00:00Right, so you seem to be extremely optimistic that something big is in the making here, and you know, you're right.
00:07Could be, could be in the making.
00:09Sure, and we keep hearing about the new Middle East, and that's something we've been talking about with some of our other guests today,
00:14this vision of a whole new region, and President Trump taking an active role in shaping it.
00:20Do you get the impression perhaps President Trump's a little more enthusiastic when it comes to drawing a line under this conflict in Gaza
00:27than perhaps Prime Minister Netanyahu is?
00:30Yes, of course. I mean, I think it's very clear and very evident.
00:34President Trump wants this war to end.
00:36Prime Minister Netanyahu has been very hesitant, I could say with confidence,
00:40that there would not have been the ceasefire deal of January 18 that brought back a few dozens of Israeli hostages.
00:47It would not have happened without the intervention of President Trump, and that was before the inauguration.
00:52And now, clearly, the Americans are pushing forward, and Israel is sort of being pushed into this war,
00:59ending deal in Gaza, hopefully.
01:03You have to remember that there is a far-right, radical right-wing faction within the government of Israel that is against any sort of end to the war in Gaza,
01:13because in their vision, Israel needs to permanently hold Gaza and effectively kind of remain in control there.
01:25So Netanyahu is actually also heading into a moment of big decision politically,
01:30because if he goes with what President Trump wants, which entails acknowledging the political horizon of a Palestinian state,
01:40ending the war in Gaza, all of these things will probably bring about the collapse of his government.
01:46So there is also a political line to pay attention to in Israel that goes along the diplomatic line, timeline.
01:53The other thing I want to mention is that those 60-day period during which the permanent ceasefire in Gaza will be negotiated,
02:03this is a period that brings to the fore a number of issues that are long-term issues and also connect Gaza and the West Bank.
02:12For example, the issue of security. Who will handle security in Gaza?
02:17Israel is demanding that Gaza will be demilitarized, but who will enforce the demilitarization of Gaza?
02:23Another example is economics. Part of the goal of the post-war is to have a reconstruction of Gaza.
02:30That requires revitalizing or reigniting economic activity, which requires arrangements.
02:40These arrangements are provided for in the Oslo Accords.
02:42At this moment, the Netanyahu government rejects the idea that the Oslo Accords that apply in the West Bank would be brought into Gaza.
02:50But it may be actually the path of least resistance, which is to reapply the Oslo Accords in Gaza and not to renegotiate economic arrangements.
03:00What I want to say to your viewership here is that a lot of issues that have been sidelined and ignored over the last, you could say, year and a half,
03:12and you could even say 10 years are going to be brought forward in the next 60 days once there is a ceasefire.
03:18And that is why the diplomatic path forward along the direction that President Trump is pushing for actually may mean the end of the current Israeli government as we know it.
