I don't know, you tell me.
(LAUGHTER)
STELTER: I think there's a lot of folks that make more money than we do that convince themselves how to do these deals, and they convince
themselves to unwind these deals.
And that story is as it ever was and it ever continues, and perhaps the viewers of this program, the investors in these companies have to have a
really savvy nose to figure out when to believe it and when not to believe it. Because I think if you look at Netflix and Disney, these streaming
success stories, there's a lot of money to be made out there and a lot of success and a lot of potential out there right now and everybody is chasing
it.
I suppose I guess what we should ask ourselves is who 10 years ago saw Netflix coming, and why didn't people move faster to be that?
QUEST: Because they were making too much money doing what they already were doing, and that's the beauty of a disrupter. Brian, it is always wonderful
to -- I'm not sure whether I'll still have a job after this interview, but you certainly will with your great acumen and --
STELTER: We can launch something, let's launch a streaming service together, hey, you know, there's always new options.
QUEST: I'll ring John Stankey and see if he wants to put some money into it. Good to see you --
STELTER: You too --
QUEST: Brian Stelter. Thank you. As he calls for an end to what's been going on in the Middle East, President Biden is facing pressure from
members of his own party to take further action. We'll have report from Washington when we come back. It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:00]
QUEST: United States is apparently blocking the UN Security Council from making a statement about the violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
CNN has learned that Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, told Security Council, not Washington has not been silent, nor has the
council's other members in that private meetings. She added the Biden ministration wants to focus on intensive diplomacy. She went on to say that
our public pronouncement now wouldn't help deescalate the situation.
Sources tell CNN that the president, President Biden took a firmer tone with Benjamin Netanyahu. When the two spoke on Monday, as Kaitlan Collins
reports, President Biden's under pressure from his fellow Democrats to act.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My name is Joe Biden, and I'm a car guy.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden's trip to a Ford plant in Michigan, overshadowed by the
ninth day of violence in the Middle East.
After landing, Biden spoke to Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman elected to Congress, who has been sharply critical of his favorable
stance toward Israel.
REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): You don't hear the words Palestinians deserve human rights. So I hope that my president, our president speaks up and
speak truth about what exactly is happening.
COLLINS: Biden was in Dearborn, Michigan, home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the U.S. who protested during his visit. Biden has
faced a steady drumbeat of calls from Democrats to ramp up pressure on Israel by calling for a ceasefire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think at this point, we just have to stop the fighting.
COLLINS: The President has declined to explicitly call for one and only voiced support for a ceasefire, during his call with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. Another sign of the administration's delicate approach, officials are refusing to comment on Israel's claims that an airstrike on a
Gaza building housing news outlets was justified because Hamas was operating out of it.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Is my understanding that we've received some further information through intelligence channels. And that's
not something that that I can comment on.
COLLINS: I attempting to draw a line between their approach and their predecessors. Press Secretary Jen Psaki made this dig at the Trump era
Abraham accords today.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Aside from putting forward a peace proposal that was dead on arrival, we don't think they did anything
constructive really to bring an end to the long standing conflict in the Middle East.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Gregory Meeks is backing off his threat to call on Biden to delay a
proposed $735 million arms sale to Israel after Biden officials offered to brief his committee on their Israeli policy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I trust that their diplomacy will yield the fact.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
QUEST: Jordan has urged the U.S. government to play a leading role in calls for ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The Jordanian Foreign Minister
tells CNN it was urgent that hostilities stop while negotiations continue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYMAN SAFADI, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We do not have and we should not be negotiating the terms of a truce while people are being killed. Let the
hostilities stop the details will be worked out later. We've been at this before who fires the last bullet, who fires the last missile. That is just
absurd given the tremendous human cost that's going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Jordan's former foreign minister is Marwan Muasher and he joins me from Amman who was also Jordan's first ever ambassador to Israel is now a
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Sir, thank you.
And you heard the foreign minister though fires in the last bullet and so forth. Look, everybody, both sides, know that that is grotesque, and that
is inhuman, but they continue anyway. So a really simple question, who has the power to force a ceasefire on the two parties?
MARWAN MUASHER, FMR. JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Richard, the ceasefire is going to take place whether it is tomorrow or after tomorrow. There are
many countries that can help do that. Egypt, Jordan, the United States, certainly the question is not whether we achieve a ceasefire or not. This
is the third, fourth, fifth war on Gaza and the last 10 years.
The question is what happens next? Does anyone including the United States have the appetite to go beyond this ceasefire, and, you know, address the
root causes of this, which is the occupation? Is anyone willing to put in place a serious plan to end the occupation or not? I'm afraid that is not
the case.
And so, everybody is focused on a ceasefire today, but come, you know, next week, we're going to go back again to the same old story.
QUEST: Right. OK.
MUASHER: The real story is occupation.
QUEST: Fine.
MUASHER: And that has to stop.
[16:35:10]
QUEST: But we know the answer to that, because we, as you said, sir, are the three, fourth and fifth attempt, this sort of skirmishes and wars, and,
you know, also is just about being gone. And there is no appetite, it would seem by either party to deal with it.
MUASHER: Exactly. And that is why the Palestinians today have taken matters into their own hand. The Palestinians were promised, through the Oslo
agreements were promised a two-state solution. 30 years have passed without one taking place.
And what happened in the meantime, while the international community was looking for a two-state solution, it also ignores gross violations of human
rights by Israel in the hope that the two-state solution but would, you know, make the question move that has not happened.
And what is happening today, is that the Palestinians have never been more unified, not just the Palestinians under occupation, but the Palestinians
who are everyday Israeli citizens.
QUEST: OK, but let's just let's just take that the sort of demonstrations that we saw the Palestinians, the marches around the world. How do they
translate that into a message to leadership, whether it's Abbas (ph) or whether it's Hamas bearing in mind that elections had been postponed? And
when -- how does that message on the Palestinian front, transmit itself into a shift in policy?
MUASHER: The message that the world is changing, Richard. The question of rights is becoming center stage, not just in the occupied territories, but
all over the world. This is the message that the Palestinians are giving today. The Palestinians are not just rising against occupation, they are
also rising against Israeli practices, which many, you know, organizations around the world have termed as apartheid.
Just the word apartheid, five years ago was considered taboo, anybody who said it would be accused of anti-semitism. Today, human rights, what he
said is saying that seventh largest human rights organized Israeli human rights organization is saying, Carnegie's saying it. Today, this is what we
are, that's what the international community will have to deal with.
QUEST: But you've still got the problem before you get there. And I know you're we're going in circles here, believe me, I'm aware that, you know,
we're back to where we started. You're still got the same problem of the Israeli saying Hamas is shielding its weapons and its fighters with humans
and hospitals and children. And anyway, until they stop lobbing those rockets, there can be no discussion, which I grant you takes us back to
where we started?
MUASHER: Of course, it does. Negotiations have been going on for 30 years, Richard. They were not contingent on a war between Hamas and Israel. This
is not a tit for tat. We've had a process that has gone on for 30 years without producing a solution.
And so, you know, it is few time to keep talking about ceasefires and who as our foreign minister said, who fired the last shot and who did not.
That's not the issue. I'm pessimistic about, you know, about the future. All I want to say is that the Palestinians themselves today through their
unity are going to push the world to acknowledge that their human rights have been violated, and that will not be able to continue indefinitely.
QUEST: Sir, we have your back when we'll be talking. You'll be optimistic, but we look forward to that, sir. Thank you very much indeed for joining
us.
Now, Quest Means Business, that is Quest Means Business. However, I will be back at the top of the hour at the dash to the closing bell. The bell rang
a few moments ago. But how did the market close? Well, join me in 20 minutes in your file now and I'll share that. I've given it away. I've
shown you. I'll still have the dash to the bell at the top of the Africa Avant-Garde is next. This is CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:57:19]
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. We have a dash to the closing bell which rang an hour ago. They are on Wall Street. But let me recap the final
trading on Tuesday. The Dow closed down 267 points it started the day positive then quickly stumbled and then took a sharp nosedive towards the
close as investors were concerns over inflation and longer lasting COVID effects.
The S&P was off nearly 1 percent down. The NASDAQ down half a percent a major sell off in tech stocks.
Tesla fared better than the broader market. It was actually up despite Big Short by Michael Burry, who has bet half a billion against the stock. Dan
Ives of Wedbush Securities disagrees with the bat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN IVES, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF EQUITY RESEARCH, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: I view Tesla is ultimately a trillion-dollar market cap when we look out over the
next 18 months. And I think it really speaks to one where they continue to bet against Tesla. But if you look right now they're on a trajectory do
call 1.2, 1.3 million vehicles next year and China, despite all the noise continues to be the linchpin of success.
So I believe that that right now is a tough that to make. And, you know, we continue to be on the opposite side of that short bet and continue to be
bullish here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Only a handful of winners in the Dow 30. If you look at the numbers, Walmart led the way after upgrading its outlook for the year. Chevron at
the other end down the most along with Lowe's and Target's which report earnings tomorrow. We'll also get the feds minutes from its April meeting.
And that's the dash to the bell. I'm Richard Quest. Whatever you're up to in the eyes ahead. OK, the closing bell rang an hour ago but there you have
it. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper comes up next. This is CNN.
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