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Ceasefire Hostage Release Deal Getting Closer; Israeli Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Plan To Return Palestinian Hospital Patients To Gaza; Russian Missile Attack On Ukraine's Kharkiv Kills Five, Causes Fire; Appeals Court Seems Skeptical Of Texas' Argument For Immigration Law; An Israeli Settler Organization Eyes Move Into Gaza. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired March 21, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: In the hour ahead, the growing rift over Rafah. Israel says a major ground offensive on Gaza southernmost city is crucial to defeat Hamas. Nonsense and a mistake says the White House.
A U.S. Federal Court expected to decide soon if one of the most aggressive state laws targeting illegal immigration can be enforced in Texas.
And no more portion control, no more counting calories for Oprah, as he publicly embraces vitamin O, Olympic (ph) and other injectable weight loss products.
UNDIENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: U.S. Secretary of State is back in the Middle East as tensions between Israel and the White House continue to rise over looming Israeli military offensive on the southern Gaza City of Rafah. Secretary Blinken says a deal for an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages is getting closer.
He was in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Wednesday for talks with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about that ceasefire deal, as well as a long term peace deal for Israel. On Friday, Blinken will be in Israel where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a major assault on Rafah in Gaza's south will go ahead and in a very public rebuff of the U.S. president.
Netanyahu says victory over Hamas will not be possible without that long plant offensive on the last of Hamas leadership and infrastructure. Still, the plan to evacuate more than a million displaced Palestinians to safety is still a work in progress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I want you to know that I have already approved the IVs operational plan, and soon we will also approve the plan to evacuate the civilian population from the battle zones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In Northern Gaza, many continue to flee after an Israeli raid on the Al Shifa Hospital. Witnesses tells CNN, Israeli forces detain Palestinian journalists as well as health workers that are blindfolded and then stripped. The Israeli military claims senior Hamas terrorists were using the medical facility. CNN though cannot independently verify the IDF's claim.
CNN military analyst and retired US Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton is with us now this hour from Washington. Colonel, Good to see you.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you too. John.
VAUSE: I want you to listen to the Israeli prime minister who is speaking Wednesday and on his talking about the need for a major ground offensive on Rafah. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NETANYAHU (through translator): In the beginning, I told President Biden, Hamas cannot be defeated without the IDF entering the Gaza Strip. In our last conversation I told him, it would be impossible to complete the victory without the IDF entering Rafah and this in order to eliminate the rest of the Hamas battalions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Netanyahu made those public remarks as he just said, just days after speaking with U.S. president and according to White House National Security Adviser, Biden was unambiguous about why that operation in Rafah should not go ahead. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President has rejected and did again today the straw man that raising questions about Rafah is the same as raising questions about defeating Hamas. That's just nonsense.
The major ground operation there would be a mistake, it would lead to more innocent civilian deaths, worse in the already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen the anarchy in Gaza, and further isolate Israel internationally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So what we have here is that a major ground assault on Rafah is critical to defeating Hamas, or it's nonsense at a mistake. Who's right? LEIGHTON: Yes, so this is a very interesting question. And it really shows the difference between the Israeli perspectives and the American perspectives on this. One of the things that the Americans are looking at John is the fact that the civilians need to be placed somewhere, they can just be sitting ducks based on not only the norms of war, but the laws of warfare. They can't be sitting ducks in a -- in an invasion path. And this is exactly what would happen if there's no place for them to go.
So until the Israelis produce a credible plan, that indicates where the civilian population that is currently housed in Rafah where they're supposed to go, that becomes a very difficult point. In that sense, the National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is correct that the need to do something with those now from a military perspective, the Israeli side has made it very clear that what they want to do is they want to destroy Hamas.
[01:05:00]
And they believe that the only way to do that is to go after every last single vestige of the Hamas leadership, the Hamas command and control structure. And the Israeli intelligence certainly believes that they those elements exist in Rafah, and then is probably correct, based on everything we've seen.
VAUSE: But some U.S. officials have suggested that those military objectives of defeating Hamas, destroying Hamas can be achieved in alternative ways, apart from some kind of major ground offense there on Rafah. What will those alternatives be?
LEIGHTON: So the one way they would look at this is using what they call the time sensitive targeting methodologies, or high value target methodologies that the U.S. used in both Afghanistan and Iraq. So something similar to that where you only go after the leadership of the terrorist organization, in this case, the leadership of Hamas, that would be one alternative.
Another way to do this is to have a instead of special operations forces doing this have very concentrated elements of the infantry going in with Special Operations assistance. But it would in essence, be the same kind of thing where you don't bring as much firepower to the battle, but you bring what you need, you have very precise intelligence, and you do the kinds of things you need to do to in essence, cut off the leadership of Hamas and eliminate it.
That would be the preferred American alternative. And that is certainly a way of conducting this war that the Israelis I have tried in part, but they haven't done so completely, because they also want to show that they are actually going after all these -- the infrastructure of Hamas, and they're doing it in a meaningful way involving all of their military elements.
VAUSE: As you mentioned, a meaningful evacuation plan needs to be in place for the civilians in Rafah before this is all begins. Well, the Israeli say that is still in the works. Again, here's Prime Minister Netanyahu. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NETANYAHU (through translator): As we are preparing to enter Rafah and this will take a little time, we are continuing to operate with full force. We are continuing to operate in Khan Younis in the camps in the center, in eliminating and capturing senior Hamas officials, as we have done in Shifa Hospital, and in eliminating hundreds of terrorists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So hurry up and wait just a little bit longer. It seems here for weeks now, the Israeli forces, the bearing down on Rafah more than a million displaced Palestinians in their crosshairs. You know, there's been this sort of talk that this Ramadan deadline which came and went, it seems to be very fluid, to say the least.
So could all this talk about a Rafah offensive be just that talk could Bibi bluffing, you know, as a way of increasing pressure on a mass to release Israeli hostages?
LEIGHTON: It certainly could be that and it could be a situation where what Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to do is create the conditions for people to think that he's going to go into Rafah and then have Hamas fold and cracking in that way at the negotiating table.
But I think what Netanyahu is doing is he's going to prepare his forces at some point to actually move into Rafah in the hope they actually don't have to do that. So in some ways, it could be a bluff. In some ways, it may very well end up being bad.
But what you end up having is a lot of posturing that eventually could result in actual movement of troops. But we have not seen that movement of troops yet. And it's very clear that they are moving in the Israelis are moving in areas like this, like the North as the Prime Minister mentioned.
VAUSE: Colonel Leighton, as always, sir. Thank you for being with us. We really appreciate your time and your insights. Thank you.
LEIGHTON: You bet John, anytime.
VAUSE: And Prime Minister Netanyahu met with us Republican senators Wednesday. During a policy lunch he criticized a recent speech by Senate Leader Democrat Chuck Schumer, who call for fresh elections in Israel and a chance to elect a new government. In stark contrast to Schumer, House Speaker Republican Mike Johnson says he may invite Netanyahu to address Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE JOHNSON, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: I had a lengthy conversation with him this morning. We didn't talk about those logistics, but it's one of the things that we have in mind. And we may try to arrange for that. I think it's very important for us to show solidarity and support with Israel right now in their time of great struggle. And we certainly stand for that position. And we'll try to advance that as in every way that we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Israel Supreme Court has temporarily stopped the evacuation of some Palestinian patients being treated in hospitals in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to go back to Gaza. Israel comes after an Israeli rights group filed an appeal. Details from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About two dozen Palestinian patients being treated in hospitals in East Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, they were set to be bussed back to Gaza this week. But the Israeli Supreme Court now putting this plan by the Israeli government's on hold issuing a temporary injunction after several Israeli human rights groups filed a petition to prevent these Palestinians from being sent back to Gaza as this war in Gaza is still very much ongoing.
[01:10:09]
Physicians for Human Rights Israel is one of those organizations and Ran Yaron, the group spokesman told me this, returning residents to Gaza during a military conflict and a humanitarian crisis is against international law and poses a deliberate risk to innocent lives, all the more so when it concerns patients who may face a death sentence, due to insanitary conditions and hunger, along with the unlikely availability of medical care.
Now, our producer of Abeer Salman spoke with several of these women who we reported on earlier this week, who were set to be sent back to Gaza along with their six-month old babies. They've had mixed reactions to this decision, one of the mothers Nima who we featured in our story, she was thrilled about this decision, happy that she's able to say in the safety of East Jerusalem. She was so concerned about what being sent back to Gaza might mean especially as the Israeli military is threatening a major military offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza. She hopes that she can stay here until there is a ceasefire.
But the other women had more mixed emotions, in part because they mentally prepared themselves to have to go back to Gaza. And one of those women Osma (ph). She was the one in our story who said that she wanted to go back to hug her daughter to be able to provide her daughter who remains in Gaza, that sense of safety.
She was crying as she received this news. She was prepared to go back to Gaza and she still very much wants to despite the risks, but certainly a mix of emotions for these women and an uncertain future that lies ahead.
COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry organization that has been coordinating this plan to send these patients back to Gaza, it has now delayed the buses that are set to take them back to Monday. But what will happen next week, the Israeli Supreme Court set to weigh in major questions still remaining. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Russian strike on Ukraine second largest city has killed at least five people, wounded seven others. Ukrainian police our fire erupted after a Russian missile hit an industrial building in Kharkiv Wednesday. More victims appear to be buried beneath the rubble.
Meantime, President Vladimir Zelenskyy continues to plead for more military assistance, saying Ukraine was hit with more than 1,300 missiles, drones and aerial bombs this month alone. And on a visit to Kyiv, Wednesday, the U.S. National Security Adviser says he's optimistic U.S. lawmakers will approve more aid for Ukraine eventually.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SULLIVAN: This questions here because of the back and forth in our Congress, and the months that have gone by without the supplemental bill coming through the package of aid that you rightly deserve and that President Biden is fighting for every day the $60 billion that the Senate has passed on a bipartisan basis. And now we're working with the House to pass. But from our perspective, we are confident we will get this done. We will get this aid to Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: $60 billion and U.S. military assistance has been blocked by House Republicans for months. And Ukraine now facing a major shortage of ammunition. Russia recently captured the town of Avdiivka that shortage of ammunition being blamed for that loss for Ukraine.
When we got back, as Texas waits on a ruling for its contentious immigration war, we'll hear from one undocumented immigrant and why if he could vote for Donald Trump as president.
Also, an agreement for hundreds of Kenyan police officers to restore order in violence rubbish Haiti is now on hold, report from Nairobi in just a moment.
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VAUSE: One of the most aggressive state laws targeting illegal immigration in the U.S. remains on hold for now. But a federal court is expected to decide soon if Texas State law SB 4 can be enforced. Under SB 4 illegally entering Texas will become a state crime. Local law enforcement are empowered to detain and arrest those suspected of crossing the border illegally. Will also allow state judges to order deportations and there are fears the nature of the law will lead to widespread racial profiling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ JR., LAREDO, TEXAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: I can tell you that this law is not about us going out there and doing roundups. This law is not about us going out there and asking for papers and immigration status. This is not about that.
This law is very clear that whenever we can apply is to a lawful detention or an arrest. Very important that we train and train and train because we want to avoid the racial profiling part of this law that it lends itself for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But Latinos make up about 40 percent of the Texas population, and many are becoming increasingly concerned they could be racially profiled. CNN's Rosa Flores spoke to one undocumented immigrant about the battle over the border and the message he has for Democrats and Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm an undocumented immigrant.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jelasio Velazquez (ph) is an undocumented immigrant who has lived in Houston for 25 years.
JELASIO VELAZQUEZ (ph), ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: If I could vote at this moment, I would vote for Donald Trump. He's a nationalist and he wants this country to be well. My children were born here, and I want my children to be well. I wouldn't vote for Joe Biden for this reason, Joe Biden has made the county an economic disaster.
FLORES: Would you tell Democrats who think that all immigrants are going to be on their side?
VELAZQUEZ (ph): Stop thinking that immigrants are ignorant. Democrats are the kind of nun you find on the streets, who tells you that they are going to help you. But when they have the power to help, they forget their promises.
FLORES: For Republicans?
VELAZQUEZ (ph): Republicans use us like an electoral pinata. They say, we are at fault for everything. We're guilty of rapes. We are guilty of the drug consumption. But that's a great lie.
FLORES (voice-over): Velasquez says one of the measures used by Texas Republicans to terrorize the undocumented community is SB 4, the Texas immigration law that's in legal limbo.
RODRIGUEZ (ph): You see somebody crossing the river automatically, you know that he's violating that law.
FLORES (voice-over): Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the law to go into effect after a district court previously blocked it. Hours later, an appeals court blocked it again causing confusion across the state.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think even legal experts are calling this judicial whiplash. FLORES (voice-over): Today, more whiplash as the appeals court hears oral arguments in Texas Governor Greg Abbott is vowing to enforce the laws already in the books.
GREG ABBOTT, TEXAS GOVERNOR: Even without SB 4, Texas has the legal authority to arrest people coming across the razor wire at barriers on our border.
FLORES (voice-over): One Texas sheriff says the situation makes it difficult to implement the law and puts an undue burden on local communities.
COMMANDER RYAN URRUTIA, EL PASO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: This could put us in a situation where we could see jail closures because we'll be at capacity.
FLORES (voice-over): Despite Velasquez his criticism of Republicans and their use of anti-immigrant rhetoric.
FLORES: He says he wants Donald Trump to win. Donald Trump why?
VELAZQUEZ: He's a racist and of course I don't like that he's a racist. Of course I don't like Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric, but at the end of the day it's just politics. Some will judge me, you want Donald Trump to win. Well, it's because he's a nationalist, that's why I want him to win. Nationalists love their county.
FLORES: And if you're wondering how Jelasio Velazquez (ph) support Trump giving the anti-immigrant rhetoric. Well, Jelasio Velazquez (ph) says that he doesn't believe that Trump would actually act on that rhetoric. He says that he uses anti-immigrant rhetoric to get to the White House.
[01:20:00]
And I specifically asked him about Trump's plan to put undocumented immigrants like him in camps and deport them. And he says that he doesn't believe that Trump is going to do that, because that plan would be inhumane and illogical. He says that it would be illogical to think that anybody would round up millions of undocumented immigrants who've been here for decades who have U.S. citizen, children and deport them. He says he just doesn't believe that Trump would do that.
And he has this piece of advice for Republicans, that if Republicans stopped using anti-immigrant rhetoric that they would secure more Hispanic votes. Rosa Flores, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Raul Reyes is an attorney, immigration analysts and a CNN opinion writer. He is with us this hour from New York. Good to see you again.
RAUL REYES, CNN OPINION WRITER: Hello, sir.
VAUSE: OK. So first, the law is out on hold, then it's not then within hours of that decision. It's back on hold. So apart from that confusion, so there's whiplash of hearings goes back and forth. The law itself is also really confusing. Listen to Chief Judge Priscilla Richman. She's questioning the Texas Solicitor General Aaron Lloyd Nielsen. Here they there.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
PRISCILLA RICHMAN, JUDGE OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT: I was just trying to envision how this all plays out. A couple other things just because I'm not sure I understand the law totally. So what if someone enters in, let's say, from Mexico into Arizona and lives there for five years then moves to Texas? Are they covered?
AARON NIELSON, TEXAS SOLICITOR GENERAL: I don't know the answer.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VAUSE: I don't know the answer. What does it say when the Solicitor General of the State which broke the law doesn't understand how it will actually work?
REYES: Right. That that shows how legally unsound this law is to begin with. Texas came into this too, in my view, what amounts to a political stunt, knowing full well that it would result in all sorts of legal challenges, which it has. And I think just to be clear, you know, we've had all this legal wrangling going on, even up to the Supreme Court. But the merits decision was just being heard today in the appeals court down in New Orleans.
So, it shows that if the Solicitor General is not prepared to offer a sound of reason, or you know, explore all the avenues for the application, the implementation of this law that shows how misguided it really is, and how Texas is not prepared to implement this law.
And you have to just think of a real practical level, if the U.S. government, you know, we're one of the wealthiest nations in the world, if the U.S. Federal Government cannot get a handle on our immigration system, immigration enforcement and our undocumented population. Why does Texas they can do that going it alone.
VAUSE: There's also this question about the Texas State law, does it mirror or conflict with federal immigration law? You kind of touched on this. Again, here is a recording from the court today.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NIELSON: Because Texas does arrest people who come across the border and trespass on Texas property.
RICHMAN: And you don't need Senate bill for to do that. You got trespass laws.
NIELSON: Correct. But if that is lawful, then I don't see why this extra provision will be unlawful.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VAUSE: That's kind of is your head spinning, doesn't it in many ways. But you know, as you say, it seems that this bill is essentially, a stunt a political stunt by Texas Republicans. The question is, it's going to be very little to fix the immigration problem. And yet, more than 20 conservative states now want similar legislation for their states as well.
REYES: Right, that shows one of the most dangerous possible consequences of this law going into effect, it will have say something of a domino effect where all these other states now try to potentially enact their own immigration law.
And just imagine if as a country, we had 50 different immigration policies, all depending on whether he governor was conservative, or was more progressive, that makes no sense. And it also is problematic when we look at our foreign relations.
I mean, we have U.S. foreign policy. We don't have Texas foreign policy. But if all these states start devising their own rules and their own regulations for deporting foreign nationals, that will be a problem because the world needs the U.S. Government to speak with one voice, one united voice and laws like this throw a wrench into that process.
It really amounts to a type of overreach by the state of Texas and the government into our federal system of immigration.
VAUSE: Just very quickly. The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution I thought settled this issue about 200 years ago.
REYES: Right. Right.
VAUSE: YEs.
REYES: Right. Right. There's a privacy class as it is that, you know, immigration enforcement belongs to all immigration matters actually are the jurisdiction of the federal government.
VAUSE: And some law enforcement officials in Texas say they don't have the desire or the manpower to enforce this new law. Listen to the sheriff of San Antonio's Bexar County. It's the state's fourth biggest county. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF JAVIER SALAZAR, BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS: I'm not saying give everybody a free pass that happens to be undocumented. If they're undocumented and they break a law like assault, murder, possession of drugs, absolutely we need to hold that person accountable within the confines of the law.
[01:25:07]
But with that being said, we're an overwhelmingly minority County. And I don't need our deputies being accused of just approaching people that look undocumented, and asking for papers and then putting us in harm's way that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Give that man a balloon, he seems very sensible. Apart from appending 100 years of U.S. immigration law, apart from causing confusion on Texas police. Possibly the most disturbing thing about this new law is it opens the door possibly wide open to racial profiling as the show suggested.
REYES: Absolutely. And I believe as this Sheriff as someone who is on the front lines of Texas law, law enforcement, he knows what he's talking about. But Texas is a state that is 40 percent Latino, it has the second largest Latino population in the US.
So now if local law enforcement is charged with determining what does an undocumented person look like, by what possible basis? Are these officers and sheriffs supposed to judge without racial profiling? Are they to look at whether someone speak is speaking Spanish or if they speak with an accent, whether or not they have brown skin? It's very problematic for immigrant communities because it will make people very fearful of say, interacting with the police in any way.
VAUSE: Raul, thanks so much for being with us. We really appreciate your time. Good to see you.
REYES: Thank you.
VAUSE: Cheers. Return of the settlers, when we come back, after almost six months of war thousands of Jewish settlers forced to leave Gaza almost 20 years ago. Now want to go back for good. Plus, a shock resignation. Ireland's Prime Minister stepping down, we'll tell you why.
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VAUSE: 20 years ago then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon shocked the nation when he ordered Israelis living in heavy guarded communities in Gaza to leave. The Gaza disengagement was a painful moment in Israeli history. Families with young children dragged kicking and screaming from their homes by IDF soldiers. And now in the wake of the October seventh attack, many other Jewish settlers who were forced to leave Gaza and are plotting their return. Here's CNN's Clarissa Ward.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): High in the hills of the occupied West Bank, a flag flies in the face of a Palestinian village God is King it says. Two young settlers guard this illegal outpost construction hasn't even begun, but we are not welcome.
[01:30:00]
WARD: So they're asking us to leave. They don't want to talk to us. They said they'd been here for about nine months. Dotted across the landscape, more signs of the fight to assert Israeli control over Palestinian land. The Arabic names on signposts crudely erased.
Under international law, the Beit Hogla settlement is illegal, but last February, the Israeli government officially recognized it along with eight others, a move the U.S. strongly opposed.
"We're here because God promised us this land," (INAUDIBLE) tells us.
Now, these settlers have set their sights on a new prize, one that seemed utterly impossible before October 7.
"Returning to Gaza," they cheer.
That is the goal of Zionist settler organization Nachala, one of more than a dozen groups now advocating for the reestablishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza.
A recent promotional video even boasts that Gaza will become the next Riviera.
Daniella Weiss is the godmother of the movement. She's already started recruiting from the 700,000-strong settler community of Israel.
We're just arrived having now at a settlement in the Occupied West Bank and we're heading to a talk that Daniella Weiss is giving to a group of people who are potentially interested in resettling Gaza.
"We are for the land of Israel and Ben-Gvir," she says.
About 20 people gather in the living room of a family's home. Weiss knows that for many in this community, there is deep nostalgia for Gush Katif, a bloc of 21 Israeli settlements that there were forcibly evacuated by the IDF in 2005 when Israel left the Gaza Strip.
"This is the vision of Gaza," she says. "You see all the nucleus groups."
A map has already been drawn up. Six groups laying claim to different parts of the enclave.
So they've just been handing out these little booklets that say people of Israel return home, and then underneath, a call to return to the settlements of Gaza.
One of the organizers tells the group they have a representative flying to Florida to raise money.
Nachala gets support from a number of groups in the U.S. including AFSI, Americans For a Safe Israel, which co-sponsored a recent webinar on the return to Gush Katif, even as the Biden administration has cracked down on settlements in the West Bank.
DANIELLA WEISS, DIRECTOR, NACHALA: There is very strong support from very prominent, from very I would say wealthy people, wealthy Jews who support --
WARD: In the U.S.?
WEISS: In the U.S.
WARD: Can you name any names?
WEISS: No, I cannot, no.
WARD: Back at her home in Kedumim settlement, Weiss tells us she's already enrolled 500 families.
WEISS: I even have on my -- on my cell phone names of people who say enlist me, enroll me. I want to join. I want to join the groups that are going to settle Gaza.
WARD: I have to ask you, though, because we're sitting here talking and we're listening to the call to prayer.
WEISS: Yes, I'm listening. I hope you are listening to it.
WARD: Which is a reminder I think of the people who live here, but also the people who live in Gaza. What happens to them --
WEISS: Ok.
WARD: -- in this vision of this new settlement with Jewish settlers even in Gaza City?
WEISS: What I think about Gaza, the Arabs of Gaza lost the right to be in Gaza on the 7th of October. Yes. I do hear the mosque. I do hear the prayer, things were different until the 7th of October.
No Arab, I'm speaking about more than 2 million Arabs --
WARD: Uh-uh.
WEISS: -- they will not stay there. We, Jews, will be in Gaza.
WARD: That sounds like ethnic cleansing.
WEISS: Ok. The Arabs want to annihilate the state of Israel. So you can call them monsters. You can -- you can call their -- call them cleansing of Jews. We are not doing to them. They are doing to us.
I couldn't make it clearer when I said that myself, as a person who is preoccupied with settling the land. Until the 7th of October, I didn't have plans of returning to Gaza. It's clear. I'm not interested in cleansing.
[01:34:44]
WARD: What is clear is that Weiss's views traditionally seen as extreme in Israel have become more popular since October 7th.
In late January, jubilant crowds packed an auditorium in Jerusalem for the victory of Israel conference, calling for the resettlement of Gaza.
A poll that month from the Jewish People Policy Institute found that 26 percent of Israelis advocate the reconstruction of the Gush Katif settlements after the war is over.
Among supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government, that number jumps to 51 percent. Several ministers were present at the conference, including far-right Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu.
In a rare interview with Western media, he tells us his political decisions are guided by the Torah.
Is there anything about Gush Katif in here?
AMIHAI ELIYAHU, ISRAEL MINISTER OF HERITAGE: Yes, yes.
WARD: And that settlements in Gaza are needed to prevent another October 7th.
ELIYAHU (through translator): The language of the land says that wherever there is a Jewish settlement, there will be more security. It doesn't mean there will be absolute security, but there will be more security.
WARD: Why would you advocate for something that many would say is illegal, is immoral, is not supported by the majority of Israelis? And is also very harmful to Israel in terms of its international standing?
ELIYAHU: Why do you think it's immoral to take land from someone who wants to kill me? Why is it immoral to take my land, which my ancestors lived there, which I have even given up to someone who slaughters, rapes, and murders me? What is more immoral than that?
WARD: Netanyahu has called resettling Gaza, quote, "an unrealistic goal". Most Israelis agreed, but that hasn't stopped scores of IDF soldiers fighting there from posting videos calling for a return to Gush Katif.
For many supporters of the settler movement, what was once a distant fantasy is now a fervent dream.
Clarissa Ward, CNN -- the Occupied West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: For almost seven years now Leo Varadkar has led Ireland through some of the most tumultuous events of our time. From Brexit to the COVID pandemic, he ushered through the legalization of same-sex marriage and ended the long-standing ban on abortion in a very Catholic Ireland.
And now the first openly gay and youngest prime minister of Ireland has resigned.
CNN's Isa Soares has our report (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEO VARADKAR, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: When I became party leader and Taoiseach back in June 2017, I knew that one part of leadership is knowing when the time has come to pass on the baton to somebody else and then having the courage to do it. That time is now.
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An emotional Leo Varadkar, speaking in Dublin.
VARADKAR: I believe the reelection of this three-party government would be the right thing for the future of our country, continuing to take us forward, protecting all that's been achieved and building on it.
But after careful consideration and some soul searching, I believe that a new Taoiseach and a new leader will be better placed than me to achieve that.
SOARES: He's resigning as party leader immediately though will stay on as prime minister until a successor could be elected. He cited both personal and political reasons.
Varadkar's resignation coming on the heels of an embarrassing defeat earlier this month, when voters overwhelmingly rejected the government's proposed referendums.
Varadkar helped expand Ireland's footprint on the world stage. Just last week, during a meeting with President Biden at the White House, he called for a ceasefire in Gaza and previously criticized U.S. weapons supplies to Israel.
Under his watch, Ireland also increased its diplomatic presence around the world, most recently announcing five new overseas missions.
Varadkar leaves behind a more modern and socially progressive Ireland, but his legacy will also be marked with admitted defeats.
Isa Soares, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Another blow to efforts to end the gang violence, which has erupted across Haiti with the U.N.-backed international police force now on hold.
Kenya was leading the force with 1,000 troops, but not now after a court ruling declared that deployment unconstitutional.
Details from CNN's Larry Madowo reporting in from Nairobi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kenyan President William Ruto marching ahead with a plan to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti despite strong opposition to the deployment at home. Elite units of the Kenyan police are expected to lead a U.N.-backed
multinational force to crush Haiti's gangs and restore order for once a viable government is in place.
Opposition lawmakers, like Edwin Sifuna (ph) tries to block it.
[01:39:48]
EDWIN SIFUNA, NAIROBI SENATOR: Our police officers are going to harm's way in Haiti. This is not a situation that our regular police officers are used to. They've never encountered something like that. The training does not extend to, you know, operations in fields of war.
MADOWO: Kenyan police have been involved in peacekeeping missions for the past 35 years including in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Croatia, East Timor, and Sierra Leone.
Kenya currently has police serving in Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a parliamentary report.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all those missions, has not lost a single police officer on any combat.
MADOWO: Their ready for Haiti, this Kenya policeman believes.
Kenya has well-trained paramilitary officers from the general service here. They are well-trained officers from administration police, special operations group.
These are officers who have both local international training. Some of the best institutions in Israel, in the U.S.
MADOWO: Haiti would be the most challenging deployment yet for Kenyan police with criminal gangs and militias controlling the capital Port- au-Prince and holding the nation hostage.
WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: It is a historic duty because peace in Haiti is good for peace in the world as a whole.
MADOWO: President Ruto should push for a well-armed military contingent to take over, says this security analyst.
FRANCIS MAINA, SECURITY ANALYST: Our police officers cannot and can never be able to contain the threat of the criminality in Haiti. You need to send thousands of military personnel to come and lead them.
MADOWO: The Kenyan parliament approved the planned police deployment to Haiti after acrimonious debate in November.
SARAH KORERE PAULATA, RULING PARTY MP: When Haiti is not safe, we are not safe.
OPIYO WANDAYI, OPPOSITION MP: You cannot use our police women and men as guinea pigs, at the altar of (INAUDIBLE).
MADOWO: Civil society and opposition groups here in Kenya maintain that President Ruto's plan to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti remains illegal and unconstitutional even after his government signed the reciprocal arrangement with the former prime minister of Haiti.
The unelected Ariel Henry witnessed the signing of the legal requirement in Nairobi, but he never made it back to Haiti and resigned a few days later.
SIFUNA: That agreement does not hold any water because you signed an agreement with an entity that doesn't have the mandate to call itself a government.
Some of us think that it is because of the monetary incentive.
MADOWO: So you think President Ruto is doing this for the money?
SIFUNA: Absolutely.
MADOWO: Kenya says the police are in the pre-deployment phase as it awaits a new Haitian administration.
Larry Madowo, CNN -- Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Troubling times ahead for Boeing. when we come back, the company is predicting big losses, in the first quarter as airline executives raise serious safety concerns.
[01:42:50]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back.
In the United States, growing expectations of a cut in interest rates just not right now with the Federal Reserve keeping rates on hold Wednesday. The central bank is currently targeting a range between 5.25 percent and 5.5 percent, still the highest in 23 years.
Fed chair Jerome Powell says the economy is strong, but inflation remains above the 2 percent target. Policy makers expect three cuts later this year, taking rates to as low as 4.4 percent.
For Boeing it's expected to be a bad first quarter for profits and revenue after a slow -- a slew rather of recent safety issues like the door plug that blew off a 737 Max 9 jet just after takeoff from Portland, Oregon in January. There was a gaping hole in the side of the aircraft.
CNN'S Richard Quest spoke with a number of airline executives about the problems at Boeing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: The airline CEOs in Brussels are realists. They know the difficulties that Boeing faces but at the same time, there are also major customers and have many dozens, if not hundreds, of Boeing planes on order.
And so when asked whether or not Boeing planes are safe, do they still have confidence in Boeing? There is this dance of an answer.
Yes, we still have confidence, but they need to put things right.
GEIR KARLSEN, CEO, NORWEGIAN AIR: It's no doubt that they have to -- they have to sort out their issues. And their issues is, as you know, massively public. And, you know, we have concerns on the delivery going forward. We know the production rate and how it has been the last few months. And it is way too low.
LUIS GALLEGO, COE, INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP: I think Boeing is an extraordinary company and I am still -- they know that they need to improve their situation and they have a quality issue now, but they have a plan in place and I'm sure they're going to come back and I think also that in aviation, we need Airbus and we need Boeing. So I am sure that is going to be like that in the future.
QUEST: And so the airlines continued to put pressure on Boeing, not only on production issues, but also on, of course, plane delivery delays. Those delays are costing the airlines lots in terms of revenue, market share, new routes, and ultimately according to one airline CEO will cost passengers more, perhaps up to 10 percent in plane ticket fairs because of supply and demand. There's more people wanting to travel, the fares will go up.
Richard Quest, CNN -- Brussels.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: When we come back a new report alleging someone tried to access the Princess of Wales medical records. All the details after a short break.
You're watching CNN.
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VAUSE: For years on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" we were told over and over again, there's no magic pill for weight loss. It's all about willpower, portion control, diet and exercise. Well, Oprah may not have found a magic pill, but it seems she found a magic injection.
Now she's full of praise for drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, and others which are helping many manage obesity, which is now classified as a disease.
Oprah made her return to prime-time TV Monday on ABC with a show featuring guests who shared their personal experiences with obesity.
Winfrey teared up when she shared the pain she has felt at times in her weight loss journey.
[01:49:51] VAUSE: And on Wednesday, she appeared on CNN's "KING CHARLES and talked about the reaction to that special and her choice to use injectable drugs to lose weight. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, TV HOST: Up until this Christmas, every Christmas of my life, I gain seven to eight pounds. And so to be able to have people understand -- so I had three goals.
Number one, people understand obesity is a disease and so stop blaming yourself for something that's in your brain. Stop shaming yourself and other people for that. And also to explain what the drugs actually do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Dr. Disha Narang is an endocrinologist -- endocrinologist, I got to say that and director of Obesity Medicine at Endeavor Health System. Thank you for staying up and thank you for being with us.
DR. DISHA NARANG, ENDOCRINOLOGIST, ENDEAVOR HEALTH SYSTEM: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Ok. So Oprah has always been very public about her struggles to lose weight. She's now moved on from the traditional portion control Weightwatchers, to injectable weight loss drugs.
On CNN, she explained why she's doing this in a very public way. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WINFREY: The benefit of people finally recognizing that obesity is a disease far outweigh to me any criticism that I receive for doing it.
And also, people no longer blaming themselves for something that you cannot control in your brain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I thought we had this discussion about obesity being a disease about ten years ago.
And just explain the definition here. Does every person who's defined as obese, is it all about a genetic marker? And then they have a pre- condition if you like to being overweight.
They can't resist food or they can't, they just can't resist alcohol for example, it's all very similar. Is that what we're talking about here?
DR. DISHA NARANG, ENDOCRINOLOGIST: Well, there's so many factors. Genetics is just one part of it, but socioeconomic status, your environment, the way that your hormones talk to your brain and your gut. So many things you know, equal someone's propensity to gain or lose
weight. And some people lose it faster than others and some have a lot of difficulty.
And that's why this is a chronic disease that deserves attention like this. And deserves long-term therapy.
VAUSE: It's interesting though because, you know, I said earlier about this, magic weight-loss pill, and we've heard that not just from Oprah, but from all these talk shows for years and years and years.
But clearly, now she says there is one. Here she is, listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WINFREY: In my lifetime, I never dreamed that we would be talking about medicines that are providing hope for people like me who have struggled for years with being overweight or with obesity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But drugs like Ozempic were not developed to lose weight. They were developed to treat diabetes. So their long-term side effects remain unknown.
Bill Maher put it on his show "Real Time". Here we go. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL MAHER, TV HOST: You will all stop wondering if Ozempic is one of those drugs that turns out to kill you? Yes. 100 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It seems maybe, you know, the health risks associated with the latest wonder drug would be worth a discussion. How concerned are you about what we don't know about using Ozempic and others for losing weight.
DR. NARANG: Well, we've used this category of GLP-1 agonists for almost 20 years now. So initially they started out for use in diabetes care and in the last six to eight years, they've been approved for weight management as well.
And so they're called different names for diabetes management and weight management. But they are the same medication, so we have about two decades of experience with these medications and patients have actually done very, very well.
And so the weight loss actually helps to decrease the risk of heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes. And so overall, for the majority of people they've actually done quite well.
VAUSE: Do you think people are aware of possible long-term consequences or risks involved? NARANG: Well, you know, every treatment, every medication carries its
set of benefits and risks. So far what we've seen is that often the benefits outweigh the risks. And so a small percentage of people may definitely have, you know, stomach upset and GI side effects. And those are the most common side effects.
However long term after 20 years, we really haven't seen very significant, you know, long-term effects from this. And so obviously, yes, 20 years in we obviously still have more time to learn about these medications. There are several new agents in the pipeline as well, which is exciting.
However, so far, people have actually done very well. And it's not a magic pill and I want to make sure I point that out as well.
People tend to be very successful when they combine long-term lifestyle modifications with the medication. And so when we marry those two, that's when we see long-term success.
The medication certainly is a wonderful resource, but it's certainly not everything.
VAUSE: Dr. Disha Narang, thank you so much. We really appreciate you being with us.
DR. NARANG: Thank you for having me.
[01:54:47]
VAUSE: The data protection watch dog in the U.K. is investigating reports that hospital staff attempted to access medical records for the Princess of Wales.
As CNN's Anna Stewart reports, it's just the latest problem the palace is now dealing with.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a private hospital with a feel of a luxury hotel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the London Clinic.
STEWART: And it has a number of high-profile patients, including royals.
Now, this hospital's reputation is on the line.
An investigation by "The Daily Mirror" alleges that at least one member of staff of the London Clinic tried to access the private medical records of the Princess of Wales. She stayed at the London Clinic in January for abdominal surgery and recovery.
The breach, according to the British government, is severe, it could even be criminal. MARIA CAULFIELD, BRITISH MINISTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND WOMEN'S HEALTH STRATEGY: There are very strict rules about which patient notes you can access. You're only allowed to access the patient notes you're caring for with their permission.
STEWART: The U.K.'s data watchdog has told CNN it is investigating. And the London Clinic is also taking steps. The hospital's chief executive, ambiguous on the report said, "In the case of any breach, all appropriate investigatory, regulatory, and disciplinary steps will be taken.
At Christmas, Kate was the belle of the ball.
It has been a difficult few months for the Princess since then with her surgery and recovery, but also the case of at least two doctored photographs which have damaged her reputation.
Photo agencies are now reviewing other pictures looking for inconsistencies.
On Wednesday, Queen Camilla replaced her husband on public duties while he battles cancer.
The king is still working in private. But rumors about his health led U.K. officials to deny the monarch was dead earlier in the week.
The speculation and controversy around the Princess comes at a bad time.
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: This whole crisis was avoidable if they put out a few statements or a few little updates or perhaps even some car photos. But instead, it was total silence.
STEWART: Filling that void, intrigue and speculation, and a public so hungry for information that a major line may have been crossed.
Anna Stewart, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks for watching. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continuous with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.
See you tomorrow.
[01:57:11]
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