Up next in 10
Donald Trump has said his Board of Peace has reached an agreement for the disarmament of Hamas in Gaza.
Writing on Truth Social, the US President said that the "agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases".
It will reportedly include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.
He also said the deal will pave the way for the establishment of a "new Palestinian government".
The milestone, once reached, would mark the second phase of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire plan.
The framework would also allow for the reconstruction of Gaza.
Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp
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0:00
Three minutes after ten is the time
0:01
It's not the most obvious question to ask, or indeed the most important element of the issues
0:05
But there are two big stories, big international stories. There are several, but to draw the eye particularly this morning
0:12
one, of course, involves FIFA and the, well, I mean, doughty defence of decency being mounted by UEFA, of all people
0:21
It's a timely reminder of what happens if everybody unites and acts consistently
0:25
Imagine if the US media had behaved towards Donald Trump as the European Football Federation is behaving towards Gianni, his mate Gianni Infantino
0:37
And the second story, of course, is the announcement today by Trump that peace in the Middle East is on the way
0:43
or at least a cessation of the carnage, the genocide in Gaza
0:49
And they've got something in common. It's twofold. You might work out half of it, and then if you work out half of it
0:54
you'll be able to work out the rest of it. But I'm going to leave that thought hanging for a while. What on earth links the hideous story about attempts to exploit the World Cup for the enrichment
1:06
Well, I'm beginning to give you clues now. What on earth links the FIFA story to the Gaza story
1:13
It's never going to happen, is it? The world working out a way to treat Trump with the derision he so clearly deserves
1:24
It is a tragedy for our age that if Donald Trump appeared on television
1:29
claiming that he has cured the common cold or that he has solved mathematical riddles
1:37
that have tested humanity since the time of Isaac Newton, if he appeared on television claiming to be a nuclear physicist
1:43
or explaining how he was going to inhabit Mars, people would cheer him
1:50
People would cheer him. Dick Littlejohn would write a Daily Mail column about how incredible it is that Donald Trump has cured the common cold
1:57
and solved timeless mathematical mysteries and somehow worked out a way to live on Mars
2:05
He'd write a column about it and probably use it as an opportunity to attack Andy Burnham
2:10
And various other members of the UK media would ask incredibly fatuous questions like
2:15
is this the end of the common cold? Or has this changed your view of Donald Trump
2:20
Or are we looking at a new world? And it is incredible to me that we're all still
2:26
this isn't just a criticism of the toe-ticklers and the wombats who haven't been able to see clearly how hideous Donald Trump is
2:32
from the very, very start. It seems incredible to me. We still don't know how to deal with it
2:39
Because here's the thing, right? Come here a minute. If the President of the United States announces something
2:48
even if he has, imagine if the boy who cried wolf was the President of the United States
2:53
Oh, this is good. I hadn't thought of this before. You know the story of the boy who cried wolf, right
2:58
The boy cries wolf so many times that when there is actually, and there is no wolf, he just enjoys the fuss that it creates
3:05
in the way that perhaps announcing things with regard to Iran, you might enjoy the impact that it has upon oil prices
3:11
or share prices in general. So you announce things that are not true
3:15
because you enjoy the reaction. That is, I think, a fairly neat distillation
3:20
of the boy who cried wolf is it an esop fable the boy who cried wolf or is it just a a kind of um
3:25
one handed down through the ages is it just part of an oral tradition i don't know it doesn't matter
3:29
you do it you announce it um because you enjoy the reaction
3:36
even though you know it's not true i'm not sure we can say the second bit about trump i think his
3:43
relationship with truth and reality is at the very least strained and quite possibly non-existent
3:48
But the rest of us know it's not true. And the parable of the boy who cried wolf stands
3:54
We don't need to yse whether or not Donald Trump realises that there's no wolf. He announces
3:58
it because he enjoys, in some sense, because he enjoys the reaction. Yeah? But it's not
4:05
true How many times have we heard him say that the war against Iran is over Actually close to countless now He announces it it not true I mean think about the election the 2020 election
4:19
How many times has he claimed he won that? It's not true. He enjoys the reaction, not in the sense of a share price going up
4:25
but in the sense that it chips away at the notion of democracy and the United States of America being trustworthy or reliable
4:32
which means if he loses another election, for example the midterms, he'll be able to claim that he has been a victim of some sort of conspiracy
4:40
or some sort of robbery or corruption. He says things that are not true because of the reaction
4:51
The announcements are a means to an end. Just like the boy who cried wolf shouted wolf
4:56
and all the villagers came running and there was no wolf so that when he shouted wolf and there was a wolf
5:02
nobody came and all the sheep got eaten. I should have done a spoiler alert there in case you've never actually read or listened to the end of the boy, the fable of the boy who cried wolf
5:13
So when Donald Trump announces that a historic agreement has been reached to disarm Hamas and other militant groups inside Gaza, you have to report it
5:21
You have to run towards the flock of sheep because the shepherd has shouted wolf
5:27
You have to report it. You have to treat it as if it were a trustworthy, honest, reliable president who had announced it, such as, off the top of my head, Barack Obama or Bill Clinton. You have to
5:39
Or I think George W. Bush or his father actually announced serial untruths for fun, so you can stick them on the list as well. Let's try not to be partisan about this
5:50
you have to report it even though the man is I mean he uses capital letters
5:56
in a way that most toddlers have grown out of peace and security are in capital letters
6:02
monumental step using his own ludicrous social media platform to announce that Israeli forces
6:07
would withdraw from Gaza despite the fact that literally no comment has been made by Israel
6:12
let me be absolutely clear I mean it has to end one day right
6:17
that's going to be my second question today It has to end one day
6:22
And when it does, he will claim the credit. You are familiar with the rather more modern parable
6:27
of the pigeon playing chess, right? A pigeon plays chess. There is no point playing chess with a pigeon
6:32
because you'll play your best moves and the pigeon will poop all over the board
6:36
knock over all the pieces and then strut around the place claiming that they've secured a glorious victory
6:40
If ever humankind had somehow managed to create a chess-playing pigeon, that man is Donald Trump
6:47
And one day it will be true. and then of course Hamas come out and say
6:51
yeah we're on board with this because they know I think and listen I could be wrong one day it will be true
6:57
they know I think that Israel won't I don't know how Israel
7:06
I mean didn't Benjamin Netanyahu promise to eradicate Hamas in the same way that Donald Trump said he was going to eradicate the Iranian regime
7:12
which is currently led by the son of the man who was leading it when he said he was going to eradicate the regime
7:17
Hamas officials said that a committee established by Trump's Board of Peace
7:22
to govern Gaza would oversee the process of storing its weapons storing its weapons, that's an interesting word as well
7:27
so you have to talk about it as if it is epic news
7:32
because potentially it is and one day it will be and yet at the same time as anybody with a modicum of intelligence
7:38
or anyone who has been paying the vaguest bit of attention or anybody who's not high on the fumes of Trump's depravity will know
7:44
it's a hill of beans. If you doubt how ridiculous it is to take this as gospel
7:54
then just remind yourself, refresh your memory of what has gone on with regard to Iran
8:01
And that joke that was funny for about five minutes that I was making about the Craig David lyrics needing to be changed
8:07
because he announces a ceasefire on a Monday resumes offensives on a Tuesday
8:12
threatens them on a Wednesday announces victory on a Thursday and is back to bombing them on a Friday
8:17
which he'll do on Sunday it still quite funny if you got a mischievous sense of humour like mine and I fully aware of the seriousness of the subject that we are discussing And what do you do A senior Hamas official has I think told the BBC that Hamas
8:34
has made a difficult decision and a concession to save the Palestinians of Gaza who were facing
8:39
extermination. The agreement contains a clear provision stating that Israel must commit to
8:44
and implement its obligations. So I think Trump is probably, and I'm about to ask you a question
8:48
about what you think is going on here, what you think is really going on here
8:55
I think it's probably a PR victory for Hamas. Perish the thought
9:00
because they'll come out and say we're on board with it, Israel will not, and Hamas will therefore claim that they're acting in good faith
9:06
and Benjamin Netanyahu's regime is not. And of course, since the last ceasefire was announced
9:17
I'm afraid, and I will check this figure I've lost count of the number of people who died
9:22
I can tell you because it's burnt in my memory that 1,200 people died during Hamas' attacks on Israel on October the 7th
9:29
and I think the last time I checked that Israel's response had killed more than 70,000 people
9:35
including obviously thousands upon thousands of children and the strip itself has been reduced largely to rubble
9:44
Some people, of course, and it's important to recognise their existence, still object to the use of the word genocide
9:50
But under most definitions of that word, I'm afraid the threshold was reached some time ago
9:56
13 minutes after 10 is the time. So what do we do? I mean, I can't do it again
10:03
What do we do? Do we run through the fictitious list of wars that he's ended
10:08
And pretend that he is something other than a deranged liar is the nicest way I can put it
10:14
I don't think he can sue me for that, can he? Although he might try
10:18
He tries to cow media organisations for telling the truth in the same way that our own little Timu Trump
10:24
Nigel Farage, is doing at the moment. But, I mean, what do you do? How do you do it
10:30
I think the question is twofold this morning. The first one is pretty straightforward
10:36
What do you actually think is going on here? And if you want to tell me that this should be treated in good faith
10:41
absolutely transparent, the Board of Peas have against all odds and previous evidence
10:47
actually come through with something that is motivated entirely by concern for the people of Palestine and the security of the state of Israel
10:54
and everybody involved is acting out of altruism and goodness then I might have a bridge to sell you
10:59
but I'd love to hear what you've got to say what do you think is really going on here
11:04
and you are allowed of course to agree with me I think that Trump is doing what Trump does
11:10
and just throwing some stuff at the wall in the hope that some of it will stick, allowing himself to spend a news cycle claiming victory
11:16
distracting slightly from Iran, trying to G up something with regard to the midterms
11:21
I mean, it doesn't really matter. Trying to yse what Trump is doing is ridiculous. He does these things because he thinks the reaction might benefit him
11:27
and if it doesn't benefit him, he moves on to something else that might benefit him, like a kind of turbocharged Boris Johnson
11:33
when it comes to opportunism and news cycles. why are Hamas playing ball with this announcement
11:40
either because they believe it's true or because they believe that they engender or they secure
11:46
positive PR as a result Hamas are not as responsible as Israel
11:53
for the death of 70,000 people in the Gaza Strip but my god the blood on the hands of those terrorists
11:58
is visible from space so handing them any form of PR victory
12:02
would be both disastrous and disgraceful. But, but, but, but, everybody wants it to be real
12:13
Everybody wants it to end. Which is my second question. How do you think it does end
12:21
I don't see how it ends while Benjamin Netanyahu is still in power. If anybody still doubts
12:25
and I fully appreciate that some people do doubt this to be true, they're the people that call you anti-Semitic
12:30
if you shed tears over dead Palestinians or argue that Israel had no right to kill tens of thousands of people innocent civilians They the people who dispute this final observation which is Benjamin Netanyahu can be in charge
12:46
while this peace is achieved because his survival and his regime depends entirely upon the support of people
12:52
who want and who have said that they would like to remove Gaza from the face of the earth
12:58
It talked about dropping a nuclear bomb on it. I think, was it the defence minister who only this week
13:03
was talking about the view, the actual vista, the physical perspective of Gaza
13:10
now not having any buildings, interrupting a view to the sea. What's actually happening
13:18
Tell me what you think is happening here. And that involves Donald Trump's announcement
13:28
Hamas' agreement, and Israel's current silence. That could end, of course, in the course of this programme
13:35
It could end in the course of this hour. It could end in the little break that we're about to go to, in which case we'll have to recalibrate the question slightly when we come back
13:41
What do you think? And we haven't had a phone-in on this for a while, and I don't know why we suffer from horror fatigue
13:47
and we can talk about it every day for a fortnight, and in the aftermath of October the 7th, of course
13:52
we talked about these issues for a long, long time, and we noted together that moment when the reaction moved
14:00
from proportionate to disproportionate, and then from disproportionate to attempted ethnic cleansing
14:05
or unconscionable carnage or genocide, whichever word you prefer to use, unless you're one of those people who accuses anybody
14:14
who cries the same amount of tears over a dead Israeli child
14:18
that they do over a Palestinian child of being anti-Semitic, of course, if you're one of those people
14:23
then you don't recognise that the response has been and very quickly became hideously disproportionate
14:30
And you never will, and I acknowledge your existence, and I kind of understand your motivation
14:36
even as you contribute to the context in which this carnage continues
14:40
and Israel's status in the world has been absolutely beyond tarnished by Benjamin Netanyahu
14:49
That's on you, but you'll never understand that. And that's fine too
14:53
But what is actually happening today? and of course because we haven't talked about this for a while you're welcome to bring other
15:02
elements into the conversation as i nudge you towards the second question which is of course
15:07
how can it actually end i've got no idea what the answer to that question is in the context of iran
15:14
except that at some point the united states is going to have to accept defeat without acknowledging
15:19
it that's the crucial part as long as trump is in power the only way the situation in iran ends is
15:26
with the acceptance of defeat without any acknowledgement of defeat. They will accept that they're not going to win while claiming that they've won
15:34
That is Trumpism in a nutshell. I don't know what happens because there are so many more moving parts
15:41
I don't know what happens in Gaza. I have a view on what's happening today
15:46
It could be wrong. Yours might be better. 0345 6060 973. But second question is how actually can it, does it, will it end
15:54
0345 6060 973. That's it. That's the phone in. Two questions. What's going on today with regards to Trump, Hamas and Israel
16:07
And how can it, does it, will it actually end? And will it end when it ends
16:14
Or will it just be another stalemate, another stagnation, another continuing of the imprisonment of the Palestinian people
16:23
until a point where the terrorists who achieve the whip hand in those sort of contexts
16:30
commit another atrocity and Israel responds by committing atrocities of its own
16:34
and everybody looks in horror at the situation and waits for a return to what
16:40
To the normality? To the stalemate? Does it ever end? We'll be talking about this
16:45
They carry me out of this studio. Still asking the same question? I don't know
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