The President's Daily Brief - November 9th, 2023: Hamas Confessions, Blinken's Warning, & Diplomatic Crossroad

Episode Date: November 9, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   IDF's significant advance into Gaza City and the startling admissions from Hamas leaders regarding their motivations behind the October 7th attacks.   U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's warnings to Israel about reoccupying Gaza, advocating for Palestinian Authority governance post-conflict.   Positive shifts in U.S.-China relations ahead of a critical summit, with both nations indicating a readiness to ease tensions.   Bipartisan action in Congress as a member faces censure over controversial remarks concerning Israel.   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

It's Thursday, November 9th. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. In today's PDB, as the IDF pushes into the heart of Gaza City, Hamas leaders make a startling admission about the October 7th attacks. Then, a little later in the program, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pushes back against Prime Minister Netanyahu's recent comments

concerning Israel's post-conflict involvement with Gaza. And as the U.S. and China approach a pivotal summit in San Francisco, China signals a desire to thaw frosty relations. Finally, in the back of the brief, a member of Congress gets censured for comments which appeared to call for an end to the Jewish state. Rashida Tlebe explains that, from the river to the sea, at least when she uses the phrase, doesn't mean what you think it means, or what tens of millions of people think it means,

which of course is an end to the Jewish state. But first up, the PDB spotlight. After encircling Gaza's city for nearly two weeks and severing it from the rest of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces, the IDF, have begun their push into the city's heart. This is their most significant advance since the ground offensive commenced over 11 days ago. as Gaza's largest city and a crucial political and administrative center for Hamas, the IDF's penetration into Gaza City marks a new phase in the conflict. Defense Minister Jov Gallant has now confirmed that IDF forces are in the center of Gaza City,

having advanced from multiple directions with a concerted effort from land, air, and sea units. This move highlights a pivotal shift from containment to direct engagement, in urban areas. According to Israel's military, Hamas has completely lost control over northern Gaza at this point. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli military, told the press, quote, we witnessed 50,000 Gazans migrate from the northern Gaza Strip to the south. They're relocating because they realize Hamas no longer holds power in the north. In other words, with the terror group's grip on Gaza City slipping, Palestinian civilians now feel free to make the trek south out of harm's way. Meanwhile, Hamas leaders have made striking admissions to the New York Times. Kalil Al-Halia,

a senior member of Hamas's leadership, revealed that the group's intention behind the October 7th surprise attack was to instigate a, quote, permanent war against Israel. Al-Halia openly admitted that the attacks had nothing to do with governing Gaza or improving living conditions. He said, quote, this battle was not because we wanted fuel or laborers. It did not seek to improve the situation in Gaza. This battle, he said, is to completely overthrow the situation, end quote. Now, it's no surprise that Hamas leaders don't care about the day-to-day lives of the people they claim to govern. We've discussed that fact repeatedly here on the PDB. Al-Haya, along with other Hamas officials orchestrate their plans from the comfort of affluent neighborhoods abroad,

seemingly indifferent to the suffering and exploitation of Gazans. Indeed, the true center of gravity for Hamas may lie not in Gaza City, but in the luxury and safety of Doha Qatar, where its political leaders reside and lead lifestyles, frankly, starkly contrasting with those in Gaza. Now, the men at the top of Hamas's food chain, they're not hard. garden guerrilla fighters or staunch revolutionaries, reports suggested the group's top three leaders have a combined net worth of $11 billion. Think about that. The leaders of Hamas are billionaires. Now, for all the useful idiots who've been taking to the streets protesting how the Palestinians are suffering at the hands of Israel, perhaps they could ask themselves, would $11 billion or so be useful to the

Palestinian residents of Gaza. Schools, hospitals, clean water projects, communications, yeah, that money siphoned off stolen by Hamas leadership from the people they were supposedly governing over the past almost 20 years would most definitely improve the lives and futures of Palestinians. But Hamas doesn't care about the lives and futures of Palestinians. Now among them is the chief of Hamas's political bureau, 61-year-old Ismaal Hanye, We've talked about him before. He's got an estimated personal fortune of $4 billion, enjoying the high life in Qatar and Turkey. His two sons are minor Instagram celebrities and often post pictures of themselves lounging on hotel beds in Istanbul or Doha. Then there's Musa Abu Marzuk, 72 years old. He's considered the second in command within the Hamas structure and is a foreign minister of sorts. He's estimated by the Israeli government. government to be worth $3 billion. And finally, there's Khaled Mashal, who helps manage Hamas's finances and real estate from his sanctuary in Qatar. He's reportedly worth around $4 billion.

That's some pretty fine financial management on his part. Now, it's one thing, obviously, to feel sympathy and empathy for the residents of Gaza. That's a good thing. But blindly and unquestioningly, accepting the Hamas and Iranian regime-driven narrative that their suffering is because of Israel? Well, Hamas' leadership and command structure directed the torture, rape, and slaughter of men, women, children, and babies, and they've admitted that they won't stop, that they want a permanent war because, as we've discussed, their acknowledged objective is the destruction of Israel. Hamas has spent the past almost 20 years stealing the money that was meant to flow to the resident of Gaza, stealing their futures and depriving them of better lives.

Frankly, the best thing that could happen to Gaza, to the people of Gaza, is what Israel is now attempting to accomplish, the destruction of Hamas. All right, after the break, Anthony Blinkin's warnings to Israel about reoccupying Gaza after the war. And are we seeing some positive shifts in U.S.-China relations? I'll be right back. back. Yesterday, we reported on comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, indicating that Israel could abandon decades of policy and handle Gaza security itself after the

conflict is over. The idea being that after the conflict, and until there is a governing structure in place, capable of providing security, Israel will need to play a role to ensure Hamas doesn't reconstitute. Well, that idea. is getting a chilly reception from the United States. Speaking after a meeting with G7 leaders in Japan on Wednesday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken cautioned Israel against reoccupying Gaza with its own security forces. In his remarks, Blinken advocated for governance by the Palestinian Authority

instead of Hamas to avoid repeated attacks in the region. Now, Blinken did not offer specifics on how this would be accomplished. He simply stated that after the conflict, Gaza and the West Bank should be unified under the rule of the Palestinian Authority, and that neither area should be used as a platform for terrorism. Okay, in theory, that's a fine thought. The question is, how to make it a reality. It's worth noting that even when the conflict ends, this will be a hard sell on both sides. the Palestinian Authority, or PA leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is frankly unpopular among his own people, with polls showing that roughly 80% of Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza wish for him to resign. This is to say nothing of how coalition leaders in Israel feel about the matter.

They generally oppose establishing a Palestinian state and see little difference between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Blinkin's statement, outlining the Biden administration's post-war strategy in Gaza, served as a soft rebuke to Netanyahu's remarks during an interview on Tuesday. When asked about Netanyahu's comments, Blinken said he does not believe Israel intends to reoccupy Gaza permanently, but conceded that there would likely be the need for a, quote, transition period following the current conflict. Ultimately, Blinken said there must be a pathway for Israel's, and Palestinians to live, quote, side by side in states of their own.

Look, there's a complicated history in Gaza involving the Palestinian authority and the PA's potential to govern there. Essentially, the PA was driven out of Gaza by Hamas. Obviously, Mahmoud Abbas and the PA leadership see an opportunity with his current conflict, and no doubt are secretly wishing Israel's success in destroying Hamas. Now, whether the PA has could then ease into a governing position in Gaza, unifying the governing structure existing in Gaza and the West Bank under PA authority, well, that's a question that currently doesn't have a clear answer. The problem is that there are very few options, and none of them appear particularly good. The PA could take over responsibility for governing insecurity in Gaza, or the feckless UN could

somehow pulled together a consensus and create a peacekeeping force for Gaza, or the Israelis oversee security and governance in the enclave for an undetermined period of time, all while the world postures about a two-state solution which frankly neither the Arab world nor Israel seemed keen to create. Okay, on a somewhat more optimistic note, we turn our attention to relations between the U.S. and China, which show some signs of thawing despite the current international turmoil. Chinese Vice President Hong Zheng said Wednesday that Beijing is ready to improve relations and hold talks with their counterparts in the U.S. at all levels. The remarks come ahead of an expected meeting next week between President Joe Biden and Chinese

leader Xi Jinping at a summit of APEC members in San Francisco. APEC stands for Asia-Pacific economic cooperation. Conflict over a host of issues, including export controls, human rights, and national security, had driven U.S.-China relations to new lows over the past few years. Things only got worse in February of this year after China's alleged surveillance balloon was spotted over North America and eventually shot down. A series of diplomatic visits over the summer by members of the Biden-Mibuster, administration, however, began to turn the tide with Communist Party leadership. It appears that if you

send enough high-ranking administration officials to kiss enough Chinese regime, but you can thaw even the frostiest of relations. The highly anticipated meeting between Xi and Biden, it could mark the beginning of renewed cooperation, and by cooperation, I mean the U.S. will grant concessions, and Xi's intelligence apparatus will continue to steal economic intelligence, critical research and development, and trade secrets. Now, interestingly, among the Chinese people, attitudes towards the U.S. are also trending in an encouraging direction. That's according to a new poll from Morning Consult.

A little over a year ago, the poll showed that roughly 80% of the population viewed the U.S. as an enemy. That number plummeted to 48% as of October, and roughly 45% of the Chinese population now view the U.S. as either an ally or at the very least friendly. Now, that's a remarkable turnaround. Within one year, you went from 80% of those surveyed viewing the U.S. as an enemy to only 48% now. It makes you wonder what happened to shift views so significantly. Could have been all those photos in the Chinese state-sponsored press

of U.S. administration officials visiting Beijing. Now, it's far too early to speculate on how serious Xi actually is about easing tensions between the U.S. and China, but, okay, let's be optimistic and say that the recent progress looks encouraging. Just a few days ago, Xi spoke of the importance of, quote, building bridges of friendship between the two countries. Now, look, we should want better relations with China. That makes sense.

but perhaps this time around during these next conversations, we could seriously confront the Xi regime's addiction to economic espionage and their increasingly aggressive acts in the South China Sea and elsewhere. Coming up in the back of the brief, in a rare show of bipartisanship, a number of Democrats, although not as many as you might think, joined with Republicans to censure Michigan Representative Rashida Tlebe over her inflammatory remarks regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict. I'll be right back.

Welcome back. In today's back of the brief, we'll turn to Capitol Hill, where the House of Representatives passed a resolution to censure Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Thlebe for remarks that many see as a call for the eradication of Israel. This controversy ignited last Friday when Thelib shared a video showing pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanting from the river to the sea. Now, if you're unfamiliar with this saying, the full phrase is, from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. It's a reference to the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, which encompasses Israel and the Palestinian territories. It's been

historically linked to Palestinian nationalism. Of course, from the river to the sea, doesn't leave much room for the state of Israel, now does it? That's why the statement is, often seen as a call for the elimination of the Jewish state altogether. It's no surprise that Hamas has adopted the slogan as their own. Taleb defended her comments, insisting the phrase is, quote, an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, end quote. She explicitly denied that it was a call for violence or hatred. Okay, so the House voted 234 to 188 for the rebuke, with four Republicans opposing the resolution and 22 Democrats supporting it. Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee, one of Talib's Jewish colleagues,

expressed particular disdain for the video she posted and her subsequent claim that it didn't mean the elimination of Israel. Cohen said, quote, you can piss on my leg, but don't tell me it's rain. Nah, I can't wait to see how the foreign press translates that quote. Taleb, of course, was warmly supported by the usual suspects, what's become known on Capitol Hill as the squad, which actually makes them sound cooler than they are. Now, the squad members have a history of condescendingly preaching to the American public that words are violence. You can't swing a dead cat without finding an example of when the squad has played the racism or any sort of ism card against folks who make comments or arguments that they don't like. But apparently, or so were told by Tlebe and her squad supporters, using a phrase that millions of people see as a call for the eradication of the Jewish state,

well, that's not violence, that's just being misunderstood. The performative art was strong with this one. There were tears, there were hugs, quivering upper lips, sad eyes thrown to the media cameras, all designed to convince you that her words were not violence. And that's quite the reversal from her use. position. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, 9 November. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.