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CNN International: Netanyahu Argues Against The Creation Of A Palestinian State; Spokesman To Palestinian Authority Pres. Abbas: No Security In Region Without Independent State; Former Israeli PM Ehud Barak Calls For Fresh Elections. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 19, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Together? She is raising that question there. On the other side, Joycelyn Wade is saying in -- through her lawyers and a statement that we received at CNN that this is a personal matter, and Fani Willis is using a public platform here. Take that at, what you will.

POPPY HARLOW, HOST, "CNN THIS MORNING": Thank you very much. CNN This Morning continues now.

BIANCA NOBILO, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. Just ahead, we begin in Israel where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argues against the idea of creating a Palestinian state. How would that impact Israel's relations with its allies and regional neighbors? Then, growing concerns over U.S. aid to Ukraine as President Biden continues to push lawmakers to approve his $60 billion funding request. Plus, Japan might be hours away from landing a spacecraft on the moon for the first time. What it means for the region and the international space race, next.

Benjamin Netanyahu is offering his view of an eventual Palestinian state. He doesn't want one. The Israeli Prime Minister has publicly come out against the idea despite U.S. efforts to get him on board. He gave this reason. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Any agreement, with or without agreement, the State of Israel must control security between the Jordan River to the sea. The Prime Minister of Israel should have the ability to say no, even to our greatest friends, when he has to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: A senior official in the Biden administration says Mr. Netanyahu's apparent rejection isn't the final word on the matter. And a Palestinian spokesman says there can be no stability in the region without a two-state solution, which would mean an independent Palestinian state next to Israel. We're also watching the border between Israel and Lebanon. You're

looking at footage right now as smoke rising over that border today as tensions between the two countries remain high. Keep in mind, this is the week the UN Chief declared to CNN "We cannot have in Lebanon another Gaza."

Our Nic Robertson is standing by for us in Tel Aviv. Nic, can we return to those comments by Benjamin Netanyahu about his rejection of a potential Palestinian state? What was your reaction, and to what extent could this drive a further wedge between Israel and the U.S.?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And Israel and potential regional partners in a post-Gaza war situation where Israel could be turning to others -- other countries and supporting the region to rebuild Gaza, not that that's Prime Minister's Netanyahu's plan. And that -- this, I think, underscores for many Israelis, particularly our politicians and people here, that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not offering an alternate vision.

The basis for the implications of this division of this when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the region recently, and he had all those meetings with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, other countries in the region, he came here to Israel and said, look, essentially, there is an off-ramp for the conflict in Gaza. These regional partners, United States in particular, are interested in the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, an important thing for Israel. But, the basis for that would be a Palestinian state and the basis for getting agreement and support from any partners in this region to support the sort of diplomatic path forward is a two-state solution, and that's what Secretary Blinken's big message here was.

And this sounds like a rejection from Prime Minister Netanyahu. We've heard from one of his important -- Prime Minister Netanyahu, one of his important partners in his war cabinet, saying, look, the Prime Minister here is not offering us a vision of the way forward. I don't -- essentially don't trust them. The country needs to move to elections by the summer to restore confidence in this government. That's the strategy the government is taking at the moment. It cannot defeat Hamas, and therefore needs to have a plan going forward.

And the former Prime Minister Ehud Barak wrote an OpEd today, saying again that Prime Minister Netanyahu's lack of laying out a vision going forward, a rejection of what the U.S. essentially is offering and the region is offering, that he hasn't laid out a vision, leads Israel into an ongoing quagmire. That potentially draws in other conflicts and pushes away the United States, Israel's most important partner for security and everything else, and leaves it more diplomatically isolated.

So, you're really hearing from former politicians and those at the moment politicians were helping support this unity war cabinet that the way forward that the Prime Minister is proposing is not viable.

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NOBILO: Nic Robertson, as ever, great to speak to you. Thank you so much.

CNN's Nada Bashir is in Lebanon. We're joining her now live in Beirut. Nada, it'd be great if you could give us the latest on what is happening in the -- on the Lebanese-Israeli border. But, I'd also like your reaction, because recently you spent quite a lot of time in the region, to what Nic was talking about, and this idea -- this rejection of a Palestinian state by Prime Minister Netanyahu, all the while President Isaac Herzog was even saying yesterday that they expect the normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia and other regional partners to continue. It just sounds so out of touch with reality. How do you think this would be going down in the region?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely. And look, we have been hearing vocal support for the Palestinian people, and particularly people of Gaza, from regional leaders. And there has long been that support, that call for a viable independent Palestinian state across the board within the region. We have seen that over recent weeks translating, of course, into hostilities when it comes to the situation in Gaza.

As you mentioned, we have seen that crossfire between Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon on Lebanon's southern border and the Israeli Military. The Lebanese government now saying as well that there cannot be any discussion around a possible ceasefire until there is a ceasefire in Gaza. That has been echoed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. They say that their attacks on the Red Sea will continue so long as Israel's attacks on Gaza continue.

But, the idea of an independent viable political suit solution which would see an independent Palestinian state, it's something that is held at the core of many foreign policies across the Middle East. And of course, as Nic was mentioning, that this certainly puts Israel now at odds not only with some of its closest allies, including U.S. President Joe Biden, but also at odds with many leaders in the European Union, and of course, crucially, in the Middle East.

Now, of course, important to underscore that when we are talking about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that Israel seeks to establish total security controls over all territories west of Jordan, we have to remember, of course, that we have seen the erosion of security controls, the erosion of any source of autonomy, really, for the Palestinians over the last couple of years. When we talk about the situation in Gaza, of course, Israeli authorities -- Israeli officials have said they do not seek to re-occupy Gaza, but important to remember that Gaza has been under an Israeli land, sea and air blockade since 2007.

And of course, the situation in the occupied West Bank has also raised concern. Of course, while technically under the political administration of the Palestinian Authority, there is a pervasive overarching security oversight by the Israeli authorities. And of course, there is the issue of settlements as well. The UN says that there are now hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, living across more than 250 settlements considered to be illegal by many in the international community. That has gone a long way towards eroding, in practical terms, the viability of any past iteration of a two-state solution which would see an independent Palestinian state.

So, clearly, this messaging that we are now hearing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will certainly raise concern around continued calls from many in the international community for a political solution to be focused on as opposed to this cycle of military action and violence that we have seen in the region. And as we heard from the President of the Palestinian Authority, any idea, any erosion of the idea of a viable independent Palestinian state will not only increase tensions, increase hostilities between the Israelis and Palestinians, but also deepen insecurity more broadly in the region.

NOBILO: Nada Bashir, thank you so much.

To the Yemeni capital now where for the second Friday in a row there are massive protests following more U.S. airstrikes against the Houthi rebels. Demonstrators are holding signs against the airstrikes and carrying Palestinian flags. Yemen's Houthi rebels are vowing to keep attacking vessels in the Red Sea, in particular those linked to Israel. On Thursday, the Iran-backed group fired to ant-ship missiles at yet another U.S.-owned commercial ship. The U.S. has launched at least five attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen since the Red Sea attacks began. Despite that, President Joe Biden says it hasn't seemed to slow them down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are the airstrikes in Yemen working?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, when you say working, are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Arlette Saenz joins us now from the White House for more on this U.S. reaction. Arlette, great to speak to you. President Biden, who is obviously Commander in Chief as well, not exactly selling this potentially dangerous strategy in the Red Sea.

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I wonder about your reaction to that, and also how large foreign policy is going to loom in the impending U.S. election.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the President's comments really speak to the challenges he is facing in this moment as the U.S. and allies like the UK have been trying to take these steps to deter the Houthi rebels from launching these types of attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea. The United States, along with allies, in some instances, has so far launched five strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The goal they say is to degrade the Houthis' ability to further launch any types of attacks or strikes on commercial ships that are going through the Red Sea. But, so far, as the President himself has said, this has not stopped

the Houthis from being able to do that. And so, there is a big question about what more the administration could do in this moment. Of course, President Biden deliberated for quite some time about whether to even launch the strikes in Yemen. There were concerns about whether this conflicts could spread into a more wider regional issue as this war between Israel and Hamas has been playing out over the course of the past few months. Ultimately, the U.S. believe that they did need to take some type of actions to try to degrade the Houthis' ability to launch these types of attacks.

We also this week heard from the U.S., saying that they were going to label the Houthi rebels as a specially designated global terrorist group. That will include issuing some sanctions on them, which they also feel could potentially limit some of their abilities. But, as the President said, that so far, this hasn't stopped the Houthi rebels. He did vow that the U.S. would continue to take these strikes. And just yesterday, National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said that the U.S. has additional steps that they could also take to try to stop these types of attacks. He would not detail what exactly that would be.

But, as you noted, this issue relating to the conflict in Israel, between Israel and Hamas, also if you think about the wars in Ukraine, foreign policy is expected to loom over the 2024 race. I think one thing that's unclear at this time is how much of voters will take these issues of foreign policy into account as they are making their decisions. Of course, you have already seen some discontent within the Democratic Party as many Arab Americans in this country have expressed frustration with the U.S. support for Israel, as they continue their campaign in Gaza, leading to the death of thousands of Palestinians. That is something that President Biden has said he will need to grapple with in trying to make his case to the Arab American community going forward.

But, I think the bottom line here is even as foreign policy is dominating so much of the President's mind and agenda here at the White House today, it's just unclear how much voters will be voting on these issues heading into November.

NOBILO: Arlette Saenz at the White House, the very White House, thank you very much.

Japan could be hours away from making its mark on the moon. Its spacecraft known as SLIM, which stands for Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, is expected to touch down on the lunar surface in just over two hours from now. The lander will investigate the composition of rocks to help scientists uncover the origins of the moon. Fascinating. If the landing is successful, it will be the first time Japan has put a robotic explorer on the moon's surface, making it the third country to achieve such a feat in the 21st century.

Hanako Montgomery is standing by for us in Tokyo. Hanako, what is the significance of this for Japan as a nation in terms of pride, but also in terms of the broader picture of space exploration and rankings, if you like, of countries and their contributions to that? HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Bianca. It's really good to see you. So, this is a really exciting moment for Japan's space history and community. Like you mentioned, if Japan pulls this off in just a couple of hours, it will be the first time that Japan has ever landed on the moon. And I mean, this is no easy feat. Only four countries have ever landed on the moon successfully in one piece. This includes India, China, the former Soviet Union, and the United States. But, even with the United States, I mean, just last week, it attempted its first lunar lander mission in over 50 years, and failed. So, if Japan is able to pull this off and land SLIM all in one piece on the moon, it would be joining a very elite group of countries that have touched down on the celestial body and mark a new chapter for Japan's space history.

Now, also, we're going to be expecting to see unprecedented technology being put to the test. Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, will be doing something called a pinpoint landing. Now, what this means is that it lands at a very specific and precise locations.

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Conventionally speaking, most lunar landers aim to land within several kilometers of their targets. But, with SLIM, JAXA wants to land within 100 meters. So, again, very precise. And this could mean that in the future it could just go to the moon, collect the moon samples that it needs, and just head back. Now, also just broadly speaking, this could be a huge boost and morale for Japan, and just for its space politics. Internationally speaking, we're seeing a renewed interest in space. Just last year, India attempted and achieved its first lunar lander mission. Also, China has a very robust space program.

But, Japan, on the other hand, has been facing a wave of setbacks. Just in March, we're seeing that it didn't able -- it wasn't able to land its first rocket. So, again, if Japan is able to do this, it'll be very, very successful for the country, Bianca.

NOBILO: Hanako, wonderful to speak to you. I'm sure it will be a tense couple of hours with much anticipation, but we will have our fingers crossed that all goes well.

MONTGOMERY: Thanks.

NOBILO: Still to come, recent actions by North Korea are raising fresh concerns. As fears grow, the country may be taking advantage of the global chaos and the distraction of world players. Details ahead.

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NOBILO: Welcome back. There are growing concerns over comments by Kim Jong Un that North Korea will no longer pursue reconciliation and reunification with the south. And now, the country is claiming to have tested an underwater nuclear-capable drone in response to naval drills held by the U.S., South Korea and Japan.

CNN's Will Ripley tells us why some analysts are increasingly alarmed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Korean Peninsula staring down the barrel of a catastrophic conflict. That warning from one of America's leading nuclear scientists, one of two longtime North Korea observers, who say Kim Jong Un is sending signals in state media, he may be prepared to take advantage of global chaos to exploit what he sees as weakness and vulnerability between the U.S. and close allies South Korea and Japan.

SIEGFRIED S. HECKER, PROFESSOR, MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTL. STUDIES: They are talking about war. They're talking about war preparations for their country. And so, we're quite concerned.

RIPLEY (voice-over): For years, former Los Alamos Director Siegfried Hecker had unparalleled access to North Korea's highly secretive nuclear program, seeing more than almost any American. What he is seeing now, he says, reminiscent of the lead up to the catastrophic Korean War more than 70 years ago, a chilling shift in leader Kim Jong Un's strategy, far more than the usual saber rattling.

HECKER: I think this time it's different. He may have decided that it is time to actually take some actions.

RIPLEY (voice-over): For the past 30 years, North Korea's goal was normalizing ties with the U.S.

[08:20:00]

Hecker says that ended in 2019 when summit talks in Hanoi, Vietnam collapsed. Former President Donald Trump and Kim walked out, humiliating and infuriating the North Korean leader riding his armored private train back to Pyongyang empty handed, perhaps giving up on U.S. diplomacy, making a strategic turn towards conflict.

HECKER: He may believe that there actually -- there is some way sort of what one would say what's a path to victory that he may be thinking very differently than what our conventional thinking is.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Kim's confidence may be bolstered, he says, by closer ties with China and a deepening military alliance with Russia. North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui visiting Moscow just this week, also labeling South Korea a hostile country.

YOON SUK YEOL, PRESIDENT, SOUTH KOREA (through translator): This is a political provocation.

RIPLEY (voice-over): And not just political, North Korea testing a new hypersonic missile, potentially nuclear capable, adding to Kim's rolling arsenal. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Still to come, four days until America's first presidential primary of the 2024 election season, and Republican candidates are on the ground making their closing arguments to voters.

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NOBILO: New Hampshire's presidential primary is now just four days away, and Republican candidates are canvassing the state in a final sprint to the finish. Nikki Haley made her case at a CNN town hall Thursday night, where she sharpened her attacks on the frontrunner Donald Trump, but also went after President Joe Biden. She said her goal next week is to do better than she did in Iowa's caucuses, where she placed third. And after spending the day away from the Granite State, Ron and -- sorry, Ron DeSantis and Trump are set to return to New Hampshire in the coming hours.

CNN's Omar Jimenez has more on the campaign efforts heading into Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In five days, we shocked the country.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nikki Haley sees a path in the final days to the New Hampshire primary, one that increasingly involves going right through Donald Trump.

HALEY: The reality is, who lost the House for us? Who lost the Senate? Who lost The White House? Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): It's a notable shift from Haley who up until now has largely focused her criticism of the former President on policy differences.

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HALEY: He threw a temper tantrum last night. He is doing other things to attack me, but he won't get in front of me and answer the question.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): The former South Carolina governor emphasized to voters, there is a crucial bottom line at the ballot box Tuesday.

HALEY: I'm going to tell you the truth. You're going to see a lot of things said. But, at the end of the day, it's the drama and the vengeance and the vindictiveness that we want to get out of the way.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Haley was the only candidate campaigning in New Hampshire Thursday, hoping to capitalize on a toned down DeSantis presence in the state. As DeSantis says, they're shifting focus to states beyond New Hampshire.

RON DESANTIS, REPUBLICAN U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (VIA TELEPHONE): Nikki Haley cannot compete with Donald Trump there. And the fact that she can't do it there, she can't do it anywhere. She is certainly not going to do it in South Carolina.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Meanwhile, former President Trump has turned his attention squarely on Haley here, as a weaker candidate to take on Biden. DONALD TRUMP, 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT: A vote for Nikki Haley this Tuesday

as a vote for Joe Biden and a Democrat Congress this November because that's what's going to happen. You can't do it.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): And even going after his rival personally, promoting lies on social media about her eligibility to run for President despite Haley being born in the U.S.

HALEY: He can say whatever he wants. His record has been that he lost the House. He lost the Senate. He lost The White House. That's a fact. That's not what I'm saying. That's what he has done.

JIMENEZ: Some of the sharpest comments we've seen yet toward the former President. Now, one of the interesting things with all this is that when Chris Christie dropped from the race, I talked to a lot of his supporters who were thinking about jumping in to support Nikki Haley at the time. But, those that were hesitating told me it was because they didn't think she was confronting Donald Trump directly enough. So, it'd be interesting to see if this is part of the pattern or just her responding to recent attacks. Omar Jimenez, CNN, Henniker, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. Have a wonderful weekend. World Sport with Andy Scholes is up for you next.

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