Welcome to CFR’s Daily News Brief. Today we’re covering U.S. President Donald Trump’s new plan to end the war in Gaza, as well as... |
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Hamas said that it is considering Trump’s updated twenty-point plan to end the war in Gaza after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed it yesterday. Leaders of many European and Mideast countries welcomed the plan, and the Palestinian Authority called Trump’s peace efforts “sincere and determined.” The plan would see Palestinians allowed to stay in Gaza, Hamas release all remaining hostages and disarm, and an international stabilization force deployed to the territory. Trump said that if Hamas rejects the proposal, he would fully back Israel’s course of action. Qatar is holding talks with Hamas negotiators and representatives from Turkey today.
The details: According to the plan… -
Aid would flow freely into Gaza under management of the United Nations, the Red Crescent, and other international groups.
- Hamas would release all living and dead hostages and Israel would release 1,950 Palestinian prisoners.
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Israel would not “occupy or annex Gaza” and would withdraw from the territory in phases. It would hand over control to a temporary U.S.- and Arab-backed stabilization force, while an interim “technocratic apolitical Palestinian committee” would run Gaza’s day-to-day governance.
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Reconstruction would be managed by a board led by Trump, on which politicians such as former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair would sit.
- The plan declares Gaza will be “a deradicalized terror-free zone,” and notes Hamas members who disarm and commit to peace would be given amnesty.
Global reactions: - The foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates said they were ready to finalize and help implement the plan, which they said should lead to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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The leaders of France, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, and the United Kingdom welcomed it as well.
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Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media following his White House visit that Israeli forces would “remain in most of the territory” as part of the plan. He reiterated his opposition to a Palestinian state; Trump had also acknowledged that opposition in the joint press conference.
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“Absent a Palestinian state, Israel likely faces a forever war. By contrast, the government of a Palestinian state would face the military and economic consequences of any attacks it authorized on Israel, which would be acts of war rather than terrorism, and of unauthorized attacks that occurred from within its borders, which a sovereign government is expected to prevent.” |
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Syria’s transitional government is overseeing a process to write a new constitution, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani said at this CFR Meeting. |
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New U.S. tech restrictions. The United States is expanding its list of trade-restricted companies with a new rule stating that majority-owned subsidiaries of sanctioned companies are subject to the list’s restrictions. The head of the Bureau of Industry and Security said the move is due to national security concerns, and meant to close a loophole. The change could affect tens of thousands of companies.
Unrest in Madagascar. President Andry Rajoelina dissolved the government yesterday following youth-led protests that left at least twenty-two people dead, per the United Nations. Demonstrators had objected to electricity and water shortages and drawn inspiration from recent youth protest movements in Nepal and Kenya. Rajoelina was elected in 2023 despite an opposition boycott that alleged the playing field was tilted; he also previously won an election in 2018 and took power after a 2009 coup.
Afghanistan’s internet ban. The country is experiencing “a total internet blackout,” internet watchdog group NetBlocks said yesterday. The Taliban announced earlier this month that it was blocking wi-fi in part of the country “for the prevention of vices,” but mobile internet appeared to be down yesterday, too. Flights between Kabul and Dubai were also disrupted. Officials did not immediately explain the reason for the national blackout.
North Korea at UNGA. North Korea’s vice foreign minister told the UN General Assembly yesterday that the country would not give up its nuclear weapons. His speech marked the first time a senior North Korean diplomat had attended the gathering since 2018. He made no direct reference to Trump, and did not respond to a recent declaration by South Korea’s president that Seoul seeks a “shift to a stance of mutual respect.”
Russia’s exit from anti-torture pact. President Vladimir Putin signed a law yesterday withdrawing Russia from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. The pact is part of the Council of Europe’s framework and allows international monitors to visit detention centers. Russia had remained a party to the convention until now, despite being expelled from the Council of Europe in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.
Latest U.S. sectoral tariffs. Trump yesterday formally scheduled tariffs of 10 percent on lumber, 25 percent on some upholstered wood products, and 25 percent on kitchen cabinets to enter into force on October 14. The duties on upholstered wood products and kitchen cabinets are also due to rise to 30 percent and 50 percent, respectively, on January 1. Separately, Trump reiterated his plans yesterday to impose a 100 percent tariff on movies made outside the United States, though he did not provide a timeline.
U.S.-Venezuela tensions. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro signed a decree that would expand military authority in the case of a U.S. incursion, the country’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said yesterday. Unnamed U.S. officials told the New York Times that the U.S. military has planned potential operations on Venezuelan soil against drug trafficking suspects. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington “is engaged in a counterdrug-cartel operation”; Rodríguez said she believed the Trump administration seeks “regime change.”
Singapore bars activist. The country’s border authorities denied entry to exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law, who had flown in from San Francisco to attend an event. He was forced to return to the United States, as Singapore’s home ministry said his entry “would not be in Singapore’s national security interests.” Hong Kong authorities have accused Law of incitement to secession and issued a warrant for his arrest.
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| Europe is transitioning from a supporting role in the shadow of U.S. dominance to political and normative leadership in global health, Chatham House’s Emma Ross writes for Think Global Health. |
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Today, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru is visiting South Korea.
Today, the African Growth and Opportunity Act for goods’ duty-free access to the United States is set to expire.
Today, European Union leaders hold a meeting in Denmark to discuss support for Ukraine.
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By chasing superintelligence, the United States is falling behind in the real artificial intelligence race, CFR expert Michael C. Horowitz and Georgetown’s Lauren A. Kahn write for Foreign Affairs. |
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