October 3, 2025 • 17 mins
Hamas agreed to release the last of the hostages from its 2023 attack on Israel but said the rest of a US peace plan would be subject to negotiation, a stance that offered uncertain hopes for an end to the conflict in Gaza.
President Donald Trump responded favorably to the Hamas statement even though the group failed to address other key elements of his 20-point proposal that Israel has also demanded, including that it disarm. He called on Israel to stop its bombing campaign and said discussions were underway on “details to be worked out,” suggesting that he was willing to give Hamas some leeway.
“I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE,” Trump said of Hamas in a social media post. “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!”
In a subsequent video post, Trump thanked the Muslim-majority nations he credited with assisting in the negotiations and pledged that “everybody will be treated fairly” in ongoing talks.
“This is a big day,” Trump said. “We’ll see how it all turns out — we have to get the final word down in concrete.”
For instant reaction and analysis, Bloomberg Balance of Power host Joe Mathieu speaks with:
- Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York
- Bloomberg News State Department and Foreign Policy Reporter Eric Martin
- Former Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This is a breaking news update from Bloomberg instant reaction
and analysis from our three thousand journalists and analysts around
the world. Hamas said it has agreed to parts at
least of President Trump's peace plan, and it agrees to
release all of the Israeli hostages. President Trump responding in
a statement, saying in part that Israel must immediately stop
(00:32):
bombing Gaza, but that believes Hamas is ready for peace.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I want to thank the countries that helped me put
this together. Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and so
many others. So many people fought so hard. This is
a big day. We'll see how it all turns out.
We have to get the final word down and concrete.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Joining us now with his perspective, Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks
of New York. He is, of course, ranking member of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee as well a member of
the House Financial Services Committee. It's great to have you
back with us, Congressman. How should we be viewing this moment?
Donald Trump got the hostages released. Does he deserve vindication
(01:19):
for the way he's handled this conflict?
Speaker 4 (01:22):
Well? I think that his twenty point proposal I agreed
with as well as the regional partners, and so therefore
that is a good thing. Came out in support of it.
This is diplomacy. This is the way that I think
that we ultimately will solve what's happening in the Middle
East and to have some real and true peace. Now,
(01:43):
I've been a big proponent, for example, of the Abraham Accords,
and that too was started by Donald Trump in his
first administration. Again, it's important, significant, and we've got to
give diplomacy an opportunity to work. And just what you
reported is important. Also, Israel should not continue bombing Gaza.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
I agree with the President on that.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Let's try to see if we can get this thing done,
that the negotiations continue in that regards at least the
clarifications of what the twenty points is, and let's try
to make sure we can finally change the situation in
the Middle East where you can have a Palestinian state
side by side with a Jewish state of Israel.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Well, of course, I don't need to tell you congressmen
that both parties here have a record of not making
good on cease fire agreements on any agreements for that matter.
That goes for both Hamas and Benjamin and Yahoo as
the ranking member of foreign affairs, how much time will
you give this before it has credibility?
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Well, I think that diplomacy leads more time than just
to Sunday, that's for sure. I would think that, you know,
a week of a couple of weeks should be able
to hash this thing out. And I think that the
aid of Golf countries and other countries that also have
signed off on the twenty point plan, along with the
United States and in Israel, we should be able to
(03:10):
get it done. I think that we're getting close. We're
getting very very close. But of course the devil is
always in the details. Let these details be discussed and
ration out, because you don't want a situation where there's
been a misinterpretation of what should or should not happen,
and then everything goes to put and we're.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Back to where we started from.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
So let'swi and cross ant that we.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Can Benjamin Etnia, who has been seen as a pariah
by many in the region because of the high number
of civilian casualties that we've seen among Palestinians living in Gaza.
If this is real congressmen, and this is in fact
the paths to peace. Did we just prove that you
must meet strength with greater strength?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Well, no, I think that what we're doing now is
we are using diplomacy. Ultimately, we know that just bombing
your way out of this will not create a peaceful situation.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
In the Middle East.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
So diplomacy has always been something that I've advocated, and
what we've not been able to do to this point
was to get an agreement on both sides. Diplomacy is
always much harder and takes generally longer than just simply
bombing or the military strikes. So we're at that point now,
(04:31):
I think, and hopefully we can get across the tracks
with an agreement that will make a substantial difference in
the Middle East where we can bring some true fees.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
And what's the.
Speaker 6 (04:44):
Important to commsan as we can do really important is
that all of the golf countries and along with the
Pakistanis are all involved in this, our allies, and you.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
All agree with the twenty point plan.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
So we're at a point where you're talking about hostages
being released and humanitarian aid getting in. This is what
we want and then try to stabilize the region, rebuilding
Gaza for the Palestinians without Hamas being in control of anything.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
So this is a very good but hard work.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
And I think there's no hard work to be done,
but that's the way diplomacy works.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
It's good to have you, Congress when come see us
when you get back into town. Democratic Congressman Greg re
Meeks of New York. First reaction there from the House
Foreign Affairs Committee on this breaking news on Hamas joining
us now with details live here on Capitol Hill. Bloomberg's
Eric Martin, who was just in Israel with the Secretary
of State Marco Rubio only days ago. Eric, who deserves
(05:52):
the credit for this.
Speaker 7 (05:54):
Joe, this is a historic day potentially what we're seeing here.
Here we sit on October third, twenty twenty five, almost
two years to the day since the Hamas terrorist attacks
against Israel, and seeing this message from Hamas in response
to the President's twenty point plan, and in particular what
caught my eye is the President calling on Israel to
(06:16):
stop the bombing. Now, as you mentioned, I was just
a couple of weeks ago in Jerusalem with Secretary of
State mark Or Rubio and with Prime Minister Netsngahu, and
I asked both of them about this long planned Israeli
offensive to go into Gaza City. Even as we were
leaving for Doha, they were encircling Gaza City and planning
this for this, for this increased escalation of the war,
(06:42):
very controversial in Israel, a lot of people concerned about this,
and both of them saying that, telling me that if
they could find a way to get the hostages out,
to get Hamas to give up the hostages without escalating
the war, that was of course preferred. And so this
is really a monumental moment that we're we're seeing here
in terms of the potential for piece here. Still details
(07:04):
to be worked out, but this initial response from President Trump,
I think is quite important.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Hamas is talking about accepting this deal with conditions. I
know that we have some to learn still as to
what those conditions are. But should we assume that Hamas
actually knows where all of the hostages are, will they
be able to produce them?
Speaker 7 (07:22):
That certainly is an open question. And I think there
is a degree of skepticism towards the Hamaser response in
that some of the things, including the twenty point plans,
such as Hamas disarming and giving up control of Gaza.
We've seen as part of their response saying that Gaza
would be led by a group of technocrats, and that
(07:43):
seeming to indicate that they're willing to give up this
control of Gaza, which they've maintained for nearly twenty years.
But of course, from the Israeli side, one of the
fundamental things and President Prime Minister Natina who told me
this in a press conference there was to make sure
that Hamas can never return in the way they did
on October seventh, and for Israel, that means to make
(08:05):
sure that Hamas cannot be a threat, does not have
the weaponry to pose a threat to Israel in the
way that they did, and to ever repeat anything approaching
October seventh.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Glad you come see us, Eric, Thank you so much.
Bloomberg's Eric Martin with us live on Capitol Hill. A
joining us now with her analysis. Wendy Sherman, the former
Deputy Secretary of State in the Biden administration, now senior
fellow at Harvard's Belfast Center. Wendy, I'm really glad you
could be part of our conversation. I'm wondering what you
need to see to know this is real.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Well, look, I agree with what Eric just said. This
is a positive response from the White House. They're taking yes,
even a yes butt for an answer and getting diplomacy underway.
As Congressman Meek said in your previous segment, diplomacy's hard work.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
It all comes down to the details.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
So yes, this is a positive moment, but a heck
of hot more work to be done here, and we
don't know the answer to a number of questions, including
whether really Hamas can produce all the hostages and bodies
of those who are deceased within seventy two hours. But
I do agree with Eric that the President saying that
(09:14):
Israel must stop it's bombing now to create the space
and the quiet to get those hostages back is a
very positive statement in a very difficult situation. A long
way to go, but better than where we were yesterday.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
What do you make of the timing here, Wendy? The
President posted on truth Social another threat today, give him
a deadline six pm Sunday or all hell, as he
has said, will break loose. Gaza already is all hell?
Did that threat unlock this acceptance?
Speaker 1 (09:50):
I don't know that the threat alone unlocked the acceptance,
and I would say it's a yes, but acceptance. It's
not a total yes acceptance yet. But I think that
Egypt cut Her, you, probably United Arab Emirates, even Indonesia,
Saudi Arabia, those who have signed on to this proposal
have applied pressure to Hamas as well, cut Her being
(10:13):
quite important to that. And as we all know, the
President just gave cut Her, which is a key negotiator here,
what amounts to an Article five security guarantee from the
United States. Now, I don't know if that will hold
up because usually those things are done by treaty, not
by an executive action. But nonetheless, the President clearly wants
(10:36):
to build a strong relationship with Gutter. And I will
say one other thing, this probably, if it keeps going forward,
puts the President in a slightly stronger position going into
the APEC meeting at the end of October in the
Republic of Korea, in his negotiations with China, and how
he is seen in the rest of the world, if
he really can be the driving force to bring PA
(11:00):
not only to Gaza and the horrific conditions that the
people in Gaza have been attempting to live under, some
starving to death, a desperately needing to get in. There
is a lot of work to be done here, but
as I said, we are in a better place today
than we were yesterday.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Well, assuming this is real, Wendy, and we project to
rebuilding Gaza, this could also be extremely complicated. I know
the President has talked about making this the Riviera of
the Middle East or something, But how do you rebuild
Gaza without removing significant portions of the population.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
I think the riviera concept is a long way off.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Gaza has been destroyed.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
The President has suggested that an Israel has suggested that
people move out of Gaza city, but they don't have
a fuel to do so, they don't have homes to
go to, they don't have a way to move. They're
worried about their children and their health. There is little
healthcare left. Doctors without borders has left because it was
such a dangerous situation. So what is critical here is
(12:13):
to get aid in and to begin the rebuilding, and
to go back to part of your previous discussion. We
don't know whether Hamas will agree to the governmental structure
that the presidents agreed to. We don't know if they
will disarm, So there are lots of details here yet
to go. I know the President United States is desperate
(12:34):
for a Nobel Peace Prize. I don't think he's going
to get one in twenty twenty five. That will get
announced October tenth. All of the nominations are closed, but
maybe he's trying to get to twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
We'll see how that goes. I know it's something that
he's been talking about quite a bit lately. What would
this mean then for the future of a Palestinian state
and what would it mean for Iran obviously pulling the
strings for Hamas.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Two very good questions I think for peace in the
Middle East, clearly, both the Abraham Accords and the further
work that's been done is trying to bring the whole
region together. Obviously the fall of Asad was an important
piece of that puzzle. Sort of degrading Hasbellah and Hamas
(13:24):
and the Syrian militias supported by Iran critical to being
able to move forward towards peace. But an enormous amount
of work to go on, and it looks like the
President is sort of pulling back as sanctions, including the
new sanctions at the UN that have just been imposed
on Iran, put pressure on Iran in hopes that Iran
will do what it needs to do. I think it's
(13:47):
a little bit of a risk here, however, probably more
than a little bit, because Iran is moving forward to
reconstitute its nuclear positions, reconstant to its facilities. Even Israel
has said that the huge amount of enriched uranium is
probably still there, they have advanced centrifuges to increase the
(14:12):
likelihood of getting all that they need for a nuclear weapon.
And even if they haven't decided to go there yet,
what I call hard heard liners, the Islamic Revolutionary guardcore
kud's force is probably pressing to make that decision to
go for a nuclear weapon. So I hope there's some
backchannel discussions going on with Iran because we cannot really
(14:35):
get to peace in the Middle East unless we can
also deal with Iran.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
What would this mean for Iran's other proxies, like those
in Yemen, for instance, who've been attacking ships on behalf
of what's happening or in protests maybe a better way
to put it, of what has been happening in Gaza.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Without a doubt what they're doing in Yemen still giving
some support to Hesballah, clearly still engaged in some ways,
probably with Hamas, and still trying to see what else
they can do in the Middle East. So your point
is well taken, Joe. This is an issue that really
(15:18):
shouldn't be sidelined. The administration should continue, as I said,
even if it's through quiet back channels, to make sure
that people don't take their attention away from getting what
is necessary here in order to make sure that peace
can be longstanding if it can be achieved with ending
the war in Gossip.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Just lastly, Wendy, how does this end if the deal
is real? Is there a signing ceremony? And who shows
up for Hamas well?
Speaker 5 (15:48):
I don't know that there's a signing ceremony. I think
that Cutter has really been.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
The country that.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Houses Hamas.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Whether Hamas's leader would sign a document, I don't see
that happening, But I do see a collective action in
the Middle East if in fact all these details can
be worked out. As of I said, this is a
good day, but there is still a lot of detailed
work ahead, and I hope all of that detailed work,
(16:28):
as the President seemed to indicate, is truly going on,
because without it, there are a lot of pieces of
the twenty point proposal that Hamas did not address, and
we need those answers.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
A hopeful Wendy Sherman, Senior Fellow at Harvard's Belt for Senator,
former Deputy Secretary of State and the Biden administration. Wendy,
it's great to have you with this breaking news. Thanks
for your insights.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This is a breaking news update from Bloomberg instant reaction
and analysis from our three thousand journalists and analysts around
the world. Hamas said it has agreed to parts at
least of President Trump's peace plan, and it agrees to
release all of the Israeli hostages. President Trump responding in
a statement, saying in part that Israel must immediately stop
(00:32):
bombing Gaza, but that believes Hamas is ready for peace.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I want to thank the countries that helped me put
this together. Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and so
many others. So many people fought so hard. This is
a big day. We'll see how it all turns out.
We have to get the final word down and concrete.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Joining us now with his perspective, Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks
of New York. He is, of course, ranking member of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee as well a member of
the House Financial Services Committee. It's great to have you
back with us, Congressman. How should we be viewing this moment?
Donald Trump got the hostages released. Does he deserve vindication
(01:19):
for the way he's handled this conflict?
Speaker 4 (01:22):
Well? I think that his twenty point proposal I agreed
with as well as the regional partners, and so therefore
that is a good thing. Came out in support of it.
This is diplomacy. This is the way that I think
that we ultimately will solve what's happening in the Middle
East and to have some real and true peace. Now,
(01:43):
I've been a big proponent, for example, of the Abraham Accords,
and that too was started by Donald Trump in his
first administration. Again, it's important, significant, and we've got to
give diplomacy an opportunity to work. And just what you
reported is important. Also, Israel should not continue bombing Gaza.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
I agree with the President on that.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Let's try to see if we can get this thing done,
that the negotiations continue in that regards at least the
clarifications of what the twenty points is, and let's try
to make sure we can finally change the situation in
the Middle East where you can have a Palestinian state
side by side with a Jewish state of Israel.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Well, of course, I don't need to tell you congressmen
that both parties here have a record of not making
good on cease fire agreements on any agreements for that matter.
That goes for both Hamas and Benjamin and Yahoo as
the ranking member of foreign affairs, how much time will
you give this before it has credibility?
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Well, I think that diplomacy leads more time than just
to Sunday, that's for sure. I would think that, you know,
a week of a couple of weeks should be able
to hash this thing out. And I think that the
aid of Golf countries and other countries that also have
signed off on the twenty point plan, along with the
United States and in Israel, we should be able to
(03:10):
get it done. I think that we're getting close. We're
getting very very close. But of course the devil is
always in the details. Let these details be discussed and
ration out, because you don't want a situation where there's
been a misinterpretation of what should or should not happen,
and then everything goes to put and we're.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Back to where we started from.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
So let'swi and cross ant that we.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Can Benjamin Etnia, who has been seen as a pariah
by many in the region because of the high number
of civilian casualties that we've seen among Palestinians living in Gaza.
If this is real congressmen, and this is in fact
the paths to peace. Did we just prove that you
must meet strength with greater strength?
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Well, no, I think that what we're doing now is
we are using diplomacy. Ultimately, we know that just bombing
your way out of this will not create a peaceful situation.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
In the Middle East.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
So diplomacy has always been something that I've advocated, and
what we've not been able to do to this point
was to get an agreement on both sides. Diplomacy is
always much harder and takes generally longer than just simply
bombing or the military strikes. So we're at that point now,
(04:31):
I think, and hopefully we can get across the tracks
with an agreement that will make a substantial difference in
the Middle East where we can bring some true fees.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
And what's the.
Speaker 6 (04:44):
Important to commsan as we can do really important is
that all of the golf countries and along with the
Pakistanis are all involved in this, our allies, and you.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
All agree with the twenty point plan.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
So we're at a point where you're talking about hostages
being released and humanitarian aid getting in. This is what
we want and then try to stabilize the region, rebuilding
Gaza for the Palestinians without Hamas being in control of anything.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
So this is a very good but hard work.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
And I think there's no hard work to be done,
but that's the way diplomacy works.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
It's good to have you, Congress when come see us
when you get back into town. Democratic Congressman Greg re
Meeks of New York. First reaction there from the House
Foreign Affairs Committee on this breaking news on Hamas joining
us now with details live here on Capitol Hill. Bloomberg's
Eric Martin, who was just in Israel with the Secretary
of State Marco Rubio only days ago. Eric, who deserves
(05:52):
the credit for this.
Speaker 7 (05:54):
Joe, this is a historic day potentially what we're seeing here.
Here we sit on October third, twenty twenty five, almost
two years to the day since the Hamas terrorist attacks
against Israel, and seeing this message from Hamas in response
to the President's twenty point plan, and in particular what
caught my eye is the President calling on Israel to
(06:16):
stop the bombing. Now, as you mentioned, I was just
a couple of weeks ago in Jerusalem with Secretary of
State mark Or Rubio and with Prime Minister Netsngahu, and
I asked both of them about this long planned Israeli
offensive to go into Gaza City. Even as we were
leaving for Doha, they were encircling Gaza City and planning
this for this, for this increased escalation of the war,
(06:42):
very controversial in Israel, a lot of people concerned about this,
and both of them saying that, telling me that if
they could find a way to get the hostages out,
to get Hamas to give up the hostages without escalating
the war, that was of course preferred. And so this
is really a monumental moment that we're we're seeing here
in terms of the potential for piece here. Still details
(07:04):
to be worked out, but this initial response from President Trump,
I think is quite important.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Hamas is talking about accepting this deal with conditions. I
know that we have some to learn still as to
what those conditions are. But should we assume that Hamas
actually knows where all of the hostages are, will they
be able to produce them?
Speaker 7 (07:22):
That certainly is an open question. And I think there
is a degree of skepticism towards the Hamaser response in
that some of the things, including the twenty point plans,
such as Hamas disarming and giving up control of Gaza.
We've seen as part of their response saying that Gaza
would be led by a group of technocrats, and that
(07:43):
seeming to indicate that they're willing to give up this
control of Gaza, which they've maintained for nearly twenty years.
But of course, from the Israeli side, one of the
fundamental things and President Prime Minister Natina who told me
this in a press conference there was to make sure
that Hamas can never return in the way they did
on October seventh, and for Israel, that means to make
(08:05):
sure that Hamas cannot be a threat, does not have
the weaponry to pose a threat to Israel in the
way that they did, and to ever repeat anything approaching
October seventh.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Glad you come see us, Eric, Thank you so much.
Bloomberg's Eric Martin with us live on Capitol Hill. A
joining us now with her analysis. Wendy Sherman, the former
Deputy Secretary of State in the Biden administration, now senior
fellow at Harvard's Belfast Center. Wendy, I'm really glad you
could be part of our conversation. I'm wondering what you
need to see to know this is real.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Well, look, I agree with what Eric just said. This
is a positive response from the White House. They're taking yes,
even a yes butt for an answer and getting diplomacy underway.
As Congressman Meek said in your previous segment, diplomacy's hard work.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
It all comes down to the details.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
So yes, this is a positive moment, but a heck
of hot more work to be done here, and we
don't know the answer to a number of questions, including
whether really Hamas can produce all the hostages and bodies
of those who are deceased within seventy two hours. But
I do agree with Eric that the President saying that
(09:14):
Israel must stop it's bombing now to create the space
and the quiet to get those hostages back is a
very positive statement in a very difficult situation. A long
way to go, but better than where we were yesterday.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
What do you make of the timing here, Wendy? The
President posted on truth Social another threat today, give him
a deadline six pm Sunday or all hell, as he
has said, will break loose. Gaza already is all hell?
Did that threat unlock this acceptance?
Speaker 1 (09:50):
I don't know that the threat alone unlocked the acceptance,
and I would say it's a yes, but acceptance. It's
not a total yes acceptance yet. But I think that
Egypt cut Her, you, probably United Arab Emirates, even Indonesia,
Saudi Arabia, those who have signed on to this proposal
have applied pressure to Hamas as well, cut Her being
(10:13):
quite important to that. And as we all know, the
President just gave cut Her, which is a key negotiator here,
what amounts to an Article five security guarantee from the
United States. Now, I don't know if that will hold
up because usually those things are done by treaty, not
by an executive action. But nonetheless, the President clearly wants
(10:36):
to build a strong relationship with Gutter. And I will
say one other thing, this probably, if it keeps going forward,
puts the President in a slightly stronger position going into
the APEC meeting at the end of October in the
Republic of Korea, in his negotiations with China, and how
he is seen in the rest of the world, if
he really can be the driving force to bring PA
(11:00):
not only to Gaza and the horrific conditions that the
people in Gaza have been attempting to live under, some
starving to death, a desperately needing to get in. There
is a lot of work to be done here, but
as I said, we are in a better place today
than we were yesterday.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Well, assuming this is real, Wendy, and we project to
rebuilding Gaza, this could also be extremely complicated. I know
the President has talked about making this the Riviera of
the Middle East or something, But how do you rebuild
Gaza without removing significant portions of the population.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
I think the riviera concept is a long way off.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Gaza has been destroyed.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
The President has suggested that an Israel has suggested that
people move out of Gaza city, but they don't have
a fuel to do so, they don't have homes to
go to, they don't have a way to move. They're
worried about their children and their health. There is little
healthcare left. Doctors without borders has left because it was
such a dangerous situation. So what is critical here is
(12:13):
to get aid in and to begin the rebuilding, and
to go back to part of your previous discussion. We
don't know whether Hamas will agree to the governmental structure
that the presidents agreed to. We don't know if they
will disarm, So there are lots of details here yet
to go. I know the President United States is desperate
(12:34):
for a Nobel Peace Prize. I don't think he's going
to get one in twenty twenty five. That will get
announced October tenth. All of the nominations are closed, but
maybe he's trying to get to twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
We'll see how that goes. I know it's something that
he's been talking about quite a bit lately. What would
this mean then for the future of a Palestinian state
and what would it mean for Iran obviously pulling the
strings for Hamas.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Two very good questions I think for peace in the
Middle East, clearly, both the Abraham Accords and the further
work that's been done is trying to bring the whole
region together. Obviously the fall of Asad was an important
piece of that puzzle. Sort of degrading Hasbellah and Hamas
(13:24):
and the Syrian militias supported by Iran critical to being
able to move forward towards peace. But an enormous amount
of work to go on, and it looks like the
President is sort of pulling back as sanctions, including the
new sanctions at the UN that have just been imposed
on Iran, put pressure on Iran in hopes that Iran
will do what it needs to do. I think it's
(13:47):
a little bit of a risk here, however, probably more
than a little bit, because Iran is moving forward to
reconstitute its nuclear positions, reconstant to its facilities. Even Israel
has said that the huge amount of enriched uranium is
probably still there, they have advanced centrifuges to increase the
(14:12):
likelihood of getting all that they need for a nuclear weapon.
And even if they haven't decided to go there yet,
what I call hard heard liners, the Islamic Revolutionary guardcore
kud's force is probably pressing to make that decision to
go for a nuclear weapon. So I hope there's some
backchannel discussions going on with Iran because we cannot really
(14:35):
get to peace in the Middle East unless we can
also deal with Iran.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
What would this mean for Iran's other proxies, like those
in Yemen, for instance, who've been attacking ships on behalf
of what's happening or in protests maybe a better way
to put it, of what has been happening in Gaza.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Without a doubt what they're doing in Yemen still giving
some support to Hesballah, clearly still engaged in some ways,
probably with Hamas, and still trying to see what else
they can do in the Middle East. So your point
is well taken, Joe. This is an issue that really
(15:18):
shouldn't be sidelined. The administration should continue, as I said,
even if it's through quiet back channels, to make sure
that people don't take their attention away from getting what
is necessary here in order to make sure that peace
can be longstanding if it can be achieved with ending
the war in Gossip.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Just lastly, Wendy, how does this end if the deal
is real? Is there a signing ceremony? And who shows
up for Hamas well?
Speaker 5 (15:48):
I don't know that there's a signing ceremony. I think
that Cutter has really been.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
The country that.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Houses Hamas.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Whether Hamas's leader would sign a document, I don't see
that happening, But I do see a collective action in
the Middle East if in fact all these details can
be worked out. As of I said, this is a
good day, but there is still a lot of detailed
work ahead, and I hope all of that detailed work,
(16:28):
as the President seemed to indicate, is truly going on,
because without it, there are a lot of pieces of
the twenty point proposal that Hamas did not address, and
we need those answers.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
A hopeful Wendy Sherman, Senior Fellow at Harvard's Belt for Senator,
former Deputy Secretary of State and the Biden administration. Wendy,
it's great to have you with this breaking news. Thanks
for your insights.
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