The President's Daily Brief - May 13th, 2024: Israel-US Relations Crumble Amid Weapons Fallout, Putin's Major Escalation In Ukraine, & North Korean Provocations

Episode Date: May 13, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:     IDF forces are moving further into the southern Gaza city of Rafah amid rising tensions with the US. We’ll look at the fallout facing the Biden administration after their decision to cut off weapons to Israel, as well as a White House report alleging Israel violated humanitarian law in Gaza. Russia has launched a major ground offensive in northeast Ukraine, capturing territory and officially opening a new front in their brutal war as they attempt to break Kyiv's front lines. We’ll take a look at the fallout from the U.N.’s recent vote to grant Palestinians full membership in the United Nations. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, North Korea is once again inflaming tensions on the Korean peninsula, recently testing a new multiple rocket launcher system targeting South Korean population centers. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode is brought to you by Beam. Transform your sleep with Beam's dream. It's the secret, as you may have heard, behind 15 million nights of improved sleep. You've heard me talk about Beam's dream before. You fall asleep faster, you stay asleep longer, and you wake up refreshed. Get up to 40% off at shopbeam.com slash PDB and use the code PDB. It's Monday, 13 May. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief.

I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Today, we start with Israel, where IDF forces are moving further into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, amid rising tensions with the U.S. We'll look at the fallout facing the Biden administration after their decision to cut off weapons to Israel, as well as a White House report alleging Israel likely violated humanitarian law in Gaza. Later in the episode, we turn to the war in Ukraine, as Russia launches a war in Russia launch a

a major ground offensive in the northeast, capturing territory and officially opening a new front in their ongoing invasion. Plus, we'll take a look at the fallout from a recent UN vote, granting Palestinians full membership in the United Nations. And finally, in today's back of the brief, oh, he's out of again, Kim Jong-un is back to stirring the pot on the Korean Peninsula. That's not a place where you want to do a lot of pot stirring, recently, overseeing the testing of a new multiple rocket launcher system targeting South Korean population centers. But first, today's BDB spotlight. I want to begin today with updates regarding Israel, as the fallout intensifies between leaders

in Jerusalem and the Biden administration over threats to cut off weapons shipments. First, over the objections of the Biden administration, Israel continued to slowly and deliberately push deeper into the southern Gaza city of Rafa over the weekend. and that's, of course, in an effort to root out Hamas out of their final stronghold, and that's according to a report by ABC News. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken chided Israel on Sunday as they continued limited operations in the city, claiming Israel does not have a, quote, credible plan to protect the roughly 1.4 million Palestinian civilians sheltering in the enclave.

Well, I suppose you could also argue on the flip side, Secretary Blinken doesn't have a credible plan for how to protect. millions of Israelis from Hamas in the event that the organization is left in control of Gaza. Israel issued evacuation orders to tens of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in Rafah on Saturday ahead of their operations, telling refugees to head to a humanitarian area set up along the southern coast of the Gaza Strip. Now, reportedly so far some 300,000 Palestinians have fled Rafa in the days since Israel's multiple evacuation orders. This weekend's operations follow a lightning offensive by IDF forces earlier this week in parts

of Rafa, which saw Israel take control of a key border crossing with Egypt. Close quarters fighting between the IDF and Hamas also broke out this weekend in several areas of northern Gaza, where Hamas is reportedly trying to regroup in locations previously cleared by the IDF. Egypt issued their strongest rebuke yet of Israel's operations on Sunday, saying that due to their continued assault on Rafa, Egypt would be joining South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Now, what's not clear at the moment is to what degree the IDF coordinated with Egypt to the Egyptian military prior to their move on the Rafa crossing.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has long promised to invade Rafa to finish the job on Hamas. His commitment was highlighted earlier this week when President Biden threatened to end U.S. arms support for Israel if they proceeded with a ground invasion into Rafa. The episode triggered a diplomatic firestorm, though Netanyahu vowed to move forward with or without U.S. support. The remarks came in the wake of reports that the U.S. had already taken the unprecedented step of stopping the transfer of some 3,500 munitions to Israel nearly two weeks ago. Reports indicate, however, that the White House is in for a showdown this week in Congress over that controversial decision. According to an exclusive report by Axios, Republicans in the House plan to hold a vote

this week on a bill that would take away Biden's executive control over the flow of congressionally appropriated military aid. The vote is expected to fracture the Democrat caucus, which remains deeply divided over continued U.S. support of Israel. 26 House Democrats signed a to Biden on Friday, expressing deep concern about the tactic and the message that it sends to Hamas. Specifically, the bill would bar the precedent from withholding military aid to Israel that's been approved by Congress, with the requirement that any weapons currently being held be shipped within 15 days. To ensure enforcement, the bill would allow Congress to restrict funds for the Pentagon and State Department, including the salaries of individual officials

if there are any hold-ups in delivery. Biden's trouble with Israel, frankly, doesn't stop there. On Friday, his State Department released a report that concluded it is, quote, reasonable to assess that Israel has violated international humanitarian law in Gaza. Notably, the report found no specific violations, justifying withholding U.S. military aid, and stopped short of outlining final conclusions or recommendations, claiming that the chaos of war prevented verification,

of individual alleged breaches. Still, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said Sunday that he agrees with the preliminary findings, but noted the assessment is ongoing. We should note that accusations of war crimes, along with the unverifiable casualty figures issued by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, have been used by Israel's critics to drive an anti-Israel narrative and erode international support for Jerusalem. Now, reports confirm that the numbers pushed by the Hamas' led Gaza Health Ministry are significantly inflated. Late last week, the UN published the number of fatalities reported by the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which counted 34,735 deaths, and that included more than 9,500 women and 14,500 children. Well, then, two days later, the UN cut those estimates

in half. Now, while deaths still stood at more than 34,000, they revised the number of deaths of women down to 4,900 while reducing estimated deaths of children in half to 7,700. Look, those numbers are still tragic, all right? There's no question about that. But Hamas has been intentionally inflating numbers since the start of the conflict, which they started, knowing that it would drive the narrative and result in the current international pressure on Israel. It's also worth mentioning that the total number of casualties includes Hamas fighters, and that number could represent will over half of the total. The point being, this conflict is being fought, of course, not only on the battlefield, but in the realm of public opinion, and it gives us a window into how Israel's

adversaries have effectively manipulated these figures to serve their own propaganda purposes. All right, coming up next, we head to war-torn Ukraine, where Russia is advancing in their latest offensive to expand territorial gains and break through Keeves' front lines. Plus, we'll take a look at the fallout from the UN's recent vote to grant Palestinians full membership in the UN. More on those stories when we come back. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi-vehicle discount, safe driver discount, new vehicle discount, storage discount, legacy. How many discounts will you stack up?

Tap the banner or visit usaa.com slash auto discounts. Restrictions apply. Welcome back. Shifting our focus to Russia, the Putin regime appears to be making gains in the northeast of Ukraine near the city of Kharkiv as they mount a fresh offensive aimed at expanding their territorial hold within the country. Senior officials with the Ukrainian military warned on Sunday that the situation in the Kharkiv region has, quote, significantly worsened since Russia began their operations on Friday. While information is tough to verify amid the fog of war, Russian officials,

officials claim Sunday that they've captured as many as nine Ukrainian border villages to the northeast of Kharkiv City, and that's according to a report from CNN. As we discussed on Friday's show, Russia officially opened up a new front in their war against Ukraine on Friday morning, mobilizing an armored ground attack in the northeast of Ukraine in the surprise cross-border offensive. The move has alarmed Ukraine's international allies, particularly those in Europe who have long worried that Putin's ambitions extend beyond the borders of Ukraine. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron told Sky News on Sunday that Russia had, in essence, quote, invaded Ukraine again and called the situation a, quote, extremely dangerous moment.

While Ukrainian officials said they repelled the initial incursion on Friday, by Sunday, it appears that the tide had turned. In addition to the captured border villages, Russian forces have also reportedly advanced south and entered the town of Volshanksk, though Ukrainian officials insist they continue to keep the forces at bay. Putin's calculus behind the attack is still unclear. Some analysts have suggested he may be attempting to push Ukrainian forces back several miles so that Russia can establish a buffer zone along their border, while others have warned it represents the start of a major effort to seize Ukrainian territory, including the city of Kharkiv. And still others have

mused that the attack may be intended to draw away Ukrainian troops and force them to expend valuable resources ahead of a broader offensive. Ukrainian President Zelensky cited the latter explanation in remarks on Sunday, saying Russia was trying to, quote, stretch our forces and undermine morale, end quote. Now, while Ukrainian officials said they were well prepared for a Russian offensive in the Northeast after months of troop buildups on the border by the Putin regime, reports from the ground, and, well, they indicate that that may not be accurate. The commander of a Ukrainian Special Reconnaissance Unit told the BBC that Ukraine's front lines appear to have major gaps, possibly due to widespread corruption.

He noted that while officials claim to be building defenses along the border at a huge cost, those defenses don't seem to have ever been erected. He said, quote, there was no first line of defense. We saw it. The Russians just walked in. They just walked in without any minefields. Either it was an act of negligence, he said, or corruption. It wasn't a failure. It was a betrayal, end quote. While Ukrainian officials continue to deny that they were underprepared for the assault, fears are amounting that many areas in the Kharkiv region could soon begin falling back into Russian hands.

All right. I want to turn to the United Nations, which voted Friday to grant Palestinians full membership in the UN, sparking condemnations from Israel and promises of a veto from the U.S. In a drama-filled day, the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution requesting that the U.N. Security Council grant Palestinians member status. Ahead of the vote, Israel's ambassador to the U.N. Gilauderdin illustrated his disgust by feeding a mock copy of the U.N. charter through a paper shredder on the floor of the U.N. chamber. In a fiery denunciation, Erdan said, quote, This day will go down in infamy.

I want the entire world to remember this moment, this immoral act. Today, I want to hold up a mirror for you so you can see what exactly you were inflicting upon the UN Charter with this destructive vote. You are shredding the UN Charter with your own hands, he said. Critics of the resolution noted it would essentially give Palestinians full membership without any negotiation or agreement to live in peace with their Jewish neighbors. They say it would also violate a core aspect of the UN Charter, which requires new members to be from a peace-loving state.

While U.S. Israel relations may be at their shakiest in modern history, it does appear that the Biden administration still has Israel's back, at least in the UN, when it comes to the issue of Palestinian statehood. Despite the overwhelming support during the General Assembly vote, which saw 143 members vote in favor, with only nine voting against and 25 abstaining, it will ultimately require the approval of the 15-member Security Council, where, as you probably know, a single veto would kill it. As a reminder, this isn't the first time in recent months that the UN has tried to advance the cause of Palestinian statehood. A vote for Palestinian membership by the UN Security Council in April

failed after the U.S. used its veto power. While the Biden administration has previously signaled support for a two-state solution for the region in the future, officials have said it must be done through direct negotiations, not by some U.N. Fiat. After the vote on Friday, U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Woods said, quote, our vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood. We have been very clear that we support it and seek to advance it meaningfully. Instead, it's an acknowledgement that statehood will only come from a process that involves direct negotiation between the parties, end quote. He said if the Security Council takes up the measure,

the outcome will likely be the same as April's vote. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, North Korea is once again inflaming tensions on the Korean peninsula, recently testing a new multiple rocket launcher system targeting South Korean population centers. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, North Korean tough guy Kim Jong-un is once again,

escalating tensions with his southern neighbor as he continues to build up Pyongyang's offensive capabilities. In his latest provocation, Kim oversaw the test firing of a multiple rocket launcher system meant for targeting South Korean population centers on Saturday. The new system will reportedly replace older weapons on their border with South Korea when they begin deploying the systems in the coming months, according to a Reuters report. A jubilant Kim appeared pleased with the demonstrations as he beamed and smiled for North Korean state media cameras, and as you know, nothing makes a despot beam like a successful weapons test. Officials in the Hermit Kingdom claim that the weapons are an updated version of their current rocket launcher system that will allow for greater mobility

and a higher concentration of fire. State media said the tests confirmed the, quote, advantage and destructive power of the new rocket system, which reportedly also employs guided shells. While weapons tests by the Kim regime are, of course, nothing new, tensions have been rapidly escalating on the peninsula as the North pivots to a more antagonistic, almost wartime footing. As we've extensively covered on the PDB, since November, North Korea has been conducting frequent ballistic and cruise missile tests and regularly threatening South Korea with nuclear annihilation. Earlier this year, Kim moved to cut off all diplomatic ties with South Korea, officially ending their decades-long commitment to reunification. While it's unclear what their long-term aims are,

many analysts have suggested that their weapons build-up is part of a broader strategy to pressure the U.S. into accepting North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power so that they can begin negotiating economic and security concessions from the West. Whatever their ultimate end goal is, the moves have obviously sparked alarm within the international community, particularly as the regime moves closer, both diplomatically and militarily, to Russia. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief from Monday, 13 May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And remember, if you'd like to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the

president's daily brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill. Yeah, we've been hearing that a lot. Good news. Bring your AT&T or T Mobile Bill to Verizon and we'll give you a better deal.

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