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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Netanyahu Speaks to UN General Assembly; Reviewing Netanyahu Speech. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired October 01, 2015 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00] BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: And also, ladies and gentlemen, Israel is working closely with our Arab peace partners to address our common security challenges from Iran, and also the security challenges from ISIS and from others. We're also working with other states in the Middle East, as well as countries in Africa, in Asia and beyond. Many in our region know that both Iran and ISIS are our common enemies. And when your enemies fight each other, don't strengthen either one -- weaken both.

Common dangers are clearly bringing Israel and its Arab neighbors closer. And as we work together to thwart those dangers, I hope we'll build lasting partnerships, lasting partnerships for security, for prosperity and for peace. But in Israel, we never forget one thing. We never forget that the most important partner that Israel has, has always been and will always be the United States of America.

The alliance between Israel and the United States is unshakable. President Obama and I agree on the need to keep arms out of the hands of Iran terror proxies. We agree on the need to stop Iran from destabilizing countries throughout the Middle East. Israel deeply appreciates President Obama's willingness to bolster our security, help Israel maintain its qualitative military edge, and help Israel confront the enormous challenges we face.

Israel is grateful that this sentiment is widely shared by the American people and its representative in Congress by both those who supported the deal and by those who oppose it.

President Obama and I have both said that our differences over the nuclear deal are a disagreement within the family. But we have no disagreement about the need to work together to secure our common future. And what a great future it could be. Israel is uniquely poised to seize the promise of the 21st century. Israel is a world leader in science and technology, in cyber, software, water, agriculture, medicine, biotechnology, and so many other fields that are being revolutionized by Israeli ingenuity and Israeli innovation. Israel is the innovation nation.

Israeli know-how is everywhere. It's in your computer's micro processors and flash drives. It's in your smart phones, when you send instant messages and navigate your cars. It's on your farms, when you drip irrigate you crops and keep you grains and produce fresh. It's in your universities. When steady Nobel Prize winning discoveries in chemistries and economics. It's in your medicine cabinets when you use drugs to treat Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. It's even on your plate, when you eat the delicious cherry tomato. That too was perfected in Israel, in case you didn't know.

We are so proud in Israel of the long strides our country has made in such a short time. We're so proud that our small country is making such a huge contribution to the entire world. Yet the dreams of our people, enshrined for eternity by the great prophets of the bible, those dreams will be fully realized only when there is peace.

[12:35:05] As the Middle East descends into chaos, Israel's peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan are two cornerstones of stability. Israel remains committed to achieving peace with the Palestinians as well.

Israelis know the price of war. I know the price of war. I was nearly killed in battle. I lost many friends. I lost my beloved brother, Yoni. Those who know the price of war can best appreciate what the blessings of peace would mean for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren. I am prepared to immediately, immediately resume direct peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority without any reconditions whatsoever.

Unfortunately, President Abbas said yesterday that he is not prepared to do this. Well, I hope he changes his mind, because I remain committed to a vision of two states for two peoples in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state. You know the peace process began over two decades ago. Yet, despite the best efforts of six Israeli prime ministers, Rabin, Peres, Barak, Sharon, Olmert and myself, the Palestinians have consistently refused to end the conflict and make a final peace with Israel. And unfortunately, you heard that rejectionism yet again only yesterday from President Abbas.

How can Israel make peace with a Palestinian partner who refuses to even sit at the negotiating table? Israel expects the Palestinian authority to abide by its commitments. The Palestinians should not walk away from peace.

President Abbas, I know it's not easy. I know it's hard. But we owe it to our people to try, to continue to try. Because together, if we actually negotiate and stop negotiatiing about the negotiations, if we actually sit down and try to resolve this conflict between us, recognize each other, not use a Palestinian state as a stepping stone for another Islamistic dictatorship in the Middle East, but something that will live at peace next to the Jewish state -- if we actually do that, we can do remarkable things for our people.

The U.N. can help advance peace by supporting direct, unconditional negotiations between the parties. The U.N. won't help peace, certainly won't help advance peace, by trying to impose solutions or by encouraging Palestinian rejectionism. And the U.N., distinguished delegates, should do one more thing. The U.N. should finally rid itself of obsessive bashing of Israel. Here's just one absurd example of this obsession. In four years of horrific violence in Syria, more than a quarter of a million people have lost their lives.

[12:40:03] That's more than 10 times, more than 10 times the number of Israelis and Palestinians combined who've lost their lives in a century of conflict between us.

Yet, last year, this assembly adopted 20 resolutions against Israel and just one resolution about the savage slaughter in Syria. Talk about injustice. Talk about disproportionality. Twenty -- count them. One against Syria. Well frankly, I'm not surprised, to borrow a line from Yogi Berra the late great, baseball player and part-time philosopher -- when it comes to the annual bashing of Israel at the U.N., it's deja vu all over again. Enough.

Thirty-one years after I stood here for the first time. I'm still asking, when will the U.N. finally check its anti-Israel fanaticism at the door? When will the U.N. finally stop slandering Israel as a threat to peace, and actually start helping Israel advance peace? And the same question should be poised to Palestinian leaders. When will you start working with Israel to advance peace and reconciliation, and stop libeling Israel, stop inciting hatred and violence?

President Abbas, here's a good place to begin. Stop spreading lies about Israel's alleged intentions on the Temple Mounts. Israel is fully committed to maintaining the status quo there. What President Abbas should be speaking out against are the actions of militant Islamists who are smuggling explosives into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and who are trying to prevent Jews and Christians from visiting the holy sites. That's the real threat to these sacred sites.

A thousand years before the birth of Christianity, more than 1,500 years before the birth of Islam, King David made Jerusalem our capital. And King Solomon built the temple on that mount. Yet Israel, Israel will always respect the sacred shrines of all. In a region plagued by violence and by unimaginable intolerance, in which Islamic fanatics are destroying the ancient treasures of civilization, Israel stands out as a towering beacon of enlightenment and tolerance. Far from endangering the holy sites, it is Israel that ensures their safety.

Because unlike the powers who have ruled Jerusalem in the past, Israel respects the holy sites and freedom of worship of all -- Jews, Muslims, Christians, everyone. And that, that, ladies and gentlemen, will never change, because Israel will always stay true to its values. These values are on display each and every day when Israel's feisty parliament vigorously debates every issue under the sun, when Israel's chief justice sits in her chair in our fiercely independent Supreme Court, when our Christian community continues to grow and thrive from year to year, as Christian communities are decimated elsewhere in the Middle East, when a brilliant young Israeli-Muslim student gives her valedictorian address at one of our finest universities, and when Israeli doctors and nurses, doctors and nurses from the Israeli military, treat thousands of wounded from the killing fields of Syria and thousands more in the wake of natural disasters from Haiti to Nepal -- this, this is the true face of Israel.

[12:45:08] These are the values of Israel. And in the Middle East, these values are under savage assault by militant Islamists, who are forcing millions of terrified people to flee to distant shores. Ten miles from ISIS, a few hundred yards from Iran's murderous proxies, Israel stands in the breach, proudly and courageously defending freedom and progress. Israel is civilization's front line in the battle against barbarism.

So here's a novel idea for the United Nations. Instead of continuing the shameful routine of bashing Israel, stand with Israel. Stand with Israel, as we check the fanaticism at our door. Stand with Israel as we prevent that fanaticism from reaching your door.

Ladies and gentlemen, stand with Israel, because Israel is not just defending itself, more than ever, Israel is defending you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of general assembly, I wish to thank Prime Minister of the state of Israel for statement just made...

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there is one thing you can say about a 41-minute speech by the Israeli prime minister. It is riveting. And it usually comes with props. Three years ago, it was a cartoon-style bomb. But today it was a book and a very long pregnant pause of silence. Most of this speech was about Iran and the nuclear deal. The bulk of it.

He did touch on the other critical issues ISIS for only about a minute or so. The relationship with President Obama and the United States. The Palestinians. And the peace process in getting back to the table with conditions, preconditions or none. The Syria/Russia issue did not come into this speech. The reference to Syria was only the history of those who have been injured or killed in that war. And then another brief reference to the current battle, recurring battle over the temple mount in Jerusalem.

I want to bring in some of my guests who know all too well about these speeches and their impact. I'm joined by Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott from CNN and also from Washington, Aaron David Miller distinguished scholar Woodrow Wilson Center and Veteran of Mideast Peace Campaigns at the United States State Department.

First to you Elise and reporting. There was a lot of speculation as to whether the prime minister would even talk about the Iran deal. Most assumed he would. But did anyone assume he would spend the bulk of his conversation on that?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I think that they assumed that he would. When you saw what happened yesterday with President Abbas, the raising of the Palestinian flag. His address to the nation when the Palestinians said they're no longer -- will abide by the Oslo Accords. You thought he would have started with that and kind of what we see as the news of the day, but.

BANFIELD: I thought he would have started with the Syrian air strikes by Russia.

LABOTT Well, I mean, it is true that Israel is trying to kind of take a back seat because it doesn't want this bleeding into its backyard. But I think clearly Iran is the big threat to Israel. It is vehemently opposed to this deal. Yes, I was with (ph) Prime Minister Netanyahu when he gave his speech to Congress. He's been vehemently trying to have the deal rejected by Congress. That effort failed. He feels that this is his last recourse. To plead to the United Nations to talk about trying to -- he said, know this deal's going forward, but try to strengthen its implementation. He gave out several things. He did take a long while to talk about Iran.

And I think with everything going on right now, the Syrian crisis, the refugee crisis, everything. I think he missed maybe an opportunity to put Israel, he said it a little bit at the end, work with Israel to help you. But with everything going on right now and the world crisis focused on Syria, Israel is doing some things. It's helping some refugees. It could help against ISIS. And I think putting Israel in that context would have helped him a little more in his audience.

BANFIELD: Aaron David Miller, if you could also just weigh in on this notion that he started this address by suggesting the United States, the U.N. is excessively hostile to Israel. He asked them to check their anti-Israel fanaticism at the door. And then made this appeal to the U.N., to be on Israel's side in what Elise just said, making sure the implementations actually happen in this deal.

[12:50:07] I heard the applause.. And then one shot showed that it was an Israeli delegation giving the repeated applause. How many deaf ears though are there in that room?

AARON DAVID MILLER, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: Well, I think the reality is that prime minister and then again this was vintage Benjamin Netanyahu. It was a bold articulate speech. I think in a way designed to rise above some of the current events and the current tick-tock Russia, Syria, even ISIS. I think it was a speech designed in many respective areas Israeli speech. Designed to parade and trumpet the dynamic resilient qualities of a rather remarkable and extraordinary state.

You know, my analysis of these matters is usually pretty annoyingly negative. But I have to say, I found one very curious reference to the Iran agreement, in which he said, I think, that this agreement imposes certain constraints on Iran's nuclear program. I've never heard him say that before. And I think that reflects a measure of acquiescence. Not to Iran. He made it very clear that was not going to be the case. But in essence to the agreement itself. The inspectors need to inspect. The snap-back sanctions need to snack back. The international community, the United States and Israel, need to be vigilant. But in many respects, this was an effort, I think, to move on and to move on in partnership with President Obama. We'll see if that's going to be possible.

BANFIELD: That would be fascinating that you said it's an effort to move on. Given the fact I think it was about 27 minutes of the entire speech was all about how wrong this agreement was.

I want to bring in Wolf Blitzer if I can on this topic. Wolf, he certainly did give that overture to President Obama, saying that we have differences in our disagreement over this deal is like a different or a disagreement between family members. Was this enough of an overture to mend those public offenses that have been desecrated over the Iran deal and other issues in Obama's administration time?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, their certainly been a lot of attention as, you know, Ashleigh been the prime minister and President of the past year, if not even longer than that especially in recent months. Especially since the prime minister came here to Washington and addressed the joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, made clear his strong opposition to the then opposed Iran deal.

Now that deal has effectively been approved by the U.S. Congress at least allowed to go forward, even though the majority of members of the Senate and House of Representative oppose it. It was not enough to overcome some procedural obstacles.

Having said that. They are going to meet in November, next month in Washington. The President has invited the prime minister to come to the White House. First time in a while. Remember when he was here addressing Congress, the President effectively snubbed the prime minister, did not meet with him. And that was seen as sort of an underscoring the bitterness, the tension, that had developed between these two individuals. Having said that I think on a military to military intelligence to intelligence level, they're trying to strengthen that cooperation, strengthen that -- the historic U.S./Israeli relationship. Even though at the political level it's been very, very strained as a result of this Iran nuclear deal.

And as Aaron just said, the prime minister was by no means backing away from his opposition. He said it is a terrible deal. It won't have the consequences. He did suggest though as you point out, that maybe if it's implemented in a proper way, if people observe it carefully, maybe some of those nuclear goals that the Iranians might have could be delayed at a minimum.

Having said that. He's really upset about the tens of billions of dollars that will start flowing into Iran. Money that he said will be used to promote terrorism and of course to promote efforts to -- against Israel. So, he did back away from his positions, although, as Aaron says, he's trying to move forward now, at least a little bit.

BANFIELD: So the issues though that have been so highlighted over the last 48 hours. These Russian air strikes in Syria, especially on the heels of the meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

I think there are a lot of people asking whose side is Netanyahu on. When it comes to this extraordinarily complex mess next door. And I don't think we got any answers at all. Certainly from this speech, there was literally no reference to what's been happening in the last 48 hours, Wolf.

BLITZER: Well, he did say -- he did call the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, I think he used the word butcher, the butcher, that a quarter of a million people have been killed by the Assad regime over past four years. Millions have been made homeless, refugees internally displaced, externally. We see what's going on, the worst refugee crisis internationally now since World War II.

So he was very, very firm in going after Bashar al-Assad. But you're correct. He didn't really go after the Russian, what the Russians are doing now, this the second day of Russian air strikes, going after various targets.

[12:55:08] We don't know what those targets specifically are. We know what Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister said this morning, we know if U.S. official are saying, well, see if there's coordination between the U.S. and Russia and there has been an evolution in the U.S. position. Whereas Bashar al-Assad must go with the position a few years ago, his days are numbered. Now it has evolved there can be some sort of transitional period.

In the end, he should go. But in the meantime, he clearly is going to stay. Bashar al-Assad will stay as long as he's got Russian support, Iranian support, his got support from Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. He will be able to withstand what's going on, especially now that the Russians have come in and are directly going after Bashar al- Assad's opponents, whether they're ISIS or other opponents, the free Syrian army or others as well. It's a complicated situation, you're absolutely right.

BANFIELD: Such a fascinating dynamic, to see a client state of Russia, Syria, next door. And yet these meetings between Russia and Israel, the one-hour tip-off yesterday to these air strikes coming not just to America but also to Israel, and then radio silence on that particular issue in this speech.

Wolf, I know you have a lot of excellent insight with your gets coming up as well on your program. So, I'll let you go so that could get ready for your start. And thank you everyone for staying with us through this program and through the speech of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Stay tuned for "Wolf." he starts after this quick break.

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