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Ukrainian President Talks to Trump on Temporary Truce; Turkish People Resist New Ban on Public Demonstrations; Democrats, Republicans Turn to Exasperated Constituents at Town Halls; IOC to Elect Next President. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired March 20, 2025 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.
The Israeli military continuing its deadly strikes in Gaza as the ceasefire with Hamas collapses. We'll bring you a live update from Jerusalem.
Plus, confusion over what constitutes a ceasefire, why Ukraine and Russia are still dropping bombs despite Donald Trump's push for a pause in the fighting.
And congressional leaders across the U.S. are facing a flood of frustration as voters make their voices heard during chaotic town halls.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: I appreciate you joining us.
And we begin in Gaza where it's been another deadly night of Israeli airstrikes. Hospital officials say at least 21 Palestinians were killed. That's in addition to 70 killed on Wednesday and more than 400 on Tuesday.
Footage released by the IDF claims to show new ground operations or what they're calling targeted ground activities a day after Israel shattered a two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas. The militant group is calling this a new and dangerous breach that says it's still committed to a ceasefire.
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Meantime, police clashed with protesters denouncing the Israeli government's actions.
(VIDEO PLAYING) Sirens going off around Israel in the past few hours after the IDF reports it intercepted a missile launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Iran-backed group claimed responsibility and said it was in response to Israel's renewed bombardment of Gaza.
CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is following developments from Jerusalem. He joins us now live. So Nic, what is the latest on Israel's ground offensive and airstrikes in Gaza and what more are you learning about this threat to Israel from the Houthis?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Israel Katz, the defense minister here, has warned the Gazans of complete destruction and in essence said it's up to them to help overthrow Hamas, to relieve them of the attacks, the IDF attacks on Hamas.
The warnings that is given make it sound very clearly that the current limited in scope ground offensive could grow and it could begin to look like again the operations that were part of the main offensive that lasted 15 months until the middle of January this year. That's because that's the way that he's framing it.
In fact, he's saying the current operations could be much worse than what they experienced before. As you say, overnight tonight, 21 people, according to health officials in Gaza, were killed. Yesterday, it was 70 people, according to those same health officials, 50 of them killed in the north of Gaza.
The operations -- the IDF operations, they're also causing casualties across Gaza. The U.N. themselves were struck. One U.N. official there killed, although the IDF say this wasn't their strike.
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ROBERTSON (voice-over): International U.N. workers rushed to a Gaza hospital.
Five injured and one killed during a strike on their residence, the U.N. says, as Israel ramps up its war against Hamas in Gaza again.
According to a weapons expert consulted by CNN, fragments recovered from the U.N. building are consistent with an Israeli tank round, although Israel denies firing in the area Wednesday.
JORGE MOREIRA DA SILVA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, U.N. OFFICE FOR PROJECT SERVICES: The synopsis premises was hit at approximately 11:30 a.m. this morning. Today's incident follows strikes yesterday, but also two days ago.
[03:05:01]
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Almost as if the war didn't pause, Gazans forced to flee their homes again. Scenes reminiscent of 2023 and 2024, as Israeli aircraft dropped flyers in northern Gaza, warning residents to evacuate immediately. A massive military operation has started.
This, as Israel ratchets up its new offensive, launching limited targeted ground activities.
ISRAEL KATZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Residents of Gaza, this is the last warning. The airstrike against Hamas terrorists was only the first step. What is coming will be more difficult, and you will pay the price.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Israeli protesters, on the move too, motivated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's return to war. Marching in their thousands toward Israel's Knesset. Frustrations running high.
Former Minister Benny Gantz, now in opposition, feeling the crowd's high octane anger. He'd come to lend support, instead himself incensed by the crowd's criticisms.
UNKNOWN: Mr. Gantz was the white hope. We voted for him, we voted for Lapid. They are our candidates in the parliament, and they are just polite, but now they have to show that they are with us, and they have to show that they protest with us, and they have to show that they resist what Netanyahu is doing to this country.
ROBERTSON: Polling by an independent Israeli research company shows a steady but growing consensus for an end to the war in Gaza. More than seven out of ten Israelis want a complete withdrawal, and more than half say that Netanyahu should resign immediately.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Inside the Knesset, however, Netanyahu seems stronger than ever. His far-right ally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir rejoined the government, ending his boycott over the ceasefire.
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ROBERTSON: And we've just got some new details in from health officials in Gaza. They say now the death toll from overnight Israeli strikes has climbed to 40. That was from 21 before.
They also say that for the 18th day now, they are being essentially cut off from desperately needed humanitarian supplies. For them, the situation, they say, is getting worse. The IDF yet to speak about the strikes that residents of Gaza say happened in a number of locations, including Rafa and Khan Younis, in the south and center of Gaza.
CHURCH: Alright. Our thanks to Nic Robertson bringing us that report from Jerusalem. I appreciate it.
Major questions remain about a proposal for Russia and Ukraine to pause attacks on each other's energy facilities. Ukraine's president spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday and agreed to the pause. But it's still not clear if it also covers attacks on civilian infrastructure.
The White House says those details will be worked out by technical teams in Saudi Arabia in the coming days. The White House says President Trump agreed to help Ukraine find additional air defense systems, particularly in Europe. Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine will not give up land
for peace. As for the territories, this will probably be one of the most sensitive and difficult issues in the upcoming negotiations.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The first step is still an unconditional ceasefire, even if there are some paths that still need to be taken to get there. For us, the red line is the recognition of the Ukrainian temporarily occupied territories as Russian. We will not go for it.
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CHURCH: More now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny at the White House.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holding about an hour phone call on Wednesday, talking about a limited ceasefire in the ongoing fight with Russia.
Now, one central question of this is exactly what would be at issue in the ceasefire. This comes a day after a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump talking about energy and infrastructure. However, it's unclear if they're talking about energy infrastructure or energy and infrastructure.
The statements by both countries were not clear. We pressed the White House on that on Wednesday.
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ZELENY: A couple different readouts from the Kremlin and the U.S. on a couple different points. One was energy and infrastructure. The U.S. statement said energy and infrastructure.
The Kremlin said energy infrastructure. What is your understanding of what the actual substance of that disagreement was? And then one other question on that.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I would defer you to the readout that was provided by the White House. That's our understanding. And that's the truth.
ZELENY: But as new images are coming in from attacks in Ukraine from Russia, it's raising the question of energy or infrastructure, if any, regardless of the semantics, are being ruled out of potential attacks.
Now, the bottom line to all of this is that broad ceasefire that President Trump had been talking about certainly has not been agreed to, unclear if it will be. But a limited ceasefire is still being held out as a potential for hope. Officials from all three countries will be in Saudi Arabia talking about these exact details of moving toward a limited ceasefire. All this is coming as President Trump floating for the first time
American ownership or at least control of Ukrainian power facilities. No word from Putin on that.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.
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CHURCH: I want to bring in military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Appreciate you joining us, Colonel.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Oh, it's good to be with you again, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So President Trump says he had a very good call with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, who agreed to the 30-day partial ceasefire. But right now, there isn't any type of ceasefire in place because Russia defied Trump by ramping up attacks on Ukrainian targets just hours after Putin spoke with Trump on the phone.
Russia also disputes what they discussed, saying the future of U.S. military aid and intel to Ukraine were part of those talks. Trump denies that. So with these and other initial problems, how likely is it that Trump will get outmaneuvered by Putin?
LEIGHTON: Well, I think it's a very good possibility, unfortunately, Rosemary. And it's one of those things to those of us who have watched Russia for a long time, have really seen the Russian style of negotiating in action. And Putin is a master of that.
So given all of the things that we're dealing with, the discrepancies in the readouts from the different notes of the phone call, it's pretty clear that the Russians have one thing in mind, and that is to delay these talks and the ceasefire as long as possible.
So while there are going to be talks coming up this next weekend in Riyadh with the technical experts of presumably all sides, it's going to be a situation where I don't expect very much progress to be made. And that, of course, is unfortunate for the Ukrainians that are suffering in this war.
CHURCH: And on Wednesday, Trump suggested the U.S. could help secure or control Ukrainian nuclear power plants, and that's all the details we have on that issue. What do you make of this?
LEIGHTON: Well, this is kind of interesting, Rosemary, because in the past, the Ukrainians have actually used technology from the American Westinghouse Corporation. And so I'm not sure if President Trump knows that, but it certainly seems to feed into that narrative where he would like to own as much of the resources as possible.
I don't think it's necessarily wise for us to get into the business of actually providing energy to Ukraine itself in terms of actually running the utility, but in terms of providing the engineering and the reactors and the kind of hardware that's needed to make a system like that work. That, of course, is great for not only American business, but also
American technology. And it does help the Ukrainians in the sense that it does potentially serve as a security guarantee for the Ukrainians themselves, for their energy network, as well as for their infrastructure.
CHURCH: On a more positive note, 175 Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia were part of an exchange for 175 Russian POWs held by Ukraine on Wednesday in one of the largest single prisoner swaps since the start of this war. But that prisoner exchange was planned before Trump and Putin's phone call. So how significant is this in the scheme of things?
LEIGHTON: Well, it's significant that it took place in spite of everything that's going on. So you're right, there has been a history of prisoner exchanges between the Russians and the Ukrainians really since the start of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. And those kinds of prisoner exchanges actually predate that as well.
But this large one is, in normal circumstances, one would call this a confidence building measure.
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In this particular case, I think it's happened in spite of all the things that have gone on.
CHURCH: And, Colonel, while we have you with us, I do want to ask you this. Why do you think Donald Trump seems so eager to bend to Putin's wishes in exchange for the possibility of massive economic deals when Russia currently constitutes less than one percent of revenue for U.S. businesses? And do you think Trump just wants a deal, not necessarily a good deal, but just to show the world that he's the one person able to end this war in Ukraine?
LEIGHTON: I think that's really a part of it there, the idea that he wants to make a deal, and he almost wants to make a deal at any cost. This is a very, very dangerous thing to do.
Because, Rosemary, when you look at this, if you're chasing a Nobel Prize or if you're chasing some other kind of honor, the types of things that you have to do in order to be considered for something like that really should be something that is lasting for the people and the populations involved.
This is not going to be that. And I think it's, in essence, a fool's errand to go after these kinds of agreements if those agreements mean nothing in the end.
In other words, if they don't result in peace and if they don't result in a complete cessation of Russia's war aims, which are to basically eliminate Ukraine as a state. And that is something that the President of the United States does not seem to recognize at this point.
CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it. LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary. Anytime.
CHURCH: Tens of thousands defy authorities in Turkey to protest against the detention of Istanbul's mayor days before he was expected to be nominated to challenge Turkey's long-ruling president.
And frustration is spilling over at town halls across the U.S.
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UNKNOWN: We want you to show fight and you are not fighting.
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CHURCH: One man urging Democrats to stand up against President Donald Trump and his policies as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle face anger from constituents at home.
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CHURCH: Tens of thousands of people in Istanbul defied a new ban on public demonstrations Wednesday to protest against the government's detention of the city's mayor. Ekrem Imamoglu is a key political rival to Turkey's long-ruling president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Imamoglu was detained on Wednesday as part of corruption and terrorism investigations. Detention orders were also issued for around 100 others connected to the mayor. Beyond Istanbul, protests erupted in Ankara and some clashed with police and opposition lawmakers demonstrated in parliament. Opposition leaders and the wife of Istanbul's detained mayor condemned the arrests as politically motivated.
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OZGUR OZEL, REPUBLICAN PEOPLE'S PARTY LEADER (through translator): What has been happening since yesterday has a name, let's give it that name. What has been happening since yesterday is a coup attempt.
DILEK IMAMOGLOU, WIFE OF DETAINED ISTANBUL MAYOR EKREM IMAMOGLU: If we accept it, democracy dies. The day our government determines its rivals is the day that our democracy dies.
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CHURCH: The detention of Istanbul's mayor has sent shock waves through Turkish politics as the Erdogan government cracked down on the opposition ahead of a key primary vote. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A key rival of Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been detained. Just moments before he was taken from his home, Istanbul's mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, posted this video message.
Hundreds of police officers have been sent to the door of my house, he said, the house of the 16 million people of Istanbul. We are up against huge bullying, but I will not back down, he says. I love you all, I entrust myself to the people, I will be standing tall.
His detention comes just days before he was expected to be chosen as Turkey's main opposition party's presidential candidate.
Authorities said he was detained as part of corruption and terrorism investigations, along with detention orders issued for around 100 other people connected to the mayor, according to Turkish media.
The day will come, the tables will turn, protesters chanting outside Istanbul's police headquarters as critics denounce the detentions as political. Part of an ongoing government crackdown on the opposition following Erdogan's major defeat in local and mayoral elections last year.
The head of Imamoglu's Republican People's Party called the detention a coup attempt against our next president.
Imamoglu's wife called the accusations against him laughable, blaming false information on social media.
Such a thing is of course impossible, she said. It cannot be, it is a huge slander. Everything will come out in the open.
Turkey's next presidential election is not scheduled until 2028, but some analysts say Erdogan could call for early elections to allow him to bypass term limits.
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Imamoglu's detention comes one day after Istanbul University announced it had annulled his degree over irregularities. Without a university degree, he is disqualified from running for president. We will of course take this illegitimate decision to court, he said, speaking alongside his family on Tuesday.
Demonstrations have been banned across Istanbul until March 23rd to maintain public order and many social media sites restricted, but some supporters still took to the streets to protest the mayor's detention.
Imamoglu has been a vocal critic of President Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for more than two decades.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
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CHURCH: Still to come, Donald Trump's border czar says a judge's order has not stopped the deportation of migrants under an old wartime law. More on what's next in this legal battle.
Plus, the Trump administration is considering major cuts to the Pentagon. And that's got China celebrating a potentially smaller U.S. presence in Asia and the Pacific. Back with more.
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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. Let's check today's top stories for you.
Israel's military says it intercepted a missile launch from Yemen early this morning, just two days after the ceasefire in Gaza ended. Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for that attack, claiming they fired the missile in response to renewed Israeli strikes in Gaza this week.
Russia launched a series of aerial attacks on eastern Ukraine late Wednesday. A military official says critical infrastructure was damaged. This comes just a day after Vladimir Putin reportedly agreed to stop attacks on energy infrastructure during a call with Donald Trump.
The U.S. president also held a call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy Wednesday. The Ukrainian president said his forces would pause attacks on Russian energy targets as long as Moscow does the same. He said he believes a partial ceasefire could be achieved quickly.
Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, appears to be defying a judge's order to halt deportations of migrants using an old wartime law. Homan says deportation flights have not stopped and are not slowing down. On Monday, a federal appeals court will hold a hearing on the Trump administration's request to lift the order, temporarily blocking the operation.
It was being carried out under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act, established more than 200 years ago. It allows the U.S. government to deport non-citizens during a declared war or during an invasion or incursion by a foreign government.
Well, President Donald Trump's immigration policies are just one of the many issues sparking anger at town halls held by lawmakers across the U.S. While Republican members of Congress have faced strong backlash at home over his actions, some Democratic lawmakers are also fielding the frustration from constituents.
CNN's Brian Todd reports from Washington.
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UNKNOWN: We need to see hell now.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Democratic Congressman Glenn Ivey got a bracing reminder that these days in a town hall, even a friendly crowd can turn on you quickly.
UNKNOWN: We are not interested in hearing that you are in the minority. We know that. We want you to show some of the backbone and strategic brilliance that Mitch McConnell would have in the minority.
REP. GLENN IVEY (D-MD): Right.
UNKNOWN: We want you to show fight and you are not fighting.
TODD (voice-over): I asked Ivey about the accusation that he and other Democrats aren't fighting hard enough.
IVEY: We got to fight to win. And, you know, I don't know that expressing anger necessarily is the way to do that, per se, especially if you're trying to win over persuadable voters.
TODD (voice-over): That angry brushback in Forestville, Maryland, one of many similar scenes playing out in town halls across the country.
UNKNOWN: They can go at themselves is how I feel about it.
TODD (voice-over): In New York state, where Democratic Congressman Paul Tonko got an earful over President Trump's deportations.
UNKNOWN: We have people being transferred to El Salvadorian gulags without due process of law. Have we reached the line, sir? Have we reached the red line?
HANS NICHOLS, CO-AUTHOR, "AXIOS HILL LEADERS": There's a lot of anger. There's a lot of stray voltage. And some of that stray voltage is getting released at these town halls.
TODD (voice-over): And not just with Democrats.
At a Republican town hall in Nebraska, some pent up outrage pops.
In North Carolina, Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards hears it over President Trump's global ambitions.
UNKNOWN: Do you support the annexation of Canada and or Greenland? And this is a yes or no question.
[03:35:05]
I don't want you to -- I don't want you to wander off into the woods. I don't want to hear about your latest week in your office.
TODD (voice-over): In Arizona, Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego is berated by a constituent about his party's leadership.
UNKNOWN: You need to go back and talk with Senate Democrats and get a new leader.
TODD (voice-over): That's a common complaint, a sentiment that Democrats were sold out by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who recently voted in favor of the Republican-led spending bill. Schumer himself hasn't held any recent town halls and says he has rescheduled some book tour events over security concerns. So voters simply vent.
TODD: Hasn't he become a lightning rod for the idea that the Democrats aren't fighting hard enough?
NICHOLS: Oh, sure. He's absolutely a lightning rod for that. He feels that every day. But Chuck Schumer is in power, at least he's in charge of his caucus right now.
TODD (voice-over): Still, Glenn Ivey felt significant pressure regarding Schumer.
IVEY: He's done a lot of great things. But I'm afraid that it may be time for the Senate Democrats to pick new leadership as we move forward.
TODD: What might it take to tamp down some of this anger among voters at town halls? Analyst Hans Nichols says he doesn't really see it tamping down anytime soon.
In his words, it's not like you can take voters and put them on a naughty step and have them take a time out. The only thing he thinks might calm things down is some other national crisis that might distract voters.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: President Trump is set to sign an executive order today to start dismantling the Department of Education. That would fulfill a major campaign promise. A complete shutdown of the department would require an act of Congress.
But Education Secretary Linda McMahon is being directed to take steps to effectively put it out of business. A senior administration official said the executive order will not change federal funding for students with disabilities, funding for low-income schools or federal student loan payments.
The Pentagon is considering halting the expansion of U.S. forces in Japan as part of the Trump administration's efforts to shrink the federal government. A Pentagon document notes that move could save more than a billion dollars, but could also reduce the scope of U.S. command and control in the Pacific.
And as CNN's Will Ripley reports, China may be seizing the opportunity to grow its influence in the region with eyes on Taiwan.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chinese warships and fighter jets miles off the Taiwanese coast. Rare images from Taiwan's military. Beijing calls it joint readiness patrols. Taiwan calls it a growing threat from outside and within.
YAYA, PRO-BEIJING ONLINE INFLUENCER (through translator): I was born in China, and now I'm standing in China's Taiwan province.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Beijing's strategy is not just military. It's also about shaping narratives.
This pro-Beijing social media influencer known as Yaya lived in Taiwan for years. She was granted residency through marriage. Now she faces deportation back to China.
YAYA (through translator): Peaceful unification is much more difficult than unification by force.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Taipei calls the influencer a national security risk, a type of risk some fear will only grow with the abrupt cuts to Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. U.S.-funded news organizations have long countered China's official narrative.
UNKNOWN: VOA was never about journalism, it was a Cold War propaganda weapon built by the CIA.
UNKNOWN: From Xinjiang to Xizang, VOA has spread some of the most absurd lies about China.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Chinese nationalists are also celebrating on the mainland's tightly controlled internet.
Government censors even allowing praise of President Trump, calling him a "good comrade." "Trump finally did a good thing." "It's a rare good thing that is cheered in both China and the U.S."
UNKNOWN: The Chinese government has often targeted Uyghurs as a security concern.
RIPLEY (voice-over): For decades, they exposed stories Beijing wanted buried, from crackdowns on dissidents to Uyghur internment camps.
Vital sources of uncensored news during the Tiananmen Square massacre, its future now uncertain.
LIU XIN, CGTN ANCHOR, "THE POINT WITH LIU XIN": A 30-day halt to strikes on energy facilities by Russia and Ukraine.
RIPLEY (voice-over): While America pulls back, China is expanding. Beijing is pouring billions into its state-run outlets like CGTN and "China Daily," --
UNKNOWN: But let's be real -- no one cares about VOA.
RIPLEY (voice-over): -- aggressively growing its media influence worldwide. VOA and RFA reached millions, including those in China who bypassed censorship to access outside news. Now that counterbalance is in jeopardy.
With America's voice fading, China's megaphone is only growing louder, and its military is only growing stronger.
[03:39:59]
RIPLEY: The contrast is striking. As one superpower's state-backed broadcaster goes dark, China's state-controlled outlets are arguably reaching more people than ever, especially their English-language state media and social media, bolstered with the help of A.I. technology to communicate with English-speaking audiences in places like the U.S. and Europe and elsewhere. In this shifting information war, Beijing is filling the void, some say that's left, by the U.S.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Just ahead, new Israeli outposts are encroaching on parts of the West Bank. The result, Palestinians who've lived there for generations say they're being forced to leave. We'll have details on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
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[03:45:00]
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CHURCH: The fighting in Gaza is having a devastating side effect on some Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Activists say dozens of new Israeli outposts have sprung up across the territory since the war in Gaza began.
As CNN's Nada Bashir reports, many Palestinians now believe they have only one option left, to move.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For decades, Palestinian shepherds have faced threats and violence at the hands of Israeli settlers. Dozens of rural farms like this one have already been abandoned as a result.
But such violence is only increasing. This is just one of several incidents documented by Israeli NGO B'Tselem over recent months. The organization says dozens of settlers descended on the occupied West Bank village of al-Maniyah in mid-February, attacking homes, farming equipment and even residents.
While Israeli police forces demolished the outpost established in the village by settlers, B'Tselem says the outpost was later rebuilt that same day. Dozens of Palestinian herding communities have been impacted by the spread of outposts like this one, essentially undefined settlements, usually made up of small structures or caravans.
Israeli anti-settlement watchdogs Peace Now and Kerem Navot say at least 49 outposts were established in the months following the October 7th attacks, an increase of nearly 50 percent since the beginning of the war in Gaza. As of last December, the groups estimate that herding outposts covered
almost 14 percent of the occupied West Bank. That's an area of land roughly twice the size of Gaza.
And that's in addition to approximately 150 officially recognized settlements that have already been established in the West Bank. Both outposts and settlements are considered illegal under international law.
Satellite imagery analyzed by CNN shows how rapidly herding outposts have spread, as well as the gradual development of new roads connecting the outposts to established settlements and, in some cases, cutting Palestinians off from the land that they depend on.
In the northern village of Al Farisiya, the local farming community has now been almost entirely depopulated. Back in February, we met the Deraghma family, at the time still desperately clinging on to their land.
These hills are full of areas for our animals to feed, but now there are settlers over here, over there, and another one over there. We can't access these areas, Ahmed says.
The settlers come to scare our sheep and frighten our children. We've had to stop going up on the hills with our sheep, fearing they will come after us.
Ahmed's family says they have lived here for generations, the land not only their home, but also their livelihood.
We've always lived here, Hussein says. Our whole lives are here. Where else can we go?
Since filming, members of the Deraghma family told CNN they were left with no choice but to abandon their homes. Acts of violence by settlers from nearby outposts, simply too much to bear.
Activists say outposts like those around the village of Al Farisiya are established with the purpose of laying claim to Palestinian land and pressuring Palestinian communities to flee.
Through threats, physical violence and direct attacks on resources, including livestock and farming equipment, often with the protection from both the military and the state. CNN has reached out to the Israeli government about allegations of its support for illegal outposts, but has not received a response. The Israeli military told CNN that it condemns violence in any form, and that police are tasked with handling any Israeli violations of the law.
When asked about new roads we saw being developed around another nearby village, the IDF said the land had been seized for, quote, "operational needs," adding that "the route is intended for use by security forces and that it has been developed in accordance with military orders."
DROR KTKES, FOUNDER, KEREM NAVOT: It's important to understand that this project, this herding outpost campaign or this project is a national project, a state project. This is not a project which is initiated by individuals. It's a project which the state of Israel is standing behind it, it's budgeting, it's facilitating, it's protecting it.
[03:50:01]
BASHIR (voice-over): The Ministry of Settlements, for example, has budgeted for outposts which it calls young settlements, previously saying funds were carried out in accordance with all laws. But the displacement of Palestinian herding communities is just one part of a deepening crisis in the West Bank.
The U.N. says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been forced from their homes since February by an expanding Israeli military operation, with Israel's defense minister calling on the military to prevent the return of those displaced, stoking fears around the potential for a full annexation of the territory and crushing hopes for a pathway to a viable Palestinian state.
Nada Bashir, CNN, in the occupied West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And we'll be right back.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
The International Olympic Committee will elect their new leader on Thursday. The person chosen will be the organization's 10th president and the most powerful figure in world sports.
As CNN's Amanda Davies reports, the next IOC president will start the job facing high expectations with the possibility of high consequences.
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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT (voice-over): You might think it's Leo Messi, LeBron James, Tiger Woods or Simone Biles, or maybe FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
DAVIES: But no, it's the person who runs the show here, the guardian of these rings, set to be elected the 10th president of the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, who will become what's known as the most powerful in sport.
THOMAS BACH, IOC PRESIDENT: If you would ask me for some advice, then I would say athletes first. Then I would say keep the unity of the Olympic movement and keep with this unity the solidarity within the Olympic movement. To accomplish all this, you need to keep the political neutrality of the Olympic movement.
DAVIES (voice-over): The issue of Russia has dominated Thomas Bach's 12-year tenure, from the controversial awarding of the 2014 Winter Olympics to Sochi, to the discovery of widespread state-sponsored doping of athletes, and most recently, the suspension of the national team because of the country's actions following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
And whether or not to reinstate Russia and its athletes will be one of the first items on the new president's agenda.
[03:55:04]
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: I think the Russia issue is a very, very big deal. I think it will remain on the table as something that is front and center for the next IOC president, for sure. As we know, over the last few weeks in the news, the issue of Russia and Ukraine and the United States has now become a huge headline. All of those issues that we see now may very well still be in the news in some way, shape or form, and literally dumped at the doorstep of the Los Angeles Olympics.
DAVIES (voice-over): That idea that sport and politics don't mix is long outdated. There's only three and a half years to go until 2028. That means President Trump won't only have a role in the opening ceremony, but his relationship with the new IOC head will be key to how the games and sporting agenda unfolds.
BRENNAN: The U.S. president, Donald Trump, becomes the single most important player, the single most important figure outside of the Olympic movement. This is a man who loves sports and wants to insert himself in sports every way he can. I see him being a huge force within that, and so I think Donald Trump could make the next IOC president's life very interesting.
DAVIES (voice-over): Trump has already made his stance on transgender athletes' participation in sport more than clear, taking executive action to ban transgender women from competing in women's sports.
BACH: We have two boxers who were born as a woman, who have been raised as a woman.
DAVIES (voice-over): But we saw in Paris last year the chaos that a lack of understanding, misinformation and lack of clarity in the rules can bring, with the controversy around the participation of female boxers Imani Khalif and Lin Yu-Ting. It will be up to the newly- elected president to lead the way for the sporting federations around the world as they formulate their gender eligibility regulations.
Without doubt, one of the most emotive, politicized issues sport has ever had to contend with, and one that is setting the tone for society.
Amanda Davies, CNN, Lausanne.
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CHURCH: And thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church.
"Amanpour" is up next. "Early Start" with Rahel Solomon begins at 5 a.m. in New York, 10 a.m. in London.
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