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Protests Across Israel Erupt in Grief, Anger; Far-Right Set To Win In A German State For The First Time Since WWII; Russian Attack On Ukraine's Kharkiv Kills At Least Six, Injures Dozens; China and the Philippines Trade Blame for the Latest Sea Collision; Biden, Harris to Meet U.S. Negotiating Team on Monday; IDF: Suspect in Deadly Attack on Israeli Police Killed; Boosting Access to A.I. Technology Across Africa; U.S. Military Base in the Heart of South Korea; Scottie Scheffler Wins PGA Tour Championship, $25M FedEx Cup Prize. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 02, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom.
In Israel, rage and grief following the deaths of six hostages, the country's largest labor union calling for a nationwide strike.
Germany's far-right party set to win a state election for the first time since World War II, we'll examine what it could mean for Chancellor Scholz coalition and another championship victory for Scotty Scheffler. We spoke to the world's top golfer about his record season and comparisons to Tiger Woods.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: And we begin this hour in Israel, where the country's largest labor union has called for a nationwide strike. This is a live look at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, which strike organizers said would be shut down today. It comes as anger and anguish build over the deaths of six hostages in Gaza.
On Sunday, tens of thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities, demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, one man who came out to protest explained why so many people feel frustrated and angry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFI KRECHMER, ISRAELI PROTESTER: We are here to protest against the Israeli government that is making wrong decisions. This country was built on some core values. Part of them is strictly that the Government of Israel will do everything in its power to bring back hostages and soldiers from captivity wherever they are, and this government, because of political reasons and for the right extreme coalition of Netanyahu, is breaking those values. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Protesters also making their voices heard in Jerusalem outside of Mr. Netanyahu's office the calls for a hostage deal, taking on a news at sense of urgency after the Israeli military said it recovered the bodies of those six hostages, including an Israeli American, from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza on Saturday. Israel's health ministry says they likely died between Thursday and Friday morning, the tragic news met by an outpouring of grief and calls for action.
On Sunday, this was the message from Israel's largest labor union.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNON BAR-DAVID, HEAD OF ISRAEL'S HISTADRUT LABOR UNION (through translator): Call on the people of Israel to take to the streets this evening, tomorrow, leave the workplaces. I call on all economic organizations in the state of Israel, everyone to join the strike. Tomorrow we must shout the cry of our beloved country. We must raise the cry of our hostages, our displaced, our dead. The State of Israel must be returned to normal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: CNN's Nic Robertson is following developments and has more now from Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Alive and with them, real hopes of their release until so recently. Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, Ori Danino found by the IDF in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza.
Forensic evidence showing they were executed less than three days prior.
REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON (through translator): They were brutally murdered by Hamas terrace a short while before we reach them.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): American born Hersh Goldberg-Polin, happy go lucky, according to his family, a hero on October 7, losing part of his arm trying to save others from Hamas gunfire and grenades at the Nova music festival. Becoming an international icon of the hostages, horrific suffering, forced to perform a propaganda video for the terror group.
His oh so hopeful parents at the Democratic National Convention less than two weeks ago, telling him to hold on until a release deal reached.
UNDIENTIFIED MALE: The time is now.
RACHEL GOLDBERG-POLIN: Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong, survive. UNIDENATIFIED MALE: Bring them home.
[01:05:00]
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Horrible truths, piling on the pain. Israeli officials telling CNN Hersh and Eden and Carmel all slated for the first phase of releases in hostage negotiations. Heartbreak, anger and anguish at Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's failure to make a deal, save Hersh and the others, an emotive cocktail surging unprecedented numbers of anti-Netanyahu protesters onto the streets across the country, and outpouring to get the other hostages home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need a deal now for his future, for our future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This shouldn't have happened. Shouldn't happen.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Eden Yerushalmi was just 24 years old, a bartender at the Nova music festival when Hamas attacked, calling her two sisters her last words, they've caught me. Carmel Gat, a 40-year old occupational therapist was visiting her parents at kibbutz Be'eri, next to the Nova music festival, saw her mother killed before she was snatched by Hamas. 27-year old Almog Sarusi was at the music festival with his girlfriend when she got injured in the Hamas attack. He stayed with her, trying to staunch her fatal wounds before he was captured. Alexander Lobanov was the bar manager at the festival, 32- years old, a Russian-Israeli. His wife, Mikhail gave birth to their second child this year, a son. He will never meet his father, Ori Danino was another October 7 hero. The 25-year old fled the music festival, taking friends to safety in his car, then returned to help Maya and Itai Ragef. The three got captured. Maya and Itai released last November.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Hamas is continuing to steadfastly refuse all proposals. Even worse, at the exact same time, it murdered six of our hostages. Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The Prime Minister insisting Hamas not him responsible for the untimely deaths.
ROBERTSON: And the Prime Minister's message just not cutting it on the streets here at all, there are growing tensions within his government that anger on the streets here is growing. This country could be on the cusp of change, but no one here is going to take that for granted. Nic Robinson, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And these are live pictures now at Ben Gurion Airport, where the airport information line now says there will be no departing or arriving flights for at least the next two hours. You can see there are people looking up at the departures and arrivals board there are none at the moment, strike organizers had promised to shut down the airport as part of the nationwide strike called for today. Now, the families of the hostages still held by Hamas are holding out
hope that they will see their loved ones return to Israel alive. Among them the family of Omri Moran, who was kidnapped during the October 7 attack. His brother in law, spoke to CNN about the latest developments and what he says needs to happen now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MASHE LAVI, BROTHER-IN-LAW KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: These six sausages who were murdered alongside many others who were murdered earlier in this war for the past 11 months, could have been saved if we prioritize the sanctification of life, if we chose the path of viable deal to bring them home.
I don't know if a deal would have succeeded. Hamas is not a good faith partner to any negotiated treaty. It's a terrorist organization that needs to be destroyed, both materially and ideologically, just like the Nazis were destroyed and just like other vicious ideologies were destroyed in the past.
But we need to prioritize the hostages now, and we already achieved so many military achievements in dismantling the Hamas and military capabilities. So, what we want to see is that we prioritize them, because when we saw Marie last in a psychological warfare video showcased by Hamas in late April, it gave us hope that we can still bring him home. It's now more than four months later, Hersh Polin Goldberg was also filmed in a similar video in late April. His life were terminated. He was murdered by Hamas. This could happen to my brother in law, Omri (ph). This could happen to the rest of 101 hostages, those who are still alive. We need to prioritize them other objectives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:10:00]
HOLMES: The White House National Security Adviser says, quote, the next few days will be critical in the push to free the hostages still held. CNN's Paula Hancocks has details on the latest ceasefire negotiations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Protesters across Israel, were very clear in their message, blaming the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the lack of a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal. Now we heard also from the Biden administration. They blamed Hamas for the killing of the six Israeli hostages, passing on their condolences as well, to the family of the one Israeli American hostage.
We also heard from the U.S. president Joe Biden, saying that he does believe that they are on the verge of a deal. Now, all of the optimism that we have been hearing in recent days, weeks and months, has come from the Biden administration. We haven't necessarily heard that from either Israel or Hamas. The mediators as well, in particular, Qatar have been quite cautious in their optimism, but we are hearing this positive note from the US. They said that they have believed that they're talking about the nuts and bolts of a deal.
Now the final details, and we know that working level talks have been ongoing from Cairo and then on to Doha. It's not clear, though, how the death of these six Israeli hostages will affect those talks and the possibility of a hostage deal.
We heard from one senior U.S. official calling into question Hamas' seriousness about a hostage deal, given what has just happened, we are though, seeing within Israel itself and within the cabinet some serious disagreements about this deal, most notably between the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister Yoav Gallant.
We know that there was a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, and CNN has learned that Gallant was criticizing strongly the government for what he says is putting the decision to want to put the Israeli military on the border between Israel and Gaza, putting that as a condition to these talks ahead of trying to get the hostages back, calling it a moral disgrace. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Joining me now from Jerusalem is Yaakov Katz, Senior Columnist at the Jerusalem Post and author and fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. Good to see you again, Yaakov. This massive anger on the streets in Israel, protests, calls for strikes and so on, summarize the feelings there in Israel after this news, these deaths.
YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, THE JERUSALEM POST: Well yesterday after the news and the identification of the six hostages whose bodies were recovered on Saturday, really, I think, broke the hearts of all Israelis, probably many millions, tens of millions of people around the world, but definitely here at home, because it felt that these people were within our reach. Were people who could have been brought home, all these months of negotiations were aimed at getting these people out, and they had failed, and Israel had failed its people.
And of course, there was going to be, Michael, this massive outpouring. We saw main highways throughout the country blocked for hours on end. Not far from where I live, here in Jerusalem, is where the Prime Minister's residence is. They were already blocking. The police were blocking the main road to his home already earlier in the day, just in anticipation of knowing that those protests were going to also reach outside his home, the airport that he stuck through. The main labor union is striking today. Kindergartens are closed. The airport is closed to takeoffs for a number of hours.
It's a very terrible, sad day. Some of the funerals were already hold -- held yesterday, and more. For example, Hersh Goldberg-Polin's funeral is going to be later this afternoon.
HOLMES: Yes. Meanwhile, the rift between Benjamin Netanyahu and his own defense chief, Yoav Gallant, couldn't be more stark, and Gallant's criticism continued on Sunday. We talked about this yesterday. There are others in Netanyahu administration angry at him too. Where do you see the political path headed in terms of negotiations, in terms of strategy?
KATZ: I mean, let's also remember the timing, where Thursday night there was a Cabinet meeting chaired by Netanyahu, where they had a vote. Do we condition any hostage deal on Israel remaining what's known as the Philadelphi Corridor, that strip of land between Israel and Egypt, where Hamas has those tunnels. Israel has discovered about 150 of those tunnels, and all of the ministers in the security cabinet voted that Israel cannot relinquish control over the Philadelphi Corridor, except for one, the defense minister Yoav Gallant. And then just a day later, on Saturday, Israel discovers the bodies of these six hostages.
[01:15:00]
So you kind of also see the way that it's all connected, right? Israel makes another demand, and then people die, right? They're murdered. So, you know, what did one lead to the other? I can't say necessarily, but definitely the politics of this and the way decisions are made in the cabinet is affecting what's happening on the battlefield.
HOLMES: And it gets lost in the messaging. But Netanyahu, one presumes, knew that occupying the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt would be a nonstarter for Hamas. I mean, what's in it for Hamas to agree to a ceasefire now, given Netanyahu is ever changing, it has to be said position, and not to mention Hamas is probably enjoying the site of these protests and the political dissent.
KATAZ: I have no doubt that Hamas sees what's happening. They murdered six hostages, and what they led to is more civil unrest in Israel. So they say to themselves, one second, if we're able to achieve this with murdering just six Israeli hostages, let's murder another 10, and maybe we actually completely bring the elimination of the State of Israel.
Israel does have to show resilience. It does have to show unity, and it has to show strength. And right now, I'm not sure that that's what we're broadcasting to the world. With that said, Hamas is the main obstacle to any negotiation. Right? Israel does have it stuck between a rock and a hard place. Michael, on the one hand, we want to get our people back. I have no doubt that that's what everyone in this country wants ultimately.
The question is going to be, what's the price that we're willing to pay as a country? And if, for example, when it comes to the Philadelphi Corridor, we pull out and Hamas reconstitutes itself, is able to rebuild and rearm, what did we achieve in this 11 month war? These are real dilemmas that there are no simple answers to.
But I think that what most Israelis feel is what I feel. This was a real, viable opportunity to bring people who were alive home, who we had let down as a country. They were there. They were alive. They were waiting for us 11 months. What happens the day after the war? Whether we stop Hamas, we don't stop Hamas, that's elusive and that's fluid, and that's something that will take time.
Anyhow, this was a real opportunity to get these people back to their families, and we owed it to them, because we had let them down.
HOLMES: It's always good to get your analysis. Yaakov Katz, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
KATZ: Thank you.
HOLMES: In Gaza, the United Nations says it is critical that there be no fighting while it vaccinates more than 600,000 children for polio. UNRWA, the UN's main agency in the Enclave, says it, quote, cannot vaccinate children while they're running for their lives, unquote. Israel has agreed to temporary pauses during the vaccination campaign, which began on Sunday. Meanwhile, some residents describing the horrors they're facing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WFA UBEID, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): We have been suffering for 11 months from diseases we have caught whatever virus exists in the country. There is a lack of hygiene, lack of water, lack of food. There are diseases that we have never experienced previously. It will take us ages to express the suffering that we have experienced.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now the drive comes after the highly infectious polio virus was found in sewage samples in the territory in June. There's already been one confirmed case.
After the break, in Germany, the far-right set to make political gains not seen in almost 80 years. We'll have the details when we come.
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[01:20:29]
HOLMES: For the first time since World War II, a far right party is projected to win regional elections in Germany in the state of Thuringia, the initial exit polling says the Alternative for Germany Party is polling well ahead of the Christian Democratic Union with an expected third of the vote, but numbers show a much closer race between the two parties in Saxony, where the CDU is leading by less than 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the German Chancellor's Social Democratic Party is bracing for disappointing results. These local elections are viewed as a litmus test of sorts for Olaf Scholz and his coalition partners ahead of next year's general elections.
Earlier, I spoke with political scientists, Dr. Liana Fix, about what the rise of the AfD Party could mean for German politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIANA FIX, HISTORIAN AND POLITICAL SCIENTIST: It is quite a dramatic result, and we do not only see a big victory by the extreme white AfD Party, but we also see a rise in left wing populism. So especially in eastern German states, we have a polarization of the political landscape that makes it almost impossible to build a center coalition by the governing parties, and that has repercussions for the federal elections in Germany in September 2025, it makes the government in Berlin a lame duck.
HOLMES: And to that point, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party performed woefully in these two-state elections. So what do those results mean for him, his not always unified coalition, and the overall state of stability of his government?
FIX: Yes, the Social Democrats historically have not always performed very well in those Eastern German states that had elections now, but still the result after the European Parliamentary elections in June, which were already bad, another sign that his progressive, three-party coalition is perceived by the government, by the population, as not working, as dysfunctional. And the problem is that this coalition is really far part of many policy issues. It would -- it was held together by money. This money is not available as the budget has become tied. And so the question is, will this coalition survive until the federal elections in September 2025?
HOLMES: Wow. Yes. The AfD has been designated as a right-wing extremist party. Its leader was fined for using Nazi slogans, even had courts define him as a fascist. What are the fears among those who do not support the AfD when it comes to the party's agenda? What do they fear the party could do or influence?
FIX: So there are multiple dimensions here. On the economic side, it is a huge problem that those Eastern German states do not receive the workers that they need, the skilled workers who are often coming from airport or have a migration background, because they will fear to move into those states and into those areas.
Then on the political level, there's a real question if at some point the AfD will be able to gather by itself or find a coalition partner. So far, it has not been in government responsibility, and then on many policy issues, it is driving the debate, especially on migration policy. The other parties of the political center have taken up a lot of the arguments that the AfD has made about refugees and migration in general.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Ukraine says at least 41 people, including five children, have been wounded by Russian attacks in the city of Kharkiv, several Russian missiles struck a shopping mall, a sports center and residential buildings on Sunday, causing massive damage and possibly burying people in the rubble.
Ukraine's president says it is Moscow's latest effort to target civilian infrastructure and terrorize residents, and Ukraine is fighting back. Russia's Defense Ministry says they destroyed more than 158 Ukrainian drones overnight Sunday, including over Moscow, one of the down drones started a fire at an oil refinery, according to Moscow's mayor. Tensions are high between China and the Philippines, once again, after a series of new incidents in the South China Sea, the most recent one on Saturday, when coast guard vessels from both countries collided.
[01:25:00]
Both China and the Philippines blame each other, saying the collision was deliberate, the U.S. and European Union condemning China's actions. CNN's Marc Stewart, following the story for us from Beijing. Bring us up to date on what happened, and this is a concern far beyond the region.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Michael, we've been referring to this as an emerging hot spot, an emerging flash point, and when you look at the video, you can understand why. The South China Sea has always been a volatile part of the world, but this most recent confrontation between the Philippines and China is happening off the west coast of the Philippines, in an area with some low lying reefs.
The E.U. very quick to condemn this, saying that the Chinese Coast Guard has been acting unlawfully. It's undermining international law, threatening peace and stability in the region. A very similar response from the United States State Department. It was just last week that U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, was here in China meeting with Chinese officials about a long list of issues as part of a regular, scheduled meeting.
I did have a chance to ask him a question, and I asked him specifically about this, where do things stand? Where do things go from here? Of course, he said the first issue is to deescalate all of this. Let's take a listen to more of what the National Security Adviser had to say here in Beijing last Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Nobody is looking for a crisis, not the Philippines, not the United States, and we hope not the PRC, but I did raise our concerns about some of the destabilizing actions that have taken place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: So look, there is a lot of tension. China fired back at the E.U. saying that it has no right to dictate the South China Sea issue and that it's ignoring the facts. If we look at this region, China has for a long time acclaimed a majority of these waters, but there has been an international ruling that says otherwise.
That is where things stand at the moment, Michael, we're anticipating a briefing from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in about 90 minutes from now, it will be interesting to see if Chinese officials have anything further to add.
HOLMES: Yes, I know you'll be listening in for us. Marc, thank you. Marc Stewart, there in Beijing for us. Appreciate it. Well, mounting anger in Israel and calls to shut down the entire
Israeli economy air travel is among the first to feel the impacts of a nationwide strike aimed at pressuring Israel's government to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. We'll have more details after the break.
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[01:30:11]
HOLMES: And returning to our top story now.
A nationwide strike has began in Israel to demand a ceasefire and hostage deal one day after huge protests following the deaths of six hostages in Gaza.
This is a live look now at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Normally much busier than that. The airports says there will be no departing or arriving flights for at least the next 90 minutes, perhaps longer.
Strike organizers said they would shut down operations at the airport today. It looks like they have.
Organizers say 550,000 people turned out in Tel Aviv alone on Sunday as protesters voice their anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded that he reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas.
The frustration boiling over as police clashed with protesters. More than two dozen people were arrested, accused of vandalism, disorderly conduct and attacking officers.
As Israel faces growing pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, the White House says President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet the U.S. negotiating team in the situation room on Monday.
CNN's Kevin Liptak reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The discovery of these six hostage bodies beneath Rafah has lent new urgency to hostage and ceasefire talks that have been led by American officials over the last several months, but which had really intensified over the last several weeks.
And when you talk to American officials, they do say now that there is new urgency to bring these talks to an end, but also new complications. As these hostage deaths now factor into the discussions, one American official saying that there are now new questions about the seriousness of Hamas towards reaching a hostage deal. But also that new pressure will be applied on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come to an agreement. And certainly you see that pressure playing out on the streets of Israel.
Now President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris did speak on Sunday with the family of the American-Israeli citizen who was killed and whose body was recovered, Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
The families had been in contact with the White House for the last of 11 months as they endured this ordeal. And in fact, Hersh Goldberg- Polin's parents spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Now in a statement, President Biden said that he was devastated and outraged. The president went on to say, "I have worked tirelessly to bring their beloved Hersch safely to them and I'm heartbroken by the news of his death. It's tragic as it is reprehensible.
Make no mistake. Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages."
Now we did hear from President Biden on Saturday evening after these bodies were discovered, who voiced optimism that a deal could still be struck. He said that the negotiators were on the verge of having an agreement. He said, we think we can close the deal. So President Biden there very much of the belief that these hostage talks can continue.
We also understand that Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, did speak on Sunday virtually with the families of Americans who remain held hostage. In that conversation, he discussed ongoing diplomatic push across highest levels of the U.S. government to drive towards a deal.
Now, in her statement, the Vice President Kamala Harris did not mention the ceasefire talks specifically, although she has remained adamant that a ceasefire agreement is necessary, including in that CNN interview last week.
In her statement, she said that "Hamas is an evil terrorist organization. With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands."
She goes on to say "The threat that Hamas poses to the people of Israel and American citizens in Israel must be eliminated and Hamas cannot control Gaza."
So making very clear in that statement that any agreement must prevent the future Hamas leadership in Gaza. That that is an eventuality that must not be included in any part of this deal.
It was interesting. In both of these statements, President Biden's statement and Kamala Harris' statement there was no explicit pressure or implicit pressure on Netanyahu to come to any agreement.
Of course, we know that behind the scenes, American officials have been frustrated by what they see as a resistance to come to any agreement on the part of Netanyahu.
[01:34:49]
LIPTAK: These statements are very much putting the pressure on Hamas. And I think when you talk to American officials, they do recognize that the pressure on Netanyahu will come from inside Israel itself.
Kevin Liptak, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The Israeli military says they have killed one of the suspects involved in a deadly attack on Israeli police officers in the West Bank on Sunday.
The IDF says the suspect had reportedly been hiding in a house in Hebron. The three Israeli police officers were killed when their vehicle came under fire on a highway near the city over the weekend in the Occupied West Bank.
The shooting took place after Israel launched large-scale raids in the Occupied West Bank last week.
Journalist Antony Loewenstein joins me now from Sydney, Australia. He's the author of "The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation around the World".
Always good to see you, Antony. And so what do you make of the Israeli operations in the West Bank. Israel, of course, says it's hunting what it calls terrorists and terror threats.
But given the breadth of destruction and deaths and detentions, do you see a broader plan in play?
ANTONY LOEWENSTEIN, JOURNALIST: Well, the broader plan in some ways, by some in the Israeli government and frankly, the Israeli public, some of them, is not dissimilar to Gaza, which is to make it unlivable.
Now obviously the dream of many Israelis and frankly too many Jews in the West is to make it impossible for Palestinians to live in Palestine, their ancestral territory.
So if you destroy infrastructure which has been going on by the way for years, but has ramped up since October 7, you make it incredibly hard for Palestinians to live viable lives essentially.
And what I'm seeing in Jenin and (INAUDIBLE) and elsewhere really is a huge acceleration. I think so many in the Israeli government are emboldened by the fact that there really has been no pressure, frankly to stop the war in Gaza. That obviously will hopefully change at some point.
But if there's no pressure and the government feels emboldened, why not continue to wreak destruction, still under the guise of terrorism, which they forget (ph) western nations to dutifully support Israel uncritically.
But the fact is that ultimately, by doing this kind of behavior Israel is becoming more unsafe. None of this is making Israelis safer at all. In fact, it's the opposite. HOLMES: Yes. Yes. And as you've been seeing, we were looking at some of the destruction that has been wrought in some of them those towns and cities in the West Bank.
Palestinian health officials say nearly 700 Palestinians, including 150 children, have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem this year, 6,000 injured, nearly 10,000 detain.
Has the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem been forgotten as the war in Gaza rages by the international community? And what is the risk of that situation in the West Bank not getting global attention.
LOEWENSTEIN: I mean, ultimately, if you speak to any Palestinian in Palestine or elsewhere, they will say you occupy people of Palestine for over half a century, there will be resistance. Now often the West doesn't want to hear about that or talk about that. But that's the reality as we saw, frankly in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Look, as you say Michael, what's been happening in the West Bank has not got enough attention since October 7. And obviously, the focus has been on Gaza for good reason, the destruction there.
But in some ways the idea of huge amounts of Palestinians from the West Bank have been detained including some in those notorious Israeli prison camps where there has been documented cases of rape against Palestinian detainees. There's been no trials, thousands upon thousands of people are held indefinitely in so-called administrative detention.
In fact, the number of people who have died in Israeli jails since October 7 is more than died in Guantanamo Bay since 2001.
I mean, the level -- dozens and dozens and dozens of Palestinians have been killed. And I think the reality of life in the West Bank, many Palestinians who used to go into Israel to try to work to make a living. Those incomes have been blocked off because Israel won't allow them to go into Israel to do that work.
So essentially it is tightening of the occupation, but again, none of this -- none of this is actually making Israel safer. And in some ways, I would argue that there is a desire by many in the Israeli government for a full-blown war, a religious war. That is the stated aim of people like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.
HOLMES: Well, when it comes to Gaza, there's speculation even inside Israel that they are powerful forces, including those you just named, who want a reoccupation of at least part perhaps the north of Gaza, the return of settlements.
I mean, Israel's already divided the strip with the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which is two to four kilometers wide, cuts across the middle of the Gaza Strip and is in fact named after a former Gaza settlement.
Do you think that's likely, resettlement?
[01:39:45]
LOEWENSTEIN: I think it's very possible. In fact, just last week, Israel announced the kind of administrator, a colonial administrator for Gaza, instead of manage the situation (INAUDIBLE) in months and years to him, the post is supposed to last four years.
Look, there are powerful figures within Israel in the government, but in the wider public. In fact, some of them literally are camping out on the Israel-Gaza border to settle.
They're not going to build settlements for 20,000 -- 30,000 -- 40,000 people, but outposts -- very similar step-by-step.
And Netanyahu has made it pretty clear that his aim is to occupy Gaza, fully occupy Gaza indefinitely. Yes. With military forces but also potentially with settlers.
And for those who say that sounds impossible, that sounds crazy. How would that even work? There's a growing group in Israel now supporting an occupation by Israeli forces and settlers in southern Lebanon.
For those who say that's impossible and crazy, I will say look at history. This is what's been happening in the West Bank for over half a century. So there needs to be massive pressure on Israel. They say that's simply unacceptable.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes. Incremental and worrying.
Antony Loewenstein, always good to get your thoughts. Thank you.
LOEWENSTEIN: Thank you so much.
Well, Scottie Scheffler is the newest PGA Tour champion, fresh off his FedEx Cup win. He talks to CNN about his bumpy banner year.
And a military family from Cincinnati, Ohio give their two sets of twins, an Asian cultural experience. We'll have that and more when we come back.
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HOLMES: Well, A.I. is part of our daily lives now through virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa and phone apps and so on. But how useful is all of this across the African continent?
In Johannesburg a team is creating an A.I. tool for African languages to boost access to this fast-growing technology.
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PELONOMI MOILOA, CEO/CO-FOUNDER, LELAPA A.I.: In the southern African context only 8 percent of South Africans speak English at home. And yet all Internet services, all digital services available through mobile, whether that be loading air time, checking your bank balance, buying electricity, checking the weather -- all of those services are not available to the majority of South Africans. We're talking about hundreds of millions of people that we could
potentially touch if we're able to enable access through digital technology, through local languages.
My name is Pelonomi Moiloa and I am CEO and co-founder of Lelapa A.I. Lelapa A.I. was founded in 2022 and our mission is to invent the technology for Africans to communicate digitally in our languages.
The Internet is a very useful thing, but it is virtually useless if people are unable to interact with it because it does not speak the right language.
[01:44:46]
MOILOA: So Lelapa A.I. was founded after three main reasons. People leave the continent to pursue opportunities elsewhere. And we wanted to ensure we had a place for those people to turn to in order to invest that energy and talent into solving problems here on the ground.
The second reason was that we know that A.I. has the potential to bring about great positive change on the African continent. And we wanted to make sure that we were part of using A.I. To solve those problems.
and the third reason was that A.I. That is created in the West, it's just not created for our content. They don't know the places of our names of our people and that is a problem if were trying to use their technology to broaden access to digital services.
Some of our big success is creating that home for African A.I. and the fact that we've managed to put together a team, get leases and personal investors behind that mission to take it forward is quite amazing.
We have services available in South African English, which includes a variety of accents, because people are forced to speak English because they cannot speak their own languages.
We have services in Sesotho, in Isizulu and Afrikaans. We have chatbots in particular municipalities, staying with the administration, electricity usage and payment of prepaid electricity. And we're working on getting our language technology into more services.
But to be honest, we still got a long way to go. There are over 2,000 languages on the African continent. Currently we're operating in four languages. The ultimate dream is for us to cover all of them.
But given the resources that we have, that is not possible, so ideally we would be looking at around 30 of the main languages that cover the largest groups of people on the African continent, giving them access to digital technologies that they otherwise would not be able to access now.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: A major upset at the U.S. Open. Reigning women's champion, Coco Gauff crashed out of the tournament after being defeated by a fellow American. We'll have that after the break.
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HOLMES: The largest U.S. overseas military base in the world is within driving distance of North Korea. And the 41,000 people living in it like to experience both American and Korean culture.
CNN's Mike Valerio, reports from Camp Humphreys in South Korea.
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MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's where rock concerts roar, (INAUDIBLE) delight, Krispy Kreme on the conveyor belt and where families find new homes in Korea. Like the Cook family trading their lives in Cincinnati, Ohio for Camp Humphreys, South Korea.
It's the Army's busiest airfield in Asia and the biggest U.S. military base overseas. Camp Humphreys is about 60 miles away from North Korea, driving distance from the heavily fortified demilitarized zone, the DMZ, which divides the Korean Peninsula.
More than 40,000 people call Camp Humphreys home, including the Cook's. They have not one but two sets of twins, the youngest, just eight months old.
SGT. TERRY COOK, ARMY IT SPECIALIST: And when you set this, you won't have --
VALERIA: They came here because of Sergeant Terry Cook, an Army IT specialist here to support the critical U.S.-South Korea military alliance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We met in Cincinnati, Ohio.
[01:49:49]
VALERIO: But in dad mode with his wife Rhee (ph), he says it's all about supporting his parental platoon.
COOK: If you really like, you know, spend as much time, you maximize that type of (INAUDIBLE) the whole unit right now.
VALERIO: I just listen and just like now -- you're literally just a dad. You could do like pearls (ph).
Camp Humphreys hosts the only U.S. army division which is partially made up of South Korean soldiers. It also serves as the headquarters of United Nations Command, the international military force designed to protect South Korea since the Korean War now, nearly 75 years later.
The Korean Peninsula's proximity to China and Russia makes South Korea a key linchpin in northeast Asia's security for the U.S. government. But the goal for families here is to immerse in Korean culture, which
is especially important for Rhee since she lived in Germany as a kid when her dad was a sergeant in the army.
TYRESE COOK, MILITARY WIFE: Being able to provide my children with the same cultural experiences that I was given as a child, it is extremely important to me as a mother.
VALERIO: But for those looking for a slice of America, there's plenty. Texas Roadhouse, the on-base golf course and one of the biggest Fourth of July celebrations on this side of the world.
Then there's this, a giant bakery. Wonder bread, burger buns and delicious doughnuts made with the secret Krispy Kreme recipe no less for the schools, restaurants, and grocery stores serving U.S. bases across South Korea.
There's also the feeling of belonging. Jubilation after years in the army, finally, becoming American citizens.
Noncommissioned officer and C.O. Sergeant Vanessa Ramo was born in the Philippines, supported here at her naturalization ceremony by her platoon.
PVT RENEE MYATT, U.S. ARMY: She's an amazing (INAUDIBLE) very, very supportive to us. And now --
VALERIO: As for becoming a U.S. citizen in Korea.
STAFF SGT. VANESSA RaMO, U.S. ARMY: I didn't expect it to be here honestly. It's great to do it overseas somewhere, especially in Korea. I love Korea.
VALERIO: Ramo's platoon leader himself, naturalized in Philadelphia.
LT. JACOB HAN, U.S. ARMY: It just makes me really proud because I'm a Korean-American, meaning I can serve the people like the country that I was born in, but also the country that also gave me a lot of opportunities, which is the U.S.
VALERIO: A Slice of America inextricably part of the Korean tapestry. And for its newest residents hardly far from home.
Mike Valerio, CNN -- Camp Humphreys, South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The reigning U.S. Open women's champion, Coco Gauff, won't be defending her title after losing to fellow American Emma Navarro.
It's Navarro's second consecutive win against Gauff and comes at same point in the tournament, the fourth round, as the pair's previous meeting at Wimbledon.
Navarro advances to the quarter final where she will face Paula Badosa of Spain. Scottie Scheffler is the newest PGA Tour champion and FedEx Cup winner and it comes with a nice paycheck. He wrapped one of the best seasons in recent memory on Sunday and is now $25 million richer.
Our Don Riddell talked with him about what's been an incredible year.
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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Scottie, well played and many, many congratulations. You've just had an absolutely extraordinary year with an awful lot of winning.
How are you feeling about what you've achieved here this weekend?
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, PGA TOUR CHAMPION: Yes, feeling so good. Yes, like you say, it's been -- it's been a funny year. I was able to get some wins and really just grateful. You know, grateful for this week and kind of just finished off the season the right way and being able to get a win in most tournament.
RIDDELL: Somehow, you make this game look incredibly easy. And anybody that's played it, knows that it's not. So what's your secret?
SCHEFFLER: I don't know. I feel like it's pretty difficult at times. So if I figure out the secret, I'll let you know.
But right now just kind of enjoying the challenge of the game and just trying to do my best.
RIDDELL: One of the things I've heard about you this week is that when you're angry, you almost play better and you can't say that about a lot of other golfers. How are you able to do that? Because you had some tough moments today and you followed it up with an credible bounce-back?
SCHEFFLER: Yes. I think that's something that I think has really been a huge part of why this year has been so successful. It's those little moments in the round where you get frustrated.
I've -- I've really done a good job of turning those into positives. You look at a day like today, I bogey seven and eight, you know, a silly mistake with the shank and bogey in a drivable whole and all of a sudden, the tournaments lot closer now and then I bounce back really nicely there with three birdies on 9, 10, 11 to kind of extend the leads again.
So really just overall, just proud of the year, proud of the fight that we put on this year and yes, ready to go on.
RIDDELL: Trophies this season are incredible. Seven wins on the PGA Tour. That's not to mention the gold medal in Paris at the Olympics.
That is a season of Tiger Woods proportions. And now people are comparing your game and your dominance to his and what he did. How do you feel about that?
[01:54:47]
SCHEFFLER: I mean, anytime you can get mentioned in the same breath as Tiger is pretty special. But at the end of the day, there's not going to be anybody like Tiger. I don't think ever in our game, in our sport.
You know, I'm just -- I'm just myself. I'm just a kid from Texas who loves playing golf and I'm just trying to get the most out of myself. And this year has been really fun and just going to continue to put in the work and see where that leads us.
RIDDELL: To say that this has been an eventful year I think it would be an understatement. A lot of ups, some downs. One day, when young Bennett is old enough, he might look you in the eye and say, Dad, tell me about the year I was born. What are you going to say?
SCHEFFLER: No idea. I'm probably going to laugh. Who's -- you know, there's not really knowing what to say. But I think I took some notes this year, some stuff that we want to remember, you know, his first few months being alive. And I'm excited to be able to share with him one day.
RIDDELL: Final question. After you won the Masters, you told me that you weren't going to let up because you knew that Bennett was on his way. And you didn't let up at all. In fact, maybe you even got better.
How would you say that his arrival has changed you?
SCHEFFLER: I mean, it definitely has changed our home lives significantly. There's not much time to really spend doing anything else other than taking care of him and spend some time at home. But it's been -- its been a lot of fun. It's been a joy to watch him grow up.
And it's really incredible just the little things and how much joy he just brings me and Meredith. To see him smile when we get home and when he wakes up in the morning, he can recognize us now and smile and it's -- it's been a lot of fun.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Don Riddell there with Scottie Scheffler.
Now two of Hollywood's biggest stars proving that they still have the power to make waves and cause a bit of a stir.
Yes. George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Venice on Sunday pulling up on a boat along a canal as they -- ahead of the world premiere of their new film, "Wolfs", the comedy thriller screened later at the Venice Film Festival and as cool as they look, Clooney was apparently hot, commenting he was sweating as he signed autographs and posed for photos.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on X and Instagram @HolmesCNN.
Stay with me -- or stay with us, CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after the break.
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