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Amanpour
Interview With Former Head Of Israeli Defense Intelligence And Israeli Air Force Former Deputy Command Amos Yadlin; Interview With Palestinian National Initiative President Mustafa Barghouti; Interview With Former Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher; Interview With Former U.S. Middle East Negotiator Aaron David Miller. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired September 09, 2025 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Amanpour." Here's what's coming up.
Israel launches an unprecedented attack targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar. Netanyahu claims full Israeli responsibility, while Qatar and its regional
allies condemn the escalation. We ask key experts what we can expect to unfold now. I speak to former Israeli General Amos Yadlin about the
military strategy behind that strike. Then, we'll hear from Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti in the West Bank. Plus, former Jordanian
Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher will join me live, alongside former U.S. Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller.
And welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Paula Newton in New York, sitting in for Christiane Amanpour.
Israel has carried out an attack targeting senior Hamas leaders in Qatar's capital, Doha. It is the first Israeli strike in the Gulf state and marks a
significant escalation of its tactics against the militant group. Several blasts were heard, and a building in the north of the city appears to be
badly damaged. Qatar is calling the attack a, quote, "blatant violation of international law."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country accepts full responsibility for the operation, which he claims was justified after a
mass shooting in Jerusalem on Monday. I want you to listen now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Yesterday, four of our soldiers were killed by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and six Israeli civilians were
brutally murdered in a bus stop in Jerusalem. This morning, Hamas proudly took credit for both of these actions. At noon today, I convened the heads
of Israel's security organizations and authorized a surgical precision strike on the terrorist chiefs of Hamas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: U.S. officials say the Trump administration was informed ahead of the attack. Qatar, a key U.S. ally, has played a significant role as a
mediator in ongoing talks to try and reach a ceasefire in Gaza. Among those targeted was, in fact, Hamas' chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, that's
according to a senior Israeli official.
We want to bring in retired general and former head of Israeli military intelligence, Amos Yadlin. He joins me now from Washington. It is good to
have you here, sir. I want to ask you just right off the bat bluntly, what do you believe was both the and military rationale for the strike?
AMOS YADLIN, FORMER HEAD OF ISRAELI DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AND FORMER DEPUTY COMMAND, ISRAELI AIR FORCE: It's always a pleasure to be with you, Paula. I
think the main issue is to make sure that the heads of the terror organizations that are now more extreme when they sit in a seven stars
hotel in Qatar and not agreeing to the last proposal by President Trump is that they will be removed as an obstacle to end the war.
Second, Qatar was very unhelpful in supporting Hamas, giving it a lot of money, weapons, and supporting it diplomatically, and was not helpful also
in the negotiation, which the U.S. and the Egyptians were trying to promote. Last but not least, Israel has a doctrine since the Munich Games
massacre that anybody who participates in this massacre and very much in the 7th of October massacre will be removed, will be targeted. Anyone who
planned the 7th of October massacre and all the terrors that killed Israeli kids, Israeli women, Israeli civilians, 900 of them, everybody who
participates will be removed, and many that were in Qatar were among them.
[13:05:00]
Last but not least, Qatar is financing a lot of anti-Israeli activities all over the world, but especially in your country, in the U.S. And it's time
that Qatar, that using its money and Al Jazeera to spoil any positive political process will also pay a price and will understand that they are
playing with fire.
NEWTON: General Yadlin, I have to point out that Israel has been negotiating with Qatar. They have used them as trustworthy negotiators in
the past, and that the United States, at this point in time, has been leaning on Qatar to try and help in these negotiations.
But I also do want to point out that CNN has spoken to family members of the hostages who say, notwithstanding the fact that they do want to see the
Hamas leadership punished, that this was not the time and this was not the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ILAY DAVID, BROTHER OF HOSTAGE EVYATAR DAVID: We're very worried, very, very worried. We don't know who will be now negotiating with Israel about
the remaining hostages, still hostages suffering there. I believe that taking military actions on Hamas leaders can wait. And right now, what we
need to be focused on is saving the hostages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: General, I have to ask you, it is such a tough situation for these families. What do you say to them? This is an unprecedented strike on a
country that claims that in good faith they were trying to help to get to the release of those hostages.
YADLIN: My heart is with the families. I'm calling to end the war in the last year by first bringing back all the hostages in one pulse, and end the
war, Israeli withdrawal, and removing of Hamas from Gaza. This is a goal that I support, and the families will agree for it for sure.
Unfortunately, I'm not running the negotiation. And President Trump, who is running the negotiation, put on the table in the last three days a proposal
to end the war, which is very similar to my plan. And unfortunately, Hamas leaders in Qatar, unlike Hamas leaders in Gaza, refuse to go along this
line. So, I hope for the families to see their loved one as soon as possible. I want this war to be over. And I think --
NEWTON: But do you believe that this strike is what is going to bring those family members home? Because right now those families are terrified. They
do not believe that this kind of a strike will bring their family members home sooner. How?
YADLIN: Future will tell. Not -- how? That those extremes in the Hamas leaders, those who refuse to end the war all the time, those who haven't
said yes to President Trump's proposals are now removed. So, not tomorrow, not the day after, but I think within weeks we will see that the leaders of
Hamas in Gaza who are suffering with the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza and want to end the war, but those in Qatar who refuse to do it, I think not in
the short run, but a little bit after that, in the mid-run, we will see an end to this war in a way the fact that Hamas leaders, like those who were
targeted in Qatar this morning, will be removed is a step forward to end this war that should be ended almost a year ago.
NEWTON: And I do want to say that, you know, another one of the family members, a mother posted on X saying that, look, she believes this is
actually the execution of her son, not the savior for her son during this strike. I'm sure you've seen it as well.
YADLIN: I saw it and my heart is with the families. But what is happening is that Hamas is unwilling to end the war, as much as some of the Israeli
coalition elements like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. So, we have to remove those who are against ending the war and bring these hostages back, but not in
any price. And the price that these leaders of Hamas are putting is unacceptable.
We should end this war in a package, in a deal that will include four elements, returning of all the hostages, withdrawal of Israeli forces,
removing Hamas from power, and a side letter between Israel and America on the models that have been done with the -- on Lebanon, on Hezbollah, that
if Hamas will rebuild itself as an armed terror organization, Israel has the right to go back and hit Hamas. But the families will get their loved
ones at home before that.
[13:10:00]
And this is the outline that we have to promote, both the Trump administration, the Israeli government, and those who haven't pushed Hamas
good enough, which is the people in Doha.
NEWTON: General, I want to lean on your decades of experience, both in military intelligence and with the Air Force. Is there really such a thing
as a surgical strike? You know, how much collateral damage could this have caused? You heard people screaming there in Doha. There was certainly a lot
of panic, a lot of terror, perhaps Qatari citizens could have been hurt or killed as well. What are the implications of that? How did you see this
operation unfolding?
YADLIN: I think that in any military attack, there is a proportionality to the goals that you want to achieve. Nobody can remove only the bad guys.
However, I think this consideration was high on the Israeli Air Force planners. I know very well the Israeli Air Force. I know very well the
intelligence. And I think they tried to do it as clean as possible. The way they did it, by the way, in Sanaa with the Houthis government.
Those who care about civilians should bring back the hostages that are seven and five days in Gaza. These people haven't seen the Red Cross. These
people were starved. And Hamas, who is basically hiding and shielding himself behind civilians, is to blame in this war. Hamas is responsible for
the killing of the people of Gaza because he put all his command posts and all his camps and the places that are firing at the Israeli civilian
population without any discrimination, they have to be -- to stop shielding themselves behind these civilians and don't blame the Israeli Air Force,
which is the most precise organization in a war that I ever met in my professional life, which is unfortunately now close to 50 years.
NEWTON: General Yadlin, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
YADLIN: Thank you, Paula. It's a pleasure being with you.
NEWTON: Now, for more on all this, we want to bring in our Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem. And, Jeremy, you just had that interview there. But what more
are we learning about this attack from Israeli authorities themselves? Because unlike other military operations they've carried out, they very
quickly came out and took responsibility for this.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And that was a signal in and of itself, the fact that this was not apparently conducted by
the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, but rather by the Israeli military in cooperation with the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security
service, signaled that Israel wanted the world to know, wanted Qatar to know, wanted Hamas to know that it was responsible for this strike and was
making no bones about it.
And indeed, we just heard from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, directly who addressed this strike, took credit for it and
talked about the fact that it shows that the days of -- where the heads of terror enjoyed immunity anywhere are over. He said he will not allow such
immunity for the murderers of our people, very much framing these strikes in the context of being retaliation for the October 7th massacre, which the
Israeli military and security services have had all heads of Hamas responsible for.
What was most interesting in the remarks of the Israeli prime minister though was the part where he talked about what could happen next. And the
prime minister said that this attack could open the door to an end of the war in Gaza, noting that Israel has accepted the principles put forward by
the American government in terms of this latest ceasefire and hostage release proposal. And he said that if Hamas accepts it, then this can
quickly lead to an end of the war.
But here's the one problem, the Israeli prime minister may just have killed Hamas' chief negotiator and the senior Hamas leadership who would have to
accept and move forward with any potential agreement. And so, the real question now, and one that's been raised by Qatari officials was, was the
Israeli government trying to undermine that ceasefire and hostage release negotiating process?
[13:15:00]
Given the critical juncture at which this strike took place, a strike that was months in the planning, but only executed days after the United States
moved forward with this new effort to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and to bring the hostages home, the Israeli prime minister now carrying out a
strike, that at least in the short-term, will put the possibility of reaching such an agreement further away. I think that in and of itself is
unquestionable.
And we've heard the fears of many of the hostage families being expressed today that that is exactly what will happen. The real question is what
happens down the line? Will Qatar, which has just seen its sovereignty violated by these Israeli strikes, will Qatar continue to remain involved
as a mediator, the key mediator between Israel and Hamas that it has been over the course of the last two years of war, or will it withdraw from the
process altogether? Who will take over from Hamas if indeed the senior Hamas leaders are confirmed to have been killed? And where does that, of
course, leave the 48 hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza? And where does it leave the possibility of a ceasefire in
Gaza?
NEWTON: Yes. And, Jeremy, we do not know the fate of the Hamas leadership there, if they were injured or killed or happened to escape this kind of a
strike. And I will point out the Qatari officials kind of seem to be claiming that this was done by Israel in order to undermine any kind of a
negotiation process between Hamas and Israel.
And so, I'm wondering about the wider reaction there where you are in Israel. There has been an outpouring in the last few weeks, understanding
that the majority Israelis want the hostages home. And now, everyone understanding that this move by their Israeli government makes things all
the more difficult.
DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. I mean, you think about the last few weeks, we saw Hamas initially accepting a proposal that Israel itself had previously
been supportive of, a temporary ceasefire that would see the release of about half of the living hostages. Israel said that it had already moved
on, that it was now seeking a total deal for all of the hostages and the end of the war in Gaza rather than a partial deal.
Instead, the Israeli government chose to begin moving forward with plans for a major offensive to capture and conquer Gaza City, where 1 million
people are now in the process of being forcibly displaced. But then we saw on Sunday the United States putting forward this latest proposal seeking to
get Hamas to agree to release all of the hostages in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners and a ceasefire that would see negotiations to end
the war in Gaza, a ceasefire that would stay in place as long as those negotiations were continuing.
The United States said that Israel had positively responded to it. Hamas was in the process of reviewing that proposal when its senior leadership
was struck in this Israeli attack in the Qatari capital today. And so, again, for people in Israel, including the families of the hostages who
said today that they were following the news of this strike with considerable anxiety and uncertainty about what it means for the future,
many people here feeling like it puts a ceasefire and hostage release deal further away.
Again, at least in the short-term, we will see ultimately what it means for the endgame here, for the war in Gaza and for the hostages themselves.
NEWTON: Indeed, we will. Jeremy Diamond for us in Jerusalem, grateful to you. I want you to stay with CNN. We will be right back after a quick
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:20:00]
NEWTON: So, how is the rest of the region reacting to Israel strikes in Qatar? As we've mentioned, the Qatari foreign ministry is strongly
condemning the attack, calling it, quote, "cowardly." While the U.N. secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, highlighted Qatar's very positive role
in ceasefire negotiations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL: I condemn this fragrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar. All
parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: But what about the Palestinian leadership that has a lot at stake here? We want to bring in longtime Palestinian politician and former peace
negotiator Mustafa Barghouti, and he joins us now from Ramallah in the West Bank. And it is good to see you and get your reaction as we continue to
parse what has just happened here. And I want to get from you, just really indicate to us what you believe the reaction in the region will be.
MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN NATIONAL INITIATIVE: Thank you, Paula. And I'm sorry to say that we've heard so many lies by your Israeli
guest moments ago. But nevertheless, I think this operation means two things very clearly. First, Israel attacked the negotiating team of Hamas
while they were sitting -- discussing the Palestinian response to the American proposal. How could Israel say that they were doing that to
achieve an agreement when they killed or tried to kill those who are negotiating with them?
Second, this attack happened in Qatar, the most peaceful country probably in the region, a country that never had a conflict with anybody, and a
country that have played the role of the main mediator between Israel and Hamas and between Israel and the other Palestinian groups. And if it wasn't
for Qatar, Israel would not have seen all these Israeli prisoners who have been released so far.
So, in my opinion, I totally agree with the Qatari estimation, what happened is an act to undermine the possibility of reaching a ceasefire
agreement. And what proves that is the escalation of the Israeli military attacks on Gaza City and the Israeli order to evacuate no less than 1.1
million people by force, by bombardment, by killing people. And it is very clear that Israel never gave up its plan of total ethnic cleansing of the
population of Gaza.
This operation shows also that the Israeli establishment and this Israeli fascist government does not care about the Israeli prisoners or captives.
If they cared about them, they would not have done this, because this is exactly -- as the mother of one of these captives said, this is like an
execution order against these prisoners.
And by the way, I am really unhappy about the fact that everybody speaks only about the 50 Israeli prisoners and nobody speaks about the 14,000
Palestinian prisoners, including 400 children who are kept as hostages in Israeli presence.
Anyhow, the most shocking thing is the American complicity in this matter. So, how could the United States allow such an operation to take place?
NEWTON: But is that not the debate --
BARGHOUTI: If President Trump wanted to stop --
NEWTON: Is that not the debate though, at this point in time? Do you believe, you truly believe the United States allowed this, that they knew
ahead of time and turned a blind eye to this?
BARGHOUTI: Well, we have reports from the Israeli side and from the American side, both admitting that Israel informed the United States before
the operation was done. And we remember how the United States of America and President Trump stopped the Israeli planes when they were half their
way, on their way to Iran to bombard it at the end of the war then.
So, if he wanted, he could have stopped it. And that makes all of us believe that Trump's proposal was nothing but a ploy, was nothing but a
trap established exactly to allow Israel to achieve this goal of assassinating the people they were targeting. But the most important thing,
and you asked me about the reaction of the countries in this region, is that now the message -- as the head of the Israeli parliament said, the
message is now sent and received by all Middle Eastern countries.
[13:25:00]
What does that mean? Does that mean that Israel is behaving as an imperialist state in control of the Middle East, in attacking Lebanon,
attacking Syria, attacking Yemen, attacking Iran, and now attacking even Qatar, the peaceful Qatar? That means we are dealing here with a country
that behaves as an imperialist country, targeting anybody and everybody. And we've never seen such behavior by any country probably in modern
history since Nazi Germany --
NEWTON: And so --
BARGHOUTI: -- which was attacking its neighbors, attacking everybody else.
NEWTON: OK, but so, Mustafa then, where do you go from here? Whether it's the Palestinian National Initiative, whether it's Jordan, whether it's
Qatar, whether it's Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Netanyahu and his defense minister, Mr. Katz, had said that they were fully justified because of
Monday's shooting in Jerusalem.
Israel, of course, continues to say that what they are doing is defending themselves. You just heard General Yadin said that Hamas had this coming.
So, what do you do right now? Because are you expecting that perhaps the Israeli response will become even more ferocious in the weeks and months to
come?
BARGHOUTI: Israel is not defending itself. Israel is aggressively attacking others. They've killed 65,000 Palestinians up till now, including 20,000
children. And every day they kill 100 more in Gaza. Every day they kill 25 Palestinian more children. Every day they are causing so much damage to the
level that already 90 percent of all homes have been destroyed in Gaza. Who needs security more than anybody else? The Palestinians.
We are attacked even in the West Bank, continuously, by settler terrorist attacks, continuously. But at the end of the time -- at the end of the
story, the question is, why these leaders of Israel, in my opinion, who behave as fascists, don't recognize that Israel is becoming a pariah state
worldwide, don't understand why the people of Spain, the people of Colombia, the people of Mexico, and even the people of the United States
are starting to demonstrate against them and condemn them because of their aggressive behavior? They don't even recognize that they are dragging even
the United States of America into a situation of isolation because of these aggressive policies, because they continue to occupy other people and
oppress other people and conduct apartheid against the Palestinian people. That is the real question. What will happen?
I believe now we'll see even a much bigger rise of countries who demand imposing sanctions on Israel. And I think this is the only way to restrain
this country. I don't call for other countries to attack Israel, but I'm calling for total and complete embargo on Israel, especially military
embargo, boycott divestment sanctions to make these leaders understand that they cannot continue like this because they are harming the future of
Palestinians and Israelis. They're killing any potential for peace.
And believe me, I don't think the Arab and Muslim countries will continue to behave in the same manner as before, because now, they've discovered
that even if you are in alliance with the United States, when it comes to what Israel wants to do, nobody is protected. This will have a very serious
impact on so many countries, especially the Gulf countries and the Arab world.
NEWTON: Mustafa Barghouti, we will leave it there. Really grateful for your insights. Appreciate it.
BARGHOUTI: Thank you, Paula.
NEWTON: Now, the U.S. has a close security relationship, as we've just been discussing, with both Israel and Qatar. And Doha is, of course, home to the
Al Udeid Air Base, the largest American military facility in the region. U.S. officials say the Trump administration was, in fact, notified ahead of
the strikes. We don't know how much notification they actually received.
Meantime, Qatar's regional neighbor, Jordan, has joined the growing chorus of condemnation, even going as far as saying they will stand with Qatar if
it chooses to respond to the violence. Former Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher joins me now from Amman, alongside former Middle East peace
negotiator for the U.S. State Department, Aaron David Miller. He is in Washington, D.C.
I am going to begin, certainly in Jordan, with regional reaction. You just heard Mustafa there, I hope, you know, talk about the fact that there will
be different behavior in the region. Do you believe that's what will happen? Because, again, Hamas is not a friend to people in the regions.
Many in the Arab and Muslim world would say that they have been nothing but a headache there. Do you believe they will act with more purpose now in
order to try and stop Israel from these kinds of audacious strikes?
[13:30:00]
MARWAN MUASHER, FORMER JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, the region is not now thinking about Hamas and what is happening to Hamas only. They're
thinking about peace in general. You've heard condemnations from the Saudis, from the Emirates, from the very people that were trying to forge a
regional peace with Israel. What does the Abrahams Accords mean now, you know, after today, when Israel feels it can violate the sovereignty of any
country it chooses? It cannot talk about regional peace.
What I'm afraid of is that Israel today, if it has failed to kill Hamas leaders, it has certainly succeeded in killing any prospects for a hostage
deal, but it is killing also any prospects for a regional peace. The whole idea of the Arab world coming to peace with Israel is not going to
materialize when Israel feels free to bomb Syria, bomb Lebanon, now bomb Qatar, which is a U.S. ally, and all while negotiating a peace deal that
would have released all the Israeli hostages.
Frankly, you know, the only conclusion one can have from such Israeli actions is that they are not interested in a hostage deal. They are
interested in prolonging the war for a very good reason, that Israel's -- you know, the coalition supporters in the Israeli government, Ben-Gvir and
Smotrich, don't want a hostage deal, don't want to end the war, and it appears that Netanyahu is appeasing them. There's no other conclusion,
because it just does not make sense to kill the people you are negotiating with.
NEWTON: Aaron David Miller, you and I have continued a conversation now that has gone on for months, unfortunately, and you've been quite
pessimistic since the last ceasefire agreement. Again, we now have this escalation. I mean, how do you see it? Because we've certainly had the two
sides laid out here. And now, Qatar, thought to be an honest broker, what do you do at this point in time to try and bring a resolution here?
AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER U.S. MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: Well, first of all, Paula, thanks for having me. It's great to be here with Marwan, if he's
still on. A friend and a colleague.
MUASHER: I am.
MILLER: Look, my pessimism, realism, call it what you want, is grounded in the reality that you have two combatants, a government headed by Benjamin
Netanyahu, the most right-wing government in the history of the State of Israel, you have a prime minister who's on trial for robbery, fraud, and
breach of trust, and a Jerusalem district court, four years running, which imposes a certain set of unique requirements on Netanyahu's part. And you
have Hamas, which is desperate for survival. It may have been hollowed out as a military organization. It exists now as an insurgency.
Four Israelis were killed yesterday in the outskirts of Gaza, and the Israelis are now threatening a major ground-up in Gaza, which probably will
threaten the lives of the hostages. And certainly, the attacks today may well push Hamas to kill some of the hostages. I hope that -- God forbid,
that's not the case, in order to demonstrate.
So, you've got two combatants who share mutually implacable endgames. And there is no external mediator, not the Europeans, not the key Arab states,
Israel's treaty partners, or the Abraham Accord countries. And now, to my main point, not Washington.
There is -- frankly, Benjamin Netanyahu, and I think Marwan is 100 percent right, I think avenging the dead for political purposes and not redeeming,
the living, the hostages, is in fact the way Benjamin Netanyahu has approached both the tactics and strategy in Gaza. It suits his political
interests that the war continue at some level.
So, I think you have a situation where it is more than likely that this -- without some external intervention, that this war is going to continue, not
just beyond the two-year mark, October 7, hard to believe, but probably into next year.
And the one missing ingredient, Paula, is the absence of leadership. There is no leadership in Israel. There's no effective leadership for the
Palestinian National Movement, centralized, legitimate leaders. Hamas, no. Abbas, no. And in Washington, Donald Trump continues to acquiesce, if not
enable, Israel's strategy on the West Bank and in Gaza.
[13:35:00]
We'll see -- there's going to be a press conference soon. Maybe it's occurring now. We'll see what the administration's reaction is. It -- but
one last point. It strains the credulity to the breaking point, however, that Benjamin Netanyahu did this, even though he claims it was a direct
response to the six Israelis who were killed in remote.
Israelis have been talking about this. Israel Katz, the defense minister, chief of staff, of trying to get Hamas' leaders abroad. We'll see how the
Trump administration now responds.
NEWTON: Marwan, if I can get you to pick up there, because as, you know, Aaron was just saying, this is really avenging the deaths that had
happened, not redeeming the case of the living right now. And yet, you just heard General Yadlin say to us as well that there is not going to be peace
at any price. It seems Israel has decided that now.
MUASHER: I think Israel has decided this a long time ago, frankly. The days when, you know, we had hopes that we could achieve peace with Israel, that
Israel would end the occupation of Palestinian land, that it would help establish a two-state solution, those days are over.
Today, Prime Minister Netanyahu calls a two-state solution a reward for terrorism. Today, Smotrich wants to annex 82 percent of the West Bank and
drive the Palestinians out of the West Bank, let alone Gaza. So, Israel has decided, it seems, some time ago that it does not -- it's not interested in
peace. It is interested in grabbing the land and driving the Palestinians out of it. Again, I see no other conclusion than this, because what is
happening is madness. And the United States --
NEWTON: But, Marwan, what do you ask global allies to do, then? We have had, certainly, countries say that here in New York, in the coming weeks,
they will recognize a Palestinian State. What -- how do they need to back that up in order to change the dynamic right now that both of you speak of,
Marwan?
MUASHER: Recognizing a Palestinian State by itself is a positive move, but it's not enough. It will remain a symbolic move if it is not coupled with
sanctions against Israel. We have seen this type of sanctions happen when Russia invaded Ukraine. In fact, in the first week after Russia invaded
Ukraine, we've seen sanctions applied.
If the move is to be serious, it has to be coupled with actions against Israel. Otherwise, it will remain symbolic, and Israel can go ahead, annex
the land without any accountability whatsoever.
NEWTON: Aaron, I do want to get to the issue that you talk about, which is there is no leadership. Generally, you would turn to the United States in
this situation. The president himself, beyond what he said, he also posted categorically on Truth Social saying, a warning to Hamas. This is my last
warning. There will not be another one. Saying that Hamas must accept this latest deal that he says was on the table.
So, Aaron, do you believe that that does not give the United States plausible deniability, that one way or the other, the United States knew
about this and was willing to give Israel its tacit approval? I mean, the minute after this attack took place, the prime minister went to the U.S.
embassy in order to give his speech.
MILLER: Look, I think that the Netanyahu government, the statement that was issued, gives the administration, if it wants to take it, plausible
deniability. The Israelis immediately said, this is our operation. We did it. We assume full responsibility for it. The only reaction from the
administration has been a piece of reporting by Barak Ravid, in which an unnamed, unidentified U.S. official said that the administration was given
a heads-up shortly before the attacks began. Whether or not the precision strikes were already in train is unclear.
But if the administration wants to play this game that we really didn't know, and we're really upset about this, but we're not going to impose any
costs or consequences on the current Israeli government, they can actually do that.
Look, Paula, I think -- and Marwan knows this as well as I, if this were a negotiation between Israel and Egypt or Israel and Jordan, an American
president would have a margin for pressuring both sides. That would be pretty expansive. But it's a negotiation between Israel and an organization
by American law and statute that is a terror organization, an organization that did what it did on October 7th. And that last August willfully
murdered an American citizen.
[13:40:00]
American presidents, even this one, and again -- I worked and voted for Republicans and Democrats. Donald Trump is pursuing a policy in many
respects toward this region tethered to a galaxy far, far away, not to the realities back here on planet Earth. Even this president is limited
politically in his capacity to pressure Israel or to appear to give Hamas any sort of break because of the nature of Israel's negotiating partner.
But I will say this, I'll make it very clear, during the Biden administration and the Trump administration, Washington has not imposed a
single cost or consequence on the Netanyahu government that normal humans would regard as serious or sustained pressure, not one.
And I might add the Europeans, whatever their purposes, domestic political pressure, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, what they are doing has not
affected Israel in the least. Finally, what surprises me, and Marwan can comment on this, is that Israel's treaty partners, Israel, Egypt, and
Jordan, and the Abraham Accord countries, none of them, in the face of thousands of Palestinian deaths and a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,
have sought to impose a single cost or consequence on Israel or the U.S. And that's something that 15, 20 years ago would probably not have been the
case.
In fact, the Arab leaders can't get to Washington fast enough in order to earn the, what, good graces of Donald Trump.
NEWTON: And Marwan -- we'll just let Marwan get in here. So, please react to that, because what Aaron is saying is completely true. And I have asked
already and continue to ask you, how do you react in the region? Because if you can't get Israel's attention, can you get the attention of the U.S.
president?
MUASHER: You know, Arab states have been trying to get the attention of the U.S. president. King Abdullah has been in Washington more than once, talked
to the U.S. president about an Arab plan to reconstruct Gaza, but also to offer a political horizon to the Palestinians. None of that has happened.
The fact is, Paula, that the first ceasefire in Gaza was made possible only when Trump intervened. If Trump did not intervene, we would not have had a
first ceasefire. And until the United States intervenes, I'm afraid that the violence is going to continue, except today, with no prospects for a
hostage deal and, you know, with the possibility of all hostages being killed instead of released.
The United States needs to act. As long as Israel feels it can violate other countries' sovereignty without accountability, it is going to keep
doing so. And I -- you know, we will see what the press conference will say today. But I think the time has come for the U.S. president to intervene
again.
NEWTON: I think it's clear, though, from President Trump in the warning that he sent out to Hamas, that he believes it was time for Hamas to come
to the negotiating table.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace does not advance Israel or
America's goals. However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.
President Trump immediately directed Special Envoy Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did. The president views Qatar as
a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of this attack. President Trump wants all of the hostages in
Gaza and the bodies of the dead released and this war to end now.
President Trump also spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu after the attack. The prime minister told President Trump that he wants to make peace, and
quickly. President Trump believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.
The president also spoke to the Emir and prime minister of Qatar, and thanked them for their support and friendship to our country. He assured
them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And to be clear, the president disagrees with the location of the strike, and that he passed that along to Prime Minister
Netanyahu?
LEAVITT: The president just confirmed that in the statement that I just read to you, which I spoke with him about before coming out here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Karoline.
LEAVITT: Jackie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Karoline. So, is the president upset with Netanyahu now?
LEAVITT: The president made his thoughts and concerns about this very clear, and he spoke again both to Prime Minister Netanyahu and also the
emir and the PRIME MINISTER of Qatar after this attack. And the president has always made it very clear that he wants peace in the Middle East, just
like he sought that and accomplished that in his first term. He expects all of our allies and friends in the region, that includes both Qatar and
Israel, to seek peace as well. And he wants to see that happen, and he's working with all of our allies in the region to get that done.
[13:45:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would there be any consequences, so to speak, for Netanyahu doing this, as it sounds, against the president's wishes, or at
least his belief that it was appropriate? Is there going to be any directive from the president to Netanyahu in terms of what's allowed in the
future? And also, is there any concern this could jeopardize the Abraham Accords?
LEAVITT: Look, that's a decision only the president can make. With respect to your first question, to answer your second question, as you heard from
the president, he said he believes that this can serve as an opportunity for peace, and he's still actively and aggressively pursuing it with all of
our allies and partners in the region. Jennifer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to follow up on that, Karoline, are you able to say how often the president spoke to the prime minister of Israel before
this? Because he -- that's one question. And then, what did he mean on Sunday when he posted, I've given my last warning to Hamas, et cetera? He
wasn't talking about this strike on Doha?
LEAVITT: No, he was not. As I told you, the Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, and
the president spoke to the prime minister after the attack, as well as, again, the emir and the prime minister of Qatar. And I know Secretary Rubio
and Special Envoy Witkoff were present for those -- that call with the Qataris as well. Reagan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Karoline. I have two questions for you on the crime crackdown.
LEAVITT: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Democrats have tried to argue that red states have higher crime rates while overlooking problems of high crime in blue cities.
I'm wondering if the president would consider working with red state governors to fix high crime in blue cities, like in Memphis, Tennessee?
LEAVITT: So, first of all, I want to get to the premise of your question, Reagan, which is being pushed by Democrats, that there is crime in red
states. Of course, there is crime in all states, but the crime in these cities is all in cities that are run by Democrats. If you look at the list
of the top 20 high-crime cities in the United States, every single one, with the exception of one in Louisiana, is run by a Democrat. And these
Democrats have supported the same policies that I spoke about at the beginning of this briefing, like cashless bail.
If you look at a red state, Mississippi, but a Democrat-run city in that state, Jackson. In 2019, Jackson, Mississippi eliminated cash bail for
virtually all misdemeanor cases. And while Jackson is not formally a sanctuary city, the State of Mississippi formally banned sanctuary cities,
and this city has acted as a de facto sanctuary city for criminals and illegal aliens since 2017. Same thing, Birmingham, Alabama, a Democrat-run
city in a red state. In 2017, the Birmingham City Council unanimously passed a resolution, quote, "committing to establish sanctuary policies."
So, if you actually look at the facts from these Democrat-run cities, these are cities that are run by Democrats and by blue -- by members of the
Democrat Party. These are blue cities, and they have all supported these disastrous policies, which allow repeated career criminals back onto the
streets to further commit acts of violence.
And so, to answer your question, yes, the president wants to work with anyone across this country who wants to end these horrible policies and to
bring law and order to our streets. And I think that is proven by his tremendous cooperation with the mayor of Washington, D.C. and our nation's
capital. And just look at the results of that.
And I do have some updates for you on the D.C. crime crackdown, if anyone is interested. There have been a total of 2,177 arrests made since the
start of the operation on August 7th. Just last night, there were 57 arrests made in Washington, D.C. Of the 57 arrests, there were 14 illegal
aliens who were arrested, many of whom had prior criminal histories and other arrests just last night in our nation's capital. So, you all can be
very grateful for this.
Our great men and women of law enforcement, both federal and local, working together as they should, made an arrest on a warrant for assault with the
intent to kill. The subject shot two adult males after an altercation. They made an arrest on a warrant for an armed carjacking. The subject assaulted
an adult male in the face with a firearm and then took his keys. We also made an arrest on a warrant for simple assault in the destruction of
property and subsequently charged with second degree theft.
Last night in D.C., there was an arrest for possession of a controlled substance with second degree theft. There was an arrest for possession of a
controlled substance with the intent to distribute that subject. The person is also a subject of interest in a homicide and a carjacking. Last night in
D.C., we also arrested a felon in possession of a firearm who is carrying that firearm without a license.
So, these are the career criminals. These are the bad guys that we are picking up in Washington, D.C. every day. The president would love to do
this in every Democrat-run city across the country, and he hopes that more Democrats will call the White House to allow us to help them.
[13:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One more that's D.C.-specific. Congress is poised to not extend Trump's federalization of the D.C. police. Mayor Bowser signed
the executive order formalizing cooperation with federal forces. You just mentioned all the success that the operation has had. Does the White House
believe that Mayor Bowser's action is enough to continue the crime crackdown?
LEAVITT: We are very grateful for the mayor's cooperation in this effort, and we look forward to continuing to work with her and the Metropolitan
Police Department. Bloomberg.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Karoline. The president says, you know, he'll (INAUDIBLE) to speak with Putin soon. Can we expect a phone call between
the two leaders this week?
LEAVITT: I don't have any phone calls to read out between the president and any other foreign leaders. Ed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Karoline. I want to ask about the benchmark revisions that came out. If you look at the revisions between March of 2024
and March of 2025, and you do a little math, it averages out to 73,000 jobs roughly per month added to the economy, less than what was thought. When
can we expect the Trump administration, now that their policies are rolling out, for that increase -- that average to increase?
LEAVITT: Well, let me just say something about the revisions that came out this morning, Ed. This was one of the biggest revisions in absolute terms
in decades. And the benchmark year, March 2024 to 2025, shows that the job growth was vastly weaker during the Biden administration than ever
previously reported. Between this revision and last year's, job growth was actually overstated by approximately 2 million jobs. And the Biden
administration stood up here and vouched for that data and told you that data was real.
And when President Trump calls into question the veracity of that data, like he did before he took the oath of office and even now as president of
the United States, he was ridiculed for that. And turns out this revision proves two things. Number one, the president was right. And this is why we
need new leadership at the Fed. And this makes it very clear that President Trump inherited a much worse economy by the Biden administration than ever
reported. And it also proves that the Federal Reserve is holding our monetary policy far too restrictive. Interest rates are too high. The Fed
needs to cut the rates because of the mess that we inherited from the Biden administration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But over the timeframe, the president has said a year, Secretary Bessent said maybe the fourth quarter, when can we expect these
numbers to increase?
LEAVITT: Well, first, we need accurate numbers. We need truthful and honest data, which is why the president took the monumental step to try and
appoint and confirm new leadership at the BLS, so we can have data that we can actually rely on. And that's what the president has been -- is doing,
and we hope that his nominee will soon be confirmed. Charlie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You addressed the crime of Iryna Zarutska, and the president has done a lot to deliver justice for victims of crimes like that
horrific stabbing. And the Epstein files are back in the news because a lot of Americans feel that Jeffrey Epstein's victims never got justice. Does
the president care about these victims? Do you think he can deliver -- does he want to deliver more justice for them? And is he willing to meet with
them?
LEAVITT: The president cares about victims of all crimes, and that's why Republicans and the Trump Department of Justice have done more in terms of
transparency when it comes to the Epstein case than any prior administration. And why are the Democrats all of a sudden caring about
this? It's because they are desperately trying to concoct a hoax to smear the president of the United States. We have seen this time and time again.
Ro Khanna and all of these other Democrats, they could have cared about those victims four years ago when Joe Biden was in office. They could have
pushed for transparency then. Unfortunately, the Democrats are using victims as political pawns to try to smear and push a hoax against the
president of the United States.
And I will get you numbers on the amount of child predators that this administration and this FBI and this Department of Justice have locked up
under President Trump's leadership. We have done more than any president to protect victims of crime, especially disgusting, heinous sexual crimes. And
that includes the deportation of illegal aliens who are perpetrating these crimes against innocent victims in our country right now, today. And that
remains a top priority for this administration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the president -- will he meet with the victims on the Doha strikes? Did the president speak with Netanyahu before they were
carried out and did he urge him to not go through with it, or did they only speak afterwards?
LEAVITT: Again, I read you a statement. The Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas. The
president directed his Special Envoy Witkoff to immediately call the Qataris. And after the attack, he spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Behind
you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
LEAVITT: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About the Epstein case, would the White House support a professional handwriting expert review of the document released yesterday
to prove that it's not the president's signature?
LEAVITT: Sure, we would support that. And in fact, I have already seen many forensic analysts of signatures coming out. I believe it was the Daily
Signal that published a piece with three separate signature analysts who said that this absolutely was not the president's authentic signature. And
we have maintained that position all along.
The president did not write this letter. He did not sign this letter. And that's why the president's external legal team is aggressively pursuing
litigation against The Wall Street Journal, and they will continue to Christian.
[13:55:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Karoline. Following up on Ed. Now that we have these revised jobs numbers, is the president concerned at all that price
spikes, you know, stemming from his tariffs through the end of the year might actually be driving the country towards a depression or a recession?
What I'm asking is, is he committed to these policies now that we know how faulty the jobs data was?
LEAVITT: The president is committed to his policies because his policies are working, Christian. And there have been a lot of people fearmongering
about inflation in this room, but it just has not come to fruition. On a monthly basis, CPI inflation has now come in at or below the market's
expectation for six consecutive months, every month that President Trump has been in office. Overall, inflation has run at a 1.9 percent average
pace in the president's first six months in office.
If I would have told all of you that in January, you would not have believed me. But those are the facts and those are the numbers. And we also
see many other positive signs and economic indicators, like real GDP. In the second quarter, it was revised up to 3.3 percent. That beat the
market's expectation. We know there's a capital spending boom right now, which we know is one of the greatest economic indicators of job growth. We
know wages are increasing at a far faster pace than they were under the previous administration. We see productivity in the second quarter was also
revised up to a strong 3.3 percent. In total, industrial production, factory output also surged.
All of this means the economy is moving. People are working. People are spending money. You look at consumer spending, that is also ticking up and
in the right direction. And a large part, it's because of the incredible work the president has done in terms of energy and unlocking our energy
dominance in this country.
Again, these jobs -- the numbers from the BLS today prove that the economy was an absolute mess. And we are working every single day to fix it. And
all of those indicators I just read for you are a positive sign of what is to come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just one more quickly on trade --
LEAVITT: Sure, Danny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wanted to get a bit of clarity on the sequence of events for the Doha attack and the notification. You said that the U.S.
military notified, if I got it right, the Trump administration was notified by the U.S. military.
LEAVITT: That's right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the U.S. military notified by the Israeli military, or did the U.S. military detect an incoming Israeli attack on Qatar?
LEAVITT: The U.S. military notified the White House and the president of the United States. That's all I have to share for you on that, Danny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
LEAVITT: Jeff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also, following up, you said that the president assured the leaders in Qatar that this would never happen again. Did he say that to
the prime minister of Israel, and did Prime Minister Netanyahu agree to that?
LEAVITT: The president told that to the emir and the prime minister of Qatar, and the president also overstressed the importance of peace in the
region in his conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu as well. And Prime Minister Netanyahu told President Trump he wants peace and he wants it
quickly. That's what the president expects to happen.
The president is very clear in the statement that he just had me read, and you will all see it out on Truth Social very shortly, I am sure. The whole
world will see it. He wants all of the hostages released out of Gaza, and he wants this war to end. Those are very two clear directives that the
president is making very clear for the entire world to understand. Mary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But Qatar obviously has been helping to negotiate these ceasefire talks. Does the president think that Israel is undermining
negotiations by striking Qatar? Is he concerned that Qatar is no longer going to want to play that intermediary role?
LEAVITT: Look, I think the president addressed that in the statement. I can read the whole thing for you again. I think it's very thorough because the
president wanted to address all of your questions. He wrote, we wrote, unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the
United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace does not advance Israel or America's goals. However,
eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal. So, he answered that question himself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And to be clear, you can't say that Israel informed the U.S.?
LEAVITT: What I can tell you is the United States military informed the Trump administration. Weijia (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. A quick follow on that. Can you tell us when the U.S. military was notified, given that the largest U.S. military
base is in Doha? And then I have a question on D.C. crime.
LEAVITT: This morning, just before the attack, as I said earlier as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you. And yesterday, the president spoke about D.C. crime and talked about how there was virtually none. And then he
expressed frustration about things that take place in the home they call crime. He said, you know, they'll do anything they can to find something.
If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this is crime. See, now I can't claim 100 percent. Exactly what crimes was the president referring
to?
LEAVITT: He wasn't referring to crimes. That's exactly the point he was making, Weijia (ph). What the president is saying, in fact, is that these
crimes will be made up and reported as a crime to undermine the great work that the federal --
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[14:00:00]
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