Reuters World News - Biden’s Israel trip, American views of the conflict and Poland’s tectonic shift

Episode Date: October 17, 2023

President Biden is to visit Israel on Wednesday as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens. A Reuters/Ipsos poll on what Americans think about the deepening conflict. Plus, gunman killed in a Brussels cafe, what happens next in Poland and Putin in China. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, President Biden is heading to Israel as pressure mounts over the situation in Gaza. A new Reuters-Ipsos poll shows a majority of Americans want the US to help Palestinian civilians. Trucks carrying aid for Gaza have arrived at the Rafa border crossing, but will they make it in? Plus, Poland on the cusp of major political change. It's Tuesday, October 17th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. Every weekday. I'm Kim Vennel.

On Wednesday, President Biden loses Israel. He's coming here at a critical moment for Israel, for the region and for the world. Anthony Blinken announcing what will be a high stakes and risky trip for U.S. President Joe Biden. The president's visit a show of support for Israel. as it prepares a ground invasion into the Gaza strip. Air strikes on the enclave are intensifying and killing thousands. In the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunus, rescuers yell for people to make way

as they stretcher limp bodies out from the rubble. Washington says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to let humanitarian aid into Gaza. trucks carrying aid have arrived at the Rafa border crossing. On Israel's border with Lebanon, meanwhile, clashes with militant group Hezbollah have intensified. Israel has ordered the evacuation of villages near the border. And Iran is warning that Israel will not be allowed to act in Gaza without consequences, giving Biden another task to try and ensure this conflict doesn't spread.

Belgian police have shot and killed a man suspected of killing two Swedes heading to a football match in Brussels. On social media, a man claiming to be associated with Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killings. India's top court says it can't legalise same-sex marriages. Five judges headed by the Chief Justice of India said the law is the domain of Parliament. Donald Trump has been ordered to stop verbally attacking US prosecutors and potential witnesses involved in the criminal case that accuses him of trying to overturn the 2020 election. A federal judge said she would not allow him to launch a smear campaign. Trump called the decision unconstitutional and says he's being forced to run his campaign with a gag order.

Migrant families who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Trump administration, are being offered temporary legal status. The agreement is part of a settlement after a 2018 lawsuit by the ACLU. The families of at least 3,900 children who were separated from their parents between 2017 and 2021 could be eligible. The Amazon River is at its lowest level in a century. A record drought across Brazil has dropped the river, stranding boats and cutting off crucial food and water supplies to remote villages.

With the situation in the Middle East so fluid, investors are turning their attention to corporate earnings. Quarterly results are out this week from some of the major Wall Street banks, as well as Tesla and Netflix. A new Reuters Epsos poll finds a bipartisan majority of Americans want the US to help get Palestinian civilians out of harm's way. And while public support for Israel is stronger than in the past, there are notable divides. Matt Spitalnik is in Washington, D.C. So Matt, this poll finds broad support for Israel among Americans, but there were some divides along partisan lines. Our poll shows that support for Israel's position was strongest among Republicans compared to Democrats, quite a bit stronger, in fact.

Democrats, especially on the left, have had. at a much more difficult time accepting Israel's harsh treatment at times of the Palestinians, as well as the expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land. And the poll found that Americans under the age of 40 were less supportive of Israel than older Americans. Why might that be? The generational gap on support for Israel appears to be based on several different factors. One is that as the Holocaust fades more into the backdrop, the younger Americans really aren't as fully aware of Israel as being that place where Jews in the aftermath of Nazi atrocities were able to find a place of refuge finally in the world. On top of that, you've got growing signs of pro-Palestinian protests and anti-Israel protests on college campuses that have divided student bodies in some cases.

And so how might that fading support become a concern for Israel? The problems that Israel would face the future if this generational divide remains or even grows is that the United States provides Israel with a great deal of military aid and diplomatic support internationally. If U.S. governments in the future begin to kind of pull back on some of that support, that could be problematic for Israel. celebrations in Warsaw, where Poland's liberal pro-Europe opposition, led by Donald Tusk, looks set to form the next government after a landmark election. But after eight years of rule by the nationalist Law and Justice Party, or PIS,

how easy will it be for Poland to slip back into the European mainstream? Rachel Armstrong is our Europe news editor. So Rachel, the opposition has the numbers to put together a coalition, but it's not that straightforward, is it? What happens now? We're now going to have what's expected to be quite a lengthy process. The President Duda is a member of the nationalist PIS party. He will grant PIS the right to attempt to form a government first. It's thought incredibly unlikely they will be able to get the numbers,

but they will want to take their time over this process. So it may be that it's not until December or January. that Tusk and the other opposition parties even get the opportunity to try and form a government. How easy or difficult will it be for them to try and make meaningful changes? The opposition parties are all largely agreed that the changes to the judiciary that have been happening in Poland over recent years need to be undone, but that will likely be half for them to carry off because the president, Duda, is from the PIS and he will likely exercise veto powers over initial attempts to do that,

which will mean that those types of reforms will have to go through the courts themselves, the very courts that the opposition parties will want reformed. So that will be difficult and take a long time. The other issues that PIS has stood out for, perhaps abortion, that will also likely be hard for a new government to make changes on. I think, though, what is likely to be seen, especially at the European Union level, is that Western EU members in particular will suddenly find Poland is perhaps a more constructive partner to deal with. Poland had a reputation in the European Union for blocking lots of reforms, whether that be on climate change or migration. I think the expectation in Brussels is that in the coming months, it will be a lot easier to.

deal with Poland on issues like that. That's it for today's episode. If you haven't yet had a chance to check out our two special episodes on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, please do take a listen. They were published over the weekend and you can find them in our feed and we'll also put links in today's episode description. We'll be back on Wednesday with our daily news show. To make sure you know what's going on in the world, listen in for 10 minutes every weekday.

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