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What We Know with Max Foster

Trump Urges Hamas To Accept Proposed Gaza Peace Plan; White House Releases Trump's 20-Point Peace Plan; Trump Announces New Tariffs; Study: Musk's X Is The "Go-To Platform" For Antisemitism. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 29, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: -- the establishment of an international body charged with fully disarming Hamas and demilitarizing

Gaza.

[15:00:11]

I appreciate your willingness to lead the body, Mr. President. I really appreciate it because you have a lot of things to do, and this is

important, and it reflects the confidence that this will give everyone that things will be followed up on all the commitments made. The fact that

you're taking this on, I think, helps a lot to make sure that everything flows in the direction that we want.

Now, if this international body succeeds, we will have permanently ended the war. Israel will conduct further withdrawals linked to the extent of

disarmament and demilitarization, but will remain in the security perimeter for the foreseeable future. I think we should understand that we're giving

everybody a chance to have this done peacefully, something that will achieve all our objectives without any further bloodshed.

But if Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it, and then then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will

finish the job by itself. This can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done. We prefer the easy way, but it has to be

done. All these goals must be achieved because we didn't fight this horrible fight, sacrificed the finest of our young men to have Hamas stay

in Gaza and threaten us again and again and again with these horrific massacres.

Mr. President, I was encouraged by your clear statement at the U.N. against the recognition of a Palestinian state. That would be an outcome that after

October 7th, would reward terrorists, undermine security and endanger Israel's very existence. As for the Palestinian Authority, I appreciate

your firm position that the P.A. could have no role whatsoever in Gaza without undergoing a radical and genuine transformation.

In your 2020 peace plan, which you mentioned just now, you made clear what that transformation requires. It's not lip service. It's not checking a

box. It's a fundamental, genuine and enduring transformation.

And that means ending pay to slay, changing the poisonous textbooks that teach hatred to Jews, to Palestinian children, stopping incitement in the

media, ending lawfare against Israel at the ICC, the ICJ, recognizing the Jewish state and many, many other reforms. And won't come as a surprise to

you that the vast majority of Israelis have no faith that the P.A. leopard will change its spots.

But rather than wait for this miraculous transformation, your plan provides a practical and realistic path forward for Gaza in the coming years, in

which Gaza will be administered neither by Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority, but by those committed to a genuine peace with Israel. I think

this can be not only a new beginning for Gaza. I think it can be a new beginning for the entire region.

Under your leadership, we can re-energize -- I've got to contribute my own. We can re-energize the Abraham Accords. That's what it's called in the

original Hebrew. Abraham. Abraham is fine. Abraham. However, you want to call it.

Under your leadership, Mr. President, we can re-energize the Abraham Accords that we forged five years ago. We can expand them to many more Arab

and Muslim nations that choose moderation over extremism, extremism. I think there's an opportunity here. It's not going to be easy. It's tough

going. But I think if we succeed, you're absolutely right. We're going to open possibilities that nobody even dreamed of.

But I think we dream of them. As you've told me, Mr. President, and you've told the world many, many times, you said, remember October 7th, remember

October 7th, and we do. We will never forget the horrors of October 7th, and we will do whatever is necessary to make sure they don't happen again.

Since October 7th, Israels enemies have learned a hard truth. Those who attack us pay a heavy price, but those who partner with us advance progress

and security for their peoples.

[15:05:03]

President Trump just said it. It's also in the bible. It says those who will bless you will be blessed, and those who will curse you will be

cursed. And that's actually what is happening. We want the blessings. I think we've done a lot in the past two years to end the curse. We're not

finished, but we've done a lot, and we've done a lot together to end the curse.

I want to thank your entire team for their efforts to get to this point. I especially want to thank Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for their

indefatigable work to bring Israel and Arab states in the region closer together. I am deeply grateful to both of them for their work.

We had a phone call today just to make it clear, I said to the sorry, the prime minister of Qatar, Israel was targeting terrorists. It wasn't

targeting Qatar. And of course, we regretted the loss of the Qatari citizen. It wasn't our target.

And I very much appreciate President Trump's proposal to have a trilateral body. The United States, Israel and Qatar, to work out respective

grievances. There are quite a few, but if we can try to mitigate them or put it on a different footing, I think that will be good for everyone.

Above all, all the people, the fine team, the many helpers who've done this. I want to thank you, Mr. President. History has already shown that

under your leadership, Israel and America can change the face of the Middle East. And today, I'm hopeful that your plan to end the war in Gaza will do

so again. And do so soon.

It will free our hostages and Hamas tyranny in Gaza and enable a more secure and prosperous future for the peoples of our region.

Thank you, Mr. President. May God bless America. May God bless Israel. May God bless the indispensable alliance between our countries. And may I add

in Hebrew. May we all be inscribed in the book of life.

Thank you.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much, Bibi.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: So I think while we wait for these documents to be signed and get everybody in line, I think it maybe is not really appropriate to take

questions.

I'm meeting with, as you know, a couple of Democrats in a little while about the country, about keeping our country open. They're going to have to

do some things because their ideas are not very good ones. They're very bad for our country. So we'll see how that works out.

But this is something that was really historic today. This was something that was amazing. I think Bibi -- I mean, depending on you, I think while

we're waiting for signatures and waiting for approvals from a lot of different countries that are involved in this, we probably shouldn't take

questions. Or would you like to take a question or two from perhaps a friendly Israeli reporter? If there's such a thing?

NETANYAHU: That's a very, very tough proposition. But I would think, Mr. President, that I would go by your instinct that this is a -- we'll have

enough time for questions. Let's settle the issue first, I think.

TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Okay. The White House plan for ending the war in Gaza is out.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

You're looking there at live pictures from the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump a short while ago telling reporters he's very close to

achieving peace in the Middle East. That's following discussions with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over a new U.S. peace proposal

for Gaza, which he's just told the world that he supports. M. Trump thanked the Israeli prime minister for agreeing to the proposal, which still needs

the approval of Hamas.

The president also says he'll chair a transitional board of peace to supervise the redevelopment of the enclave once the war ends. That plan

from the Trump administration includes a call for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages.

Let's go straight to Kevin Liptak, who is looking at that? Quite unusual not to get questions. I'll ask you about that in a moment. But with the

caveat that Hamas hasn't agreed to this.

What's in the plan, Kevin?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. And the plans right here. The White House sent it out a few minutes before these two men walked

out to speak. It's 20 points long. It includes provisions for how the hostages would come out, and it includes a number of points about what

would happen in Gaza once the conflict ends, principally that President Trump himself would share this transitional, quote, board of peace that

would discuss how to redevelop the strip and sort of how to govern it now that the war is over.

[15:10:06]

There was one point that Benjamin Netanyahu made in that press conference that does actually seem to differ with the text that the White House

released, which is the role of the Palestinian Authority. Benjamin Netanyahu said that there would be no Palestinian authority involvement in

the postwar governance of Gaza. But what this document lays out is that once the P.A. reforms itself, that it would eventually take control of the

strip. So, there is already you see some differences emerging between what Netanyahu is saying and what the plan actually spells out.

But I think altogether, this was a significant development, you know, heading into this meeting today, we didn't know whether or not Netanyahu

would have signed off on this plan, that President Trump has been working on, and that he has been so confident will bring an end to the war.

Netanyahu did affirm in this press conference that he accepts this plan, and both of them are now putting the onus on Hamas to sign off and also

reserving the right for Israel to keep going and actually escalate its campaign in Gaza if they reject this plan. And Netanyahu said that that

they would finish the job if Hamas rejects it, which I think is pretty stark language from him.

President Trump, for his part, says that if Hamas doesn't sign off, that Israel would have, quote, our full backing to do what you have to do. And

so, clearly, now putting the onus on Hamas to come to the table and to agree to it. But it was pretty striking, I think.

You know, President Trump spoke for quite a long time. It was at points, a very rambling and sort of discursive. But clearly, he is confident and very

optimistic that this plan that they have in hand now will be what ends this war.

FOSTER: Cynics would argue that this isn't something that Hamas can sign up to. And then when he gave that point to Netanyahu that, you know, you're

free to do whatever you want if they don't effectively maybe just a way of perpetuating the war. But do you get the sense that Donald Trump really

feels there is some hope here?

LIPTAK: I think he does. And I think something that happened before this press conference inside the Oval Office is part of why he's so confident.

He, Netanyahu, got on the telephone with the Qatari prime minister. Netanyahu, in that phone call, actually apologized for killing a Qatari

serviceman during their strikes in Doha to go after Hamas leaders earlier this month. I think the hope is that in in sort of easing tensions between

Israel and Qatar, that that will force Qatar to then put pressure on Hamas to agree to this deal.

You also hear President Trump talking about all of the other countries in the region, whether it's the Saudis or the Emiratis who have gotten on

board with this plan. And I think the hope is that increasing pressure from the Arab world on Hamas to say yes to this deal, to agree to this plan to

end the war, that that will be enough to get them to sign off. Now, whether that happens, we'll have to wait and see. Hamas, as of yesterday, had not

actually seen the full text of this document. Clearly, now that the White House has released it publicly, they will be digesting it and determining

it, whether this is something that they can agree to.

But now all eyes, I think will be on them for a response. And certainly, President Trump and Netanyahu have made very explicit what the consequences

would be if they do not.

FOSTER: It was cut short, wasn't it? I mean, we were told it was a press conference, but it wasn't really, was it because the press conference would

involve questions? What did you make of that?

LIPTAK: Yeah. And I think the recognition on both sides of this is that further probing about what has actually been agreed to could perhaps reveal

some cracks in this plan. You know, Netanyahu, as I said, was not on board with this until today. He said he was still digesting it. And there were

obviously some points, including this question of the Palestinian Authority, but also the question of an eventual Palestinian state, which

Netanyahu has says including in this press conference would be a danger to Israel that may reveal some differences and some sort of shakiness in all

of this.

And I think the recognition had been that further inquiry by reporters about what is actually been agreed to could potentially sort of betray the

shakiness of what this plan actually is. And so, they said that they didn't necessarily want to answer questions on this until it has been agreed to on

all sides. And I think, you know, when that happens, maybe we can go back to them and try and probe a little further about how they actually envision

this being implemented on the ground in Gaza.

But I think that was sort of their calculation in deciding not to answer questions today about what this plan actually is.

FOSTER: What do you make of the idea about Donald Trump heading this transitional board that effectively in practice means he's running the

government of Gaza, doesn't it?

[15:15:03]

LIPTAK: Right. And you know, all we know about this plan is what Trump said about it and what this document says. And he was he sort of said that,

yes, I'm a busy guy, but all of these Arab leaders asked me to do it. So, in his sort of words, he begrudgingly said yes. What this actually looks

like in practice, I think, remains to be seen.

The one other name that is associated with this board now is Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, who you will know very well, Max. And he

has been someone who has been heavily involved in developing this plan from the get-go. He was meeting with White House officials. He was meeting with

Netanyahu to try and get this plan over the finish line.

It seems like President Trump is something of a figurehead of this board. They have also said that other heads of state will be involved, and I think

probably the thinking is that having President Trump atop this panel will sort of convince and lure other people to become involved in this

redevelopment plan, which will obviously cost many billions of dollars, will require some actual resources on the ground to get it sort of rebuilt

and developed into a place where people will actually be able to live.

And so, I think the thinking seems to be that having President Trump there will convince other people to become involved, but how exactly he is --

what role exactly he's playing, I think we'll have to see.

FOSTER: Kevin, thank you so much for that fast turnaround analysis. Extraordinary meeting there. The U.S. plan calls for a board of peace, as

Kevin was saying, that would be in charge of a postwar Gaza. It would indeed be chaired by Donald Trump himself.

The U.S. president was almost self-depreciating when he announced that plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLPI)

TRUMP: To ensure the success of this effort, my plan calls for the creation of a new international oversight body, the Board of Peace, we call

it the Board of Peace, sort of a beautiful name. The Board of Peace, which will be headed, not at my request, believe me, I'm very busy. But we have

to make sure this works.

The leaders of the Arab world and Israel and everybody involved asked me to do this. So, it would be headed by a gentleman known as President Donald J.

Trump of the United States. That's what I want to -- some extra work to do. But it's so important that I'm willing to do it. And we'll do it right.

And we're going to put leaders from other countries on and leaders that are very distinguished leaders. And we'll have a board. And one of the people

that wants to be on the board is the U.K. former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Good man, very good man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Let's speak to H.A. Hellyer, joins us now.

I mean, you watched it with us. I mean, the first question really has to be, would Hamas agree to this?

H.A. HELLYER, SR. ASSOCIATE FELLOW, RUSI: Thank you very much, Mike, for having me -- Max, having me on the program.

It's a very interesting plan. I think the details of it still have to be really worked out. Of course, Hamas would have to say yes. They've just

received, as the rest of us have, details around the plan. They already announced over the last few days that there were certain things that they

rejected, including having Tony Blair be involved.

I think there's also the question of how workable the plan actually is in practice, as well as how many off ramps from the plan already exist and are

already being clearly stated.

I mean, Netanyahu said that withdrawal and these withdrawals, by the way, are meant explicitly to be partial from Gaza, not complete withdrawal.

There's no complete withdrawal mentioned in this plan at all. But even the partial withdrawals would be linked to disarmament and demilitarization.

And if it didn't happen, then I think that Netanyahu would interpret the plan as allowing him to go right back to war.

For example, no role for the P.A. either. The idea that a Palestinian state could come out of this is not something that Netanyahu was willing to sign

up to, despite the fact that this is what many of the parties involved made very clear was necessary.

So, I think there are a lot of off-ramps here. It's too early to see whether or not the Trump administration will put the necessary pressure and

leverage on the Israelis, not just today, but going forward to make sure that the plan is actually implemented at every stage, anyway. And what we

saw at the beginning of the year, of course, was this pause in fighting agreed with the Israelis in January.

And then the Israelis unilaterally breaking, that arrangement about six weeks later before it could become a ceasefire.

[15:20:05]

And part of the reason for that was, frankly, that that wasn't that pressure -- there wasn't that focus or that attention from Washington,

D.C., on what was going on.

And I think one of the reasons why there was this encouragement for Trump to be so involved in the plan and be the chair and so on is probably a hope

being expressed by the Arab states involved that if -- if that happens, then Netanyahu will feel that he has to hold up every bit of the bargain.

But like I said, there are lots of off ramps here. And a lot of details that have yet to be worked out.

This international stabilization force, it's not clear who's even going to be a part of that. And the success of the plan, irrespective of whether one

thinks is a good plan or a bad plan, but just the success of the plan is heavily contingent on that stabilization -- stabilization force.

FOSTER: But I'm interested in -- you know, your first comment was they'd have to agree to this. So, you do expect them to agree to it, Hamas?

HELLYER: I don't know if they really have much choice in the matter, to be quite frank. I mean, they could turn around and be very cynical about

actually not so cynical. They could be cynical about the plan and say, that look, we need more guarantees. We're not going to simply release all the

hostages without guarantees that were not going to be pummeled the following day, where the guarantees for that, particularly since the

Israelis attacked Doha in the midst of negotiations and mediations, right?

I don't know if they're going to feel that they can do that. I think that the -- all of the mediators on the Arab side, are going to be telling them,

look, the situation is so dire. Just take this deal. In order to at least give a respite, even if people don't think that the deal itself will hold.

By the way, there were many who were incredibly cynical in January about the pause in fighting, then, believing that it was almost definitely going

to collapse. I wrote about that myself, but the overwhelming feeling, I think is going to be irrespective of how bad a deal is, it's better than

what's going on right now.

FOSTER: What happens to the members of Hamas, then? He did talk about people being able to leave the strip. Is that what he was implying? That

they would survive,, basically?

HELLYER: No, no. So, there are two different things here. One was Hamas leaders who Hamas leaders or officials or members who want to leave Gaza

will apparently be guaranteed safe passage to other places.

Now, there's obviously no guarantee of them not being assassinated once they get there. And the Israelis have made it abundantly clear multiple

times that they would go after every single member of Hamas that they see fit to, to go after. So, I don't think there's any -- any illusions about

that. What Trump was referring to is that there's another clause in this plan that indicates that those Palestinians who wish to remain in Gaza will

be encouraged to be to remain in Gaza. And those that wish to leave will be able to leave and will be able to return if they so choose.

And I think this was really a point of great insistence from the Arab states involved, because the historical record is that any Palestinian who

has been forced to leave any part of mandate Palestine from 1947 onwards, has never been allowed to return, whether in 1947, '48, whether in 1967, or

any point thereafter.

The Israelis have always made it very clear, no, there will be no return. There will be no actualization of the right of return, even though it's

enshrined in international law from 19 -- 1947 onwards, they reject this in principle.

So, the fact that that's in there, is significant whether or not it will be actualized, I think is a different question entirely.

FOSTER: Okay. H.A. Hellyer from RUSI, really appreciate your analysis. Snap analysis, really on that. Really appreciate it. Thank you.

We will have more on this in a moment, include the latest view -- including the latest view from Jerusalem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:30]

FOSTER: So, some sort of peace plan agreed between the U.S. and Israel, at least for the Gaza strip. It hasn't been agreed to by Hamas at this point,

but we're just hearing from an analyst at RUSI suggesting that they'll have to take it. So, it does seem pretty historic. A 20-point plan.

Jeremy Diamond now joins us from Jerusalem because it does suggest, doesn't it, that Israel will withdraw either way from the strip, which is pretty

extraordinary. And he may have a tough sell on that in parts of his government.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Listen, Max, this is the first time that we have ever seen a public commitment from the

Israeli government to begin withdrawing from parts of Gaza and hand over that territory to an international security force. Over the course of

nearly two years of war. Any kind of discussion, a public discussion about postwar governance of Gaza has been basically off limits.

It's been discussed quietly, including by the Israeli prime minister's top adviser, Ron Dermer, and behind closed doors conversations. But this is the

first time that we have seen Israel not only discuss it, but actually commit to this gradual withdrawal from Gazan territory and handing it over

to this international security force.

And that's because in either scenario here, whether Hamas accepts this proposal, whether Hamas rejects this proposal, that's exactly what this

plan calls for. If Hamas accepts this proposal within 72 hours, it would have to release all of the Israeli hostages. Israel would begin gradually,

would immediately withdraw to agreed upon lines. And then after that, you would have this process that would begin of gradual handover to this

international security force.

But if Hamas refuses, Israel will continue with its military offensive. And once it has conquered territory in Gaza, presumably cleared it of Hamas

operatives, it would then gradually hand it over to that international security force.

Now, a major caveat here is that this doesn't say anything about the timeline for how quickly that handover to this international force would

actually take place. And it's important to keep in mind, of course, that this international governing body, as well as the security force, has yet

to actually be formed into existence.

And then, of course, Max, there is this other major question that remains, and that is how will Israel secure the release of the 48 hostages if Hamas

rejects this proposal and this 20 point plan lays out a lot, but it does not lay out an answer to that question, because the only mention here that

we see of how the hostages would be released is if Hamas accepts this proposal within the next 72 hours.

[15:30:13]

If not, it only calls for, you know, the U.S. basically supporting Israel, going all out, carrying out this Gaza city offensive that were watching

right now, continuing to basically finish the job, as the president said in Gaza and eventually handing over that territory to this international

force. But where does that leave the hostages?

And so, I think that's a major, major question here that is -- that remains unanswered, and one that I suspect we will be hearing from the families of

hostages, particularly if Hamas rejects this proposal.

FOSTER: Is Donald Trump right to say that Hamas are the only ones here? Literally everyone else has accepted this peace deal, so they're completely

on their own. So, they have no choice but to accept it.

DIAMOND: Yeah. Well, listen, we know that there is a lot of momentum and a lot of support from some key Arab countries behind this proposal. There's a

reason why President Trump made the Israeli prime minister sit down and call the Qatari emir and apologize for that strike, because they know that

they need Qatar now to buy into this proposal and to convince Hamas to also get on board.

However, as for the other countries, the other Arab countries that we've heard express, you know, some range of support, some of them more tepid

support, but certainly a broad range of support for many of the ideas in this plan. It's important to note that some key changes have been made

since President Trump sat down with the Israeli prime minister before this plan went from a 21-point plan to a 20-point plan. Some of the language in

it clearly changed. And so, we don't yet know what the status of broader Arab support is for this plan, in light of some of those changes.

So that will also be critical to see. But again, it's really wild to see just the very short fuse that exists on this plan. It says that within 72

hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, Hamas must return all of the hostages. And that is a very short timeline to get Hamas on board.

They're going to have to make a quick decision here, and we will see whether there is an extension given to that. A lot can happen, obviously,

once this plan is actually out there, once Hamas gets a look at it and once the real mediation efforts kick off.

FOSTER: Jeremy, thank you so much. As you say, it does feel as if there's some momentum, at least here.

Still to come, more on what President Trump is calling potentially one of the greatest days ever in civilization. Mr. Trump and the Israeli prime

minister unveil a new plan for peace in Gaza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: U.S. President Donald Trump celebrating what he believes is an historic turning point for the Middle East. Mr. Trump and Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say they've agreed on a U.S. proposal for peace in Gaza that they claim will change the face of the region. They're urging

Hamas to approve the proposal.

Our politics senior reporter, senior politics reporter Stephen Collinson is with us.

I wanted to talk to you about this board, Stephen, that he was talking about, which Donald Trump will chair, effectively putting him in charge of

governance of this strip. He intimated he wouldn't have much time, but everyone wanted him to do it.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, I think a little bit of false modesty by the president there, making the case that he

doesn't really want to do this, but he's been persuaded to do it because he will be so effective.

I think -- look, the first thing to say about this is this is the most substantive U.S. peace effort. It's the most detailed of the Trump

administration. They appear to have moved away from some of the more fantastical ideas for a Gaza of the Middle East, that -- or riviera of the

Middle East, that Trump was thinking about in terms of Gaza a few months ago. So, it's more serious. I think a lot of people will hope that it

works.

And it does begin to address the question that nobody has really been asking about what happens to Gaza after the war, notwithstanding, the

Israelis and the prime minister acknowledged that, and it does bring the broader arc of Aarab nations in here. It looks like to finance this.

So, you know, this could end up being a good thing. But at the same time, I think there are so many questions, not just about the long-term idea of

this board and Tony Blair's involvement and whether the Arab states will still be on board for this. But it all depends on the early implementation.

And if you were a cynic, you might argue that Prime Minister Netanyahu gave the president exactly what he wanted today, which was a victory lap, which

Trump loves.

As you mentioned, he said this was one of the greatest days in civilization. But he might be assuming that either Hamas will not agree to

this or that it will fall apart in the coming days and weeks far before we get around to talking about whether this board that Donald Trump is going

to head is going to be effective.

FOSTER: Well, we're speaking, to an analyst earlier, RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, saying that actually probably could work because

Hamas would have to agree to it because it is pretty isolated right now, which is extraordinary. He did mention Tony Blair as well, saying that

Hamas would never agree to -- you know, Palestinians broadly actually probably wouldn't agree to have him involved.

What do you think about the idea of having him when he had such a disastrous period as Middle East envoy there, but also just the idea of

having a Brit in charge again, effectively in the in the strip?

COLLINSON: Yeah. Theres this whole viceroy vibe going on. And, you know, if you go back to the roots of this Middle East conflict, the British and

their colonial administrators were right in there. I think there is some of the same questions are sure to be asked in the Arab world about Donald

Trump fronting this so-called Gaza peace board.

So, Blair's involvement is very interesting because part of the roots of that decision he made to go with George W. Bush on the Iraq war invasion in

2003 was a belief that in return, he could persuade then-president and his administration to take a more active role in the Middle East and to push

towards the Palestinian state.

That turned out, I think, to be obviously a rather naive belief. But Blair has long been interested in this issue, and I'm sure that he's one of those

politicians who would love a coda to their career, to polish their legacy, especially because the major negative aspect of Blair's legacy, of course,

involves the Middle East.

[15:40:09]

So, this in some sense, for the former British prime minister, would be a do-over. Clearly, he's got a lot of relations in the Middle East. He's

friendly with Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law.

So, there's always going to be a lot of questions about whether this administration, particularly with its own record for somewhat questionable

business ethics, is getting into this for profit rather than the more altruistic effort to make peace in the Middle East. And then there are, of

course, those colonial overtures, you know, that you mentioned.

FOSTER: Yeah. Okay. Stephen, thank you so much. It's going to be a lot to follow in the next few days, but the deadline is there.

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rampant on X, but only around 1 percent of antisemitic posts are actually moderated and some of the sites most popular antisemitic influencers are

profiting from their hate.

Our media correspondent Hadas Gold is in New York, and if you look at the site, it may have, you know, become apparent to you some of this. But the

statistics are actually pretty horrifying.

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this was a year-long study that was done by the center for countering digital hate, as well as the Jewish

Council for Public Affairs. They spent a whole year looking at hundreds of thousands of posts that they found to be antisemitic. In fact, they found

more than 679,000 posts were found to be antisemitic.

And of those posts, they broke them down into categories. They found that 53 percent of them related to Jewish conspiracies. These are things like

Jews control the government of some kind, or Jews are related to Satan of some kind.

Forty-one percent were related to just antisemitic abuse and sometimes calls for violence. And I did pull out a percentage of 6 percent of them

they said were t holocaust denial or distortion.

Now, Elon Musk has talked about the problem of antisemitism on X, and he has said publicly that the way to address it is that people can correct it

in replies and that there's community notes. These are the crowdsourced context notes that people, if they are verified and they're able to say

this, they can add context to things and people vote on whether they should be seen.

But the problem is, according to these researchers, something like just 1 percent of the top antisemitic posts that they found actually got a

community note. In the end, I have. I can see when notes are proposed on some of the posts -- on these posts, and a lot of these posts get proposed

to have notes on them. And people are saying, hey, this should have some context added, but so few of these antisemitic posts actually get these

community notes applied to them.

The other thing that the study said they found is that something like a third of the number of likes on these antisemitic posts all came related to

the same ten influencers that they say were, in some cases, even profiting off of their antisemitism because of subscriptions on the X -- on their X

accounts -- Max.

FOSTER: Yeah, scary business. Hadas, thank you so much for bringing us that.

Now, we'll be back with more in a moment on the latest on that big announcement on what could be a possible peace deal in the Middle East --

Gaza specifically.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:09]

FOSTER: A few moments ago at the White House, Benjamin Netanyahu gave his full-throated support to Donald Trump's peace plan. The Israeli prime

minister seemed to suggest that it could deliver not only peace in Gaza, but across the region as a whole.

What we don't know is, will this White House deal secure eternal peace in the Middle East?

Joining me now, Alon Pinkas, the former Israeli consul general in New York.

Obviously, big words, Alon, from Donald Trump on this, but from everyone I've spoken to on the program so far, there does feel as though there's

something in this. Hamas would probably have to accept it. And it was a big moment for Benjamin Netanyahu to basically suggest that troops would be

withdrawn from Gaza.

And, you know, Israeli authority withdrawn to be replaced by this sort of interim body, as we understand it.

ALON PINKAS, FORMER CONSUL GENERAL OF ISRAEL IN NEW YORK CITY: Yeah. You know, first of all, my sympathies, Max, that you had to sit through this --

this press conference that never ended and Trump's meandering drivel.

But, okay, he made a big announcement. It's not just about Hamas accepting it or not. There are so many items, so many articles, so many stipulations,

so many ifs and buts there that I hate to be the party pooper and I hate to pour cold ice on this, but I'd like to see this happening before

celebrating anything.

You mentioned correctly, Max, the Israeli withdrawal. So, Netanyahu went on after Trump and said, well, it's a minimal withdrawal because he has a

coalition to placate. And he made contradicting promises because, you know. There he came to the crescendo of saying of lying to his coalition or lying

to President Trump. Something has to give.

But there's more. There's a Palestinian state in there. Theres a Palestinian Authority in there. There is a Palestinian governing body in

there.

There is a U.S. guarantee that Israel will neither occupy nor annex parts of Gaza. I don't know what's -- you know, there could be annexes that we

don't even know about. What I think will happen now after we all celebrate the potential -- and there is a potential. Let there be no doubt, there is

a potential. What we need to look at is what actually happens.

After we were done celebrating this supposed breakthrough, then we'll see if Netanyahu wants more time to study the details, more time from we need

to check this against what actually happens in Gaza. There is a ground operation supposedly going on -- so what happens with that? Is Israeli

military response advancing?

[15:50:02]

Is it responding to Hamas attacks? Is there a ceasefire -- an immediate ceasefire as Trump said before he went on into the escalator at the U.N.

and Obama and sleepy Joe Biden and a thousand years of conflict, which is actually 130. But that's not the point.

It is as your previous guest said, it is the most detailed -- detailed, I'm sorry, and less -- you know, less -- how should I call it? -- abstract plan

that the U.S. proposed. But I got to tell you. Been here, done that, seen it all. I'd like to see how this advances, how this progresses in the next

two or three weeks.

FOSTER: Well, it's always complex in the region, isn't it?

Alon, thank you so much for joining us with your view.

Let's get a Palestinian view with Mustafa Barghouti. He is president of the Palestinian National Initiative.

How are you feeling after seeing that statement? Are you feeling positive that there can be peace in Gaza now?

MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN NATIONAL INITIATIVE: I feel disappointed about two things.

First of all, the total bias of the American president to the Israeli side. He failed even to mention the word ending occupation. He accepted. He said

he understood Netanyahu's rejection of a Palestinian state. So, what kind of peace we are talking about, if it will not include the ending of the

Israeli occupation?

On the other hand, stopping the war is what everybody wants. Stopping this genocidal war, and if Israel will be obliged to stop the war, that is a

positive thing.

The most important thing is that the Israeli plan of total ethnic cleansing of Gaza has failed and will not probably be implemented which is important.

But unfortunately, this plan is full of mines, huge mines that could undermine even its implementation.

The biggest mine here is what will Israel do after it gets back its prisoners or hostages? Will Netanyahu reactivate the war? And what are the

guarantees that he will not do that?

Today, he mentioned two things. He said that that withdrawal from Gaza will be slow. And we've seen this map about gradual withdrawal, which is very

dangerous because maintaining the Israeli army inside Gaza means maintaining the causes for explosion.

And the second very dangerous matter is that Netanyahu is giving himself the right to reactivate the war for any cause or any reason. And we know

how Israelis are good about inventing matters and inventing -- inventing causes to do what they want. That's why there is a very dangerous element.

But the third one, which is a very big mine, is this total exclusion of the Palestinian side, the Palestinian official side. And this whole idea about

running Gaza by some kind of an international board by which law they want to come and rule us. And rather than giving Palestinians the right to rule

themselves.

And when they speak about reform of the Palestinian Authority, it's not clear what they are talking about. Is it about really democratic reform, or

is it about making the Palestinian Authority a security subagent for Israel?

FOSTER: What about the idea that Tony Blair -- looks like he will have a pretty significant role in that body?

BARGHOUTI: That is the most horrible idea. I don't think Tony Blair has any, any, any, any business to do with ruling Gaza. I think we've been

under British colonialism already before. Weve struggled for more than 100 years to be free from that -- that colonialism and then the Israeli

occupation.

So, to bring a foreign person to run the Palestinian affairs in Gaza is absolutely unacceptable, especially with the reputation that Mr. Blair has

in his role in Iraq. When he claimed there were weapons of mass destruction and it turned out to be a big lie, even when Bush apologized, Mr. Blair did

not. And there is a lot of things I don't want to speak about, about his own reputation in his own country.

I think it's preferable that he stays in his own country and let Palestinians rule themselves by themselves. And most importantly, let

Palestinians have free democratic elections to elect their leaders freely and democratically, rather than subjecting us to another colonial rule.

Whether it's coming from Mr. Blair or from any board, even if it's going to be headed by Mr. Trump.

FOSTER: Do you think Hamas will accept this deal?

BARGHOUTI: I think it's a very difficult decision to make.

[15:55:00]

From one side, I'm sure Hamas and other Palestinian groups, do realize the importance of ending this genocidal war, which is killing our people around

the clock. Every day, we are losing almost 100 people, and we have about 400 people injured by the Israeli army. Israel is now destroying the

historical city of Gaza.

And also, I think there is a very important element here, which is to guarantee that there will be no ethnic cleansing of the population of Gaza,

which is something we are very worried about if there is some kind of international rule, because we're not sure that Mr. Blair would not work

for what the Israelis want. So that is from one side.

From the other side, there are lots of flaws and mines here.

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: Okay. We're going to have to leave it there. Thank you so much for your perspective. I mean, the plan according to what we heard, said that

people wouldn't be forced to leave Gaza. People could leave Gaza. So we'll go through the detail of that over the next few days. There's a lot there.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW for now.

"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" up next.

END

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