WEBVTT 00:00.689 --> 00:02.689 The United States condemns Russia's 00:02.689 --> 00:05.070 unjust sentencing today of Oleg Orlov , 00:05.079 --> 00:06.968 the renowned Russian human rights 00:06.968 --> 00:10.510 leader and co chair of the 24,022 Nobel 00:10.520 --> 00:12.520 Prize winning organization Memorial 00:13.279 --> 00:15.390 Russian authorities dissatisfied with 00:15.390 --> 00:17.501 the outcome of an earlier ruling that 00:17.501 --> 00:19.612 imposed a simple fine , sought a redo 00:19.889 --> 00:22.219 the outcome . Mr Orlov was sentenced 00:22.229 --> 00:24.750 today to 2.5 years in prison simply for 00:24.760 --> 00:26.816 peacefully and courageously speaking 00:26.816 --> 00:28.982 out against Russia's war of aggression 00:28.982 --> 00:30.927 against Ukraine . Ambassador Tracy 00:30.927 --> 00:33.149 joins diplomats from 17 other countries 00:33.149 --> 00:34.871 to bear witness to this latest 00:34.871 --> 00:36.760 miscarriage of justice in Putin's 00:36.760 --> 00:38.982 Russia , which Orlov aptly described as 00:38.982 --> 00:41.569 Kafkaesque . Today's verdict falls on 00:41.580 --> 00:43.191 the ninth anniversary of the 00:43.191 --> 00:45.358 assassination of Russian pro democracy 00:45.358 --> 00:47.247 politician , Boris Nemtsov , like 00:47.247 --> 00:49.302 Alexei Navalny Nemtsov was a clarion 00:49.302 --> 00:51.524 voice for reform and accountability who 00:51.524 --> 00:53.524 Putin targeted for his activism . A 00:53.524 --> 00:55.909 former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia . 00:55.919 --> 00:58.030 Nemtsov devoted his life to improving 00:58.030 --> 01:00.197 the lives of his fellow citizens until 01:00.197 --> 01:02.419 he was gunned down in the shadow of the 01:02.419 --> 01:04.363 Kremlin Nemtsov's civic commitment 01:04.363 --> 01:06.308 continues to be an inspiration for 01:06.308 --> 01:08.308 other pro democracy politicians and 01:08.308 --> 01:10.363 human rights defenders in Russia and 01:10.363 --> 01:12.809 beyond . Vladimir Kemura , a Nemtsov 01:12.819 --> 01:14.875 protege and courageous leader in his 01:14.875 --> 01:16.986 own right now languishes in a Russian 01:16.986 --> 01:19.041 prison for advocating a freer future 01:19.041 --> 01:21.339 for Russia . The United States strongly 01:21.349 --> 01:23.238 condemns the Kremlin's escalating 01:23.238 --> 01:25.349 domestic repression together with our 01:25.349 --> 01:27.571 allies and partners . The United States 01:27.571 --> 01:29.349 will continue to insist Russian 01:29.349 --> 01:31.349 authorities immediately release the 01:31.349 --> 01:33.516 more than 680 political prisoners they 01:33.516 --> 01:35.738 continue to hold and we reiterate today 01:35.738 --> 01:37.738 our support for Russia's courageous 01:37.738 --> 01:39.905 citizens who continue to work toward a 01:39.905 --> 01:39.559 better future for the Russian people 01:40.290 --> 01:43.379 with that . Sorry , yeah , sorry , I 01:43.389 --> 01:45.445 was on the phone , sorry for being , 01:45.445 --> 01:48.419 sorry for being on time today . Got 01:48.580 --> 01:52.279 caught everyone off guard such a shock . 01:52.790 --> 01:55.012 So because I was late and I missed your 01:55.012 --> 01:58.550 opening , I'll defer uh 01:59.870 --> 02:01.926 could I actually maybe switch to the 02:01.926 --> 02:03.926 Middle East ? Um uh The President's 02:03.926 --> 02:06.650 comments talking about Sunday as uh as 02:06.660 --> 02:08.716 the goal for a cease fire . What can 02:08.716 --> 02:10.827 you tell us about that ? Is that , is 02:10.827 --> 02:12.993 that a goal , is that something that , 02:12.993 --> 02:14.771 that is actually uh maybe not a 02:14.771 --> 02:14.410 deadline but something that you think 02:14.419 --> 02:16.641 is possible . So our goal is to achieve 02:16.641 --> 02:20.119 a deal to uh reach a humanitarian pause 02:20.130 --> 02:22.297 and the release of hostages as soon as 02:22.297 --> 02:24.297 possible . Certainly , we'd welcome 02:24.297 --> 02:26.519 getting one by this weekend . Uh What I 02:26.519 --> 02:28.630 can say about the overall progress is 02:28.630 --> 02:30.519 that we made significant progress 02:30.519 --> 02:32.686 towards an agreement last week when uh 02:32.686 --> 02:34.686 we had uh officials from the United 02:34.686 --> 02:36.574 States government engaging in the 02:36.574 --> 02:38.797 region , we continued to pursue further 02:38.797 --> 02:40.630 progress this week . Uh American 02:40.630 --> 02:42.408 officials across the government 02:42.408 --> 02:44.741 continue to be engaged on this question . 02:44.741 --> 02:46.963 Um We are trying to push this deal over 02:46.963 --> 02:46.830 the finish line . We do think it's 02:46.839 --> 02:48.950 possible . But as you've heard me say 02:48.960 --> 02:51.179 before , ultimately , some of this 02:51.190 --> 02:53.301 comes down to Hamas and whether Hamas 02:53.301 --> 02:56.369 is willing to agree to a deal that 02:56.380 --> 02:58.491 would provide significant benefits to 02:58.491 --> 03:00.658 the Palestinian people that they claim 03:00.658 --> 03:02.880 to represent . Sure , I mean , you said 03:02.880 --> 03:04.991 that it's possible by the weekend and 03:04.991 --> 03:07.047 you mentioned the US diplomacy . Are 03:07.047 --> 03:09.158 there ? What what needs to happen for 03:09.158 --> 03:09.009 that to take place ? Are there actual 03:09.020 --> 03:11.131 talks that are going on actually with 03:11.131 --> 03:13.187 the US side ? So I'm not going , I'm 03:13.187 --> 03:15.353 not going to negotiate in public , but 03:15.353 --> 03:15.309 there are talks that continue . 03:15.320 --> 03:17.431 American officials continue to engage 03:17.431 --> 03:19.130 on this , discuss it with our 03:19.139 --> 03:21.028 counterparts in the government of 03:21.028 --> 03:23.083 Israel as well as the Governments of 03:23.083 --> 03:25.139 Qatar and Egypt . And we continue to 03:25.139 --> 03:27.250 push to try to get this deal over the 03:27.250 --> 03:29.417 finish line . We think it's possible , 03:29.417 --> 03:31.361 we think we can reach a deal , but 03:31.361 --> 03:33.583 ultimately , we would need Hamas to say 03:33.583 --> 03:35.806 yes , we would need Hamas to agree to a 03:35.806 --> 03:37.917 deal that would allow for the release 03:37.917 --> 03:37.660 of hostages which never should have 03:37.669 --> 03:39.613 been taken in the first place that 03:39.613 --> 03:41.725 would allow for a temporary ceasefire 03:41.725 --> 03:43.558 and allow increased humanitarian 03:43.558 --> 03:45.558 assistance to come in . As I said , 03:45.558 --> 03:47.725 that is a deal that is not just in the 03:47.725 --> 03:49.780 interest of the hostages obviously , 03:49.780 --> 03:51.891 it's not just in the interests of the 03:51.891 --> 03:51.649 government of Israel or the Israeli 03:51.660 --> 03:53.990 people . It is an inter , a deal that 03:54.000 --> 03:56.111 is in the interest of the Palestinian 03:56.111 --> 03:58.167 people . So we will continue to push 03:58.167 --> 04:00.333 for it because we think it's , uh , uh 04:00.333 --> 04:00.210 in the interests of all parties 04:00.220 --> 04:02.387 concerned . And can I just , uh , just 04:02.387 --> 04:04.539 part of the president talked about a 04:04.550 --> 04:06.883 cease fire ? That is really a temporary . 04:07.393 --> 04:09.226 I know you , you , the secretary 04:09.226 --> 04:11.449 himself has said that there needs to be 04:11.449 --> 04:13.560 a durable . I forget the exact reason 04:13.560 --> 04:15.615 but a durable solution . But is , is 04:15.615 --> 04:17.726 what's , is the goal for this weekend 04:17.726 --> 04:19.837 or the goal for as soon as possible , 04:19.837 --> 04:19.393 an actual cease fire like a long 04:19.403 --> 04:21.403 lasting cease fire ? Rather than so 04:21.403 --> 04:23.514 again , I'm not going to negotiate in 04:23.514 --> 04:25.736 public and talk about what the contours 04:25.736 --> 04:25.243 of a deal might look like , but we 04:25.252 --> 04:27.030 certainly are trying to reach a 04:27.030 --> 04:29.085 temporary cease fire as part of this 04:29.085 --> 04:31.141 agreement that would allow us to get 04:31.141 --> 04:33.566 hostages out and would allow us to get 04:33.575 --> 04:35.742 humanitarian assistance . And we would 04:35.742 --> 04:37.853 like to see a temporary cease fire go 04:37.853 --> 04:39.631 on long enough to allow all the 04:39.631 --> 04:41.519 hostages to get out again without 04:41.519 --> 04:43.686 talking about what the contours of any 04:43.686 --> 04:45.853 agreement might look like . We want to 04:45.853 --> 04:47.964 see a cease fire go on for as long as 04:47.964 --> 04:50.186 it can to get all the hostages come out 04:50.186 --> 04:52.019 that said , and you've heard the 04:52.019 --> 04:54.131 secretary speak to this and heard the 04:54.131 --> 04:53.970 president speak to this . Our ultimate 04:53.980 --> 04:57.089 goal is to end this war as soon as 04:57.100 --> 04:58.989 possible and end it in a way that 04:58.989 --> 05:01.156 ensures Israel's security and ended in 05:01.156 --> 05:03.211 a way that puts us on a path towards 05:03.211 --> 05:05.211 the establishment of an independent 05:05.211 --> 05:05.029 Palestinian state . And that's the 05:05.040 --> 05:07.096 diplomatic route that we continue to 05:07.096 --> 05:10.589 pursue . Do you foresee this ceasefire 05:10.600 --> 05:12.600 being in one continuous phase or in 05:12.600 --> 05:14.767 multiple phases ? And would you expect 05:14.767 --> 05:16.820 female IDF soldiers to be released 05:17.220 --> 05:19.442 again ? I just don't want to talk about 05:19.442 --> 05:21.664 what the contours of an agreement might 05:21.664 --> 05:23.887 look like as we continue very sensitive 05:23.887 --> 05:26.109 negotiations . And can you give us some 05:26.109 --> 05:26.019 more details on what's underpinning the 05:26.029 --> 05:27.918 president's optimism , given that 05:27.918 --> 05:29.918 partners in the region have kind of 05:29.918 --> 05:31.918 grown cold water on the notion that 05:31.918 --> 05:33.918 this could be accomplished . What's 05:33.918 --> 05:36.029 underpinning the President's optimism 05:36.029 --> 05:38.690 is looking at the broad outlines of a 05:38.700 --> 05:40.920 deal that we have put in place through 05:40.929 --> 05:42.762 negotiations last week and , and 05:42.762 --> 05:44.596 negotiations that are continuing 05:44.596 --> 05:46.762 through this week and the fact that he 05:46.762 --> 05:48.873 believes and we believe one was in in 05:48.950 --> 05:50.950 one is within reach that said to be 05:50.950 --> 05:53.061 clear , we don't have one yet . Hamas 05:53.061 --> 05:55.172 will need to agree to one , but we do 05:55.172 --> 05:57.117 think it's possible we're going to 05:57.117 --> 05:59.283 continue to push for it and we want to 05:59.283 --> 05:58.649 see it happen as soon as possible . And 05:58.660 --> 06:00.993 then one more unrelated to the hostages , 06:00.993 --> 06:02.993 updates on the assessments that you 06:02.993 --> 06:05.390 mentioned uh only that , that it's 06:05.399 --> 06:07.566 ongoing as as part of our regular work 06:07.566 --> 06:09.732 and normal processes , we're assessing 06:09.732 --> 06:11.899 uh uh facts and examining them as they 06:11.899 --> 06:14.010 develop . But I don't have any update 06:14.010 --> 06:16.890 on the outcomes of that review . Yeah , 06:16.899 --> 06:19.010 I wanted to just , uh , I guess , try 06:19.010 --> 06:21.420 this from another uh approach but , um , 06:21.799 --> 06:23.855 the president said that the Israelis 06:23.855 --> 06:25.855 have agreed to a ceasefire during , 06:25.855 --> 06:29.600 during Ramadan . Um , it's sort of been 06:29.609 --> 06:31.831 said all along from the Hamas side that 06:31.831 --> 06:33.720 what they want is a , is a , is a 06:33.720 --> 06:35.887 longer lasting a permanent ceasefire , 06:35.887 --> 06:37.942 right ? So , I mean , has there been 06:37.942 --> 06:39.887 any movement that's closed the gap 06:39.887 --> 06:41.887 between the two sides on that ? You 06:41.887 --> 06:43.887 know , I appreciate you trying from 06:43.887 --> 06:45.998 another angle . I still don't think I 06:45.998 --> 06:48.053 can answer that without getting into 06:48.053 --> 06:50.165 the underlying contours of a deal and 06:50.165 --> 06:52.053 the underlying issues that we are 06:52.053 --> 06:54.410 trying to negotiate , that said , if we 06:54.420 --> 06:56.700 got a temporary ceasefire as soon as 06:56.709 --> 06:58.820 this weekend or as soon as early next 06:58.820 --> 07:00.876 week , just looking at logically how 07:00.876 --> 07:02.931 that would proceed that would extend 07:02.931 --> 07:04.709 over the course of Ramadan . So 07:04.709 --> 07:04.459 obviously , we're trying to reach it as 07:04.470 --> 07:06.470 soon as possible if we were able to 07:06.470 --> 07:08.692 reach it over Ramadan or before Ramadan 07:08.692 --> 07:10.803 that would extend through Ramadan and 07:10.803 --> 07:10.510 would provide an outcome that I think 07:10.519 --> 07:12.630 would help alleviate the suffering of 07:12.630 --> 07:14.908 the Palestinian people . And as I said , 07:14.908 --> 07:16.852 get hostages out . So it's we will 07:16.852 --> 07:16.660 continue to pursue it and try to get it 07:16.670 --> 07:19.579 as soon as possible . But um just to 07:19.589 --> 07:23.079 sort of understand um where this 07:23.089 --> 07:25.709 optimism II I guess is , is coming from , 07:25.720 --> 07:28.739 um , we're talking about , we're 07:28.750 --> 07:30.972 talking about a temporary ceasefire but 07:30.972 --> 07:33.529 you think that that will lead to , or 07:33.540 --> 07:35.651 you think uh the secretary has said , 07:35.651 --> 07:37.818 and you , you just said , I think this 07:37.818 --> 07:39.984 is the , the best way to get to an end 07:39.984 --> 07:41.984 of the conflict . Um But just so we 07:41.984 --> 07:44.207 kind of understand is Israel's position 07:44.207 --> 07:46.690 is still , um you know , they , they 07:46.700 --> 07:48.867 still are seeking to take out leader , 07:48.867 --> 07:50.867 the leadership of Hamas . There are 07:50.867 --> 07:52.867 these battalions in Rafah that they 07:52.867 --> 07:56.019 want to get to . So , um is there a 07:56.029 --> 07:57.940 prospect for a for a longer term 07:57.950 --> 08:00.172 ceasefire ? Even if you get a temporary 08:00.172 --> 08:02.117 ceasefire , the Israelis are still 08:02.117 --> 08:04.283 going to have those broader war aims . 08:04.283 --> 08:06.394 You know , are you , are you going to 08:06.394 --> 08:08.506 be able to support ? Are the Israelis 08:08.506 --> 08:10.672 ever going to be able to agree to that 08:10.672 --> 08:10.290 before they've sort of achieved those 08:10.369 --> 08:13.350 aims ? So it's a great question . Let's 08:13.359 --> 08:15.581 start by saying no one here can predict 08:15.581 --> 08:17.581 the future and we ought to be all , 08:17.581 --> 08:17.230 ought to be humble and trying to 08:17.239 --> 08:19.890 predict how the future will unfold , 08:19.899 --> 08:22.690 especially in such a volatile situation . 08:23.890 --> 08:26.112 We want to get a cease fire , as I said 08:26.112 --> 08:28.334 as soon as possible , we want to see it 08:28.334 --> 08:30.279 last long enough to get all of the 08:30.279 --> 08:32.168 hostages out . Once you get a , a 08:32.168 --> 08:34.168 temporary cease fire , there are no 08:34.168 --> 08:36.223 number of variables that could be in 08:36.223 --> 08:37.946 play . Yes , we agree with the 08:37.946 --> 08:39.612 government of Israel that the 08:39.612 --> 08:41.723 persistence of Hamas battalions uh in 08:41.723 --> 08:44.280 Rafah or wherever else they might be or , 08:44.289 --> 08:46.456 or Hamas fighters , wherever else they 08:46.456 --> 08:48.345 might be in Gaza does represent a 08:48.345 --> 08:50.567 legitimate security threat to the state 08:50.567 --> 08:52.840 of Israel that they have a right to um 08:52.849 --> 08:55.719 to address and so that may be 08:55.729 --> 08:58.007 addressing through a military campaign . 08:58.007 --> 08:59.951 But as we've heard us say before , 08:59.951 --> 09:01.896 Hamas could make all this easy eas 09:01.896 --> 09:04.890 easier by laying down their arms and 09:04.900 --> 09:06.989 for swearing further threats against 09:07.000 --> 09:09.056 the government of Israel . So I know 09:09.056 --> 09:11.167 whenever I say that people say , oh , 09:11.167 --> 09:13.333 Hamas will never do that . But again , 09:13.549 --> 09:15.771 there's no reason why they shouldn't if 09:15.771 --> 09:17.993 they want to see this war end , if they 09:17.993 --> 09:21.770 want to see the suffering of 09:21.780 --> 09:24.830 Palestinians , uh One way to achieve 09:24.840 --> 09:27.062 that suffering would be for those Hamas 09:27.062 --> 09:28.969 battalions to swear off the fight 09:28.979 --> 09:31.390 against Israel . So all that said , 09:31.400 --> 09:33.456 it's very hard to predict what might 09:33.456 --> 09:35.456 happen weeks from now . What we are 09:35.456 --> 09:37.511 focused on now is trying to get this 09:37.511 --> 09:39.233 temporary ceasefire that would 09:39.233 --> 09:41.690 alleviate the very severe conditions on 09:41.700 --> 09:43.700 the ground right now as well as get 09:43.700 --> 09:46.049 these hostages out . Finally , I wonder 09:46.059 --> 09:49.409 if you had any concern with some 09:49.419 --> 09:51.308 comments that the Israeli Defense 09:51.308 --> 09:53.700 Minister Galan made saying if there is 09:53.710 --> 09:57.640 a possible ceasefire , um then Israel 09:57.650 --> 09:59.428 would would increase attacks on 09:59.428 --> 10:01.483 Hezbollah in the North . Do you have 10:01.483 --> 10:03.650 concern that there would be escalation 10:03.650 --> 10:05.594 with in , in that sort of separate 10:05.594 --> 10:08.119 front in the north . So we do not want 10:08.130 --> 10:10.520 to see either side escalate the 10:10.530 --> 10:12.641 conflict in the north . And in fact , 10:12.641 --> 10:14.697 we are going to continue to pursue a 10:14.697 --> 10:16.974 diplomatic resolution of that conflict . 10:16.974 --> 10:19.229 And while we saw the Defense minister's 10:19.239 --> 10:21.461 comments , we have also taken note that 10:21.461 --> 10:23.572 repeatedly , the defense minister and 10:23.572 --> 10:25.628 other officials of the government of 10:25.628 --> 10:27.739 Israel , including the Prime Minister 10:27.739 --> 10:29.683 have said publicly that they would 10:29.683 --> 10:31.683 prefer the situation to be resolved 10:31.683 --> 10:33.739 diplomatically . They do face a real 10:33.739 --> 10:35.906 security threat in that there are tens 10:35.906 --> 10:37.906 of thousands of Israelis who do not 10:37.906 --> 10:39.906 feel safe returning to their home , 10:39.906 --> 10:42.128 their homes in northern Israel . That's 10:42.128 --> 10:44.128 a legitimate issue that needs to be 10:44.128 --> 10:45.961 addressed . We want to achieve a 10:45.961 --> 10:47.850 diplomatic path . The governor of 10:47.850 --> 10:47.549 Israel has said publicly and they have 10:47.559 --> 10:49.726 assured us privately that they want to 10:49.726 --> 10:51.670 achieve a diplomatic path . And so 10:51.670 --> 10:51.530 that's what we're going to continue to 10:51.539 --> 10:53.761 pursue and ultimately , that would make 10:53.761 --> 10:56.099 military action unnecessary . Go ahead , 10:56.590 --> 11:00.390 follow up Jane and Simon on uh there's 11:00.400 --> 11:02.622 a regular push back . I mean , when the 11:02.622 --> 11:04.733 president spoke yesterday , there was 11:04.733 --> 11:06.789 an element of certainty that we will 11:06.789 --> 11:08.844 have a cease fire by next Monday . I 11:08.844 --> 11:10.678 think you're over describing his 11:10.678 --> 11:12.844 comments a little bit . He said that's 11:12.844 --> 11:12.700 what we're trying to , what we're 11:12.710 --> 11:14.821 trying to get to . I mean , let's say 11:14.821 --> 11:16.710 what he said that . Yeah , yeah , 11:16.710 --> 11:18.710 exactly . He , he used the word the 11:18.710 --> 11:20.909 impression , I don't speak to people's 11:20.919 --> 11:24.460 impression . That's all , you know , 11:24.469 --> 11:26.890 exactly what I'm , you know , where 11:26.919 --> 11:29.179 I've come from on this issue . What , 11:29.190 --> 11:31.301 what I'm saying is that , that , that 11:31.301 --> 11:33.190 mean , that all the I's have been 11:33.190 --> 11:35.301 dotted and the TS have been crossed , 11:35.301 --> 11:37.246 or at least it has been fine tuned 11:37.246 --> 11:39.412 right now and they're probably getting 11:39.412 --> 11:41.357 closer . No , you say we're closer 11:41.357 --> 11:43.412 today than we were yesterday . We're 11:43.412 --> 11:45.523 closer today than we were yesterday . 11:45.523 --> 11:47.634 But no , the I's haven't been crossed 11:47.634 --> 11:46.830 and the t , haven't been dotted . As I 11:46.840 --> 11:49.460 said , we don't have a deal and we're 11:49.469 --> 11:51.580 trying to get one and we're trying to 11:51.580 --> 11:53.747 push this over the finish line . There 11:53.747 --> 11:55.969 are a number of officials in the United 11:55.969 --> 11:55.799 States government doing that hard work 11:55.809 --> 11:57.809 even as we speak and we want to get 11:57.809 --> 11:59.809 there . But ultimately Hamas has to 11:59.809 --> 12:01.920 agree to a deal and we hope that they 12:01.920 --> 12:04.031 will . Yeah . But , you know , uh I , 12:04.031 --> 12:06.142 you know , time and again , you , you 12:06.142 --> 12:08.253 put the , the blame squarely on Hamas 12:08.253 --> 12:10.309 and that , that's your prerogative , 12:10.309 --> 12:12.253 but that's fine . But , you know , 12:12.253 --> 12:14.420 before October 7 , there was a , there 12:14.420 --> 12:16.890 was a siege on Gaza for 16 years . I 12:16.900 --> 12:18.900 mean , you know , the suffering has 12:18.900 --> 12:20.956 been going on for a very , very long 12:20.956 --> 12:23.309 time . Would there be as a part of this 12:23.320 --> 12:25.869 deal whenever it comes to pass ? Would 12:25.880 --> 12:28.969 there be a uh you know , a commitment 12:28.979 --> 12:31.146 to lift the siege , you know , by , by 12:31.146 --> 12:33.257 the Egyptians , by the Israelis , you 12:33.257 --> 12:35.479 know , with , with the influence of the 12:35.479 --> 12:37.701 United States of America . So again , I 12:37.701 --> 12:39.868 don't want to speak to what this um uh 12:39.868 --> 12:42.090 deal would look like if and when we get 12:42.090 --> 12:43.868 one . But if you go back to the 12:43.868 --> 12:46.035 principles that the secretary outlined 12:46.035 --> 12:48.330 in Tokyo , that we want to see uh uh 12:48.390 --> 12:50.557 govern Gaza going forward . One of the 12:50.557 --> 12:52.612 prin the principles that he outlined 12:52.612 --> 12:55.349 was no ongoing siege of Gaza . But you 12:55.359 --> 12:57.415 know , I mean , let me ask you about 12:57.415 --> 12:59.415 the uh uh the the food situation in 12:59.415 --> 13:03.039 Gaza . And we saw that Jordan monarch 13:03.049 --> 13:06.609 himself went on a plane and was also so 13:06.619 --> 13:09.080 they say was uh ba basically , they 13:09.090 --> 13:11.257 were dumping the food and stuff and so 13:11.257 --> 13:13.423 on from an airplane . Why couldn't the 13:13.423 --> 13:15.479 United States do that ? I mean , you 13:15.479 --> 13:17.423 guys have all these C one thirties 13:17.423 --> 13:19.646 anyway , that Jordan is using Israel is 13:19.646 --> 13:21.868 using everybody's using , why , why not 13:21.868 --> 13:23.423 do it ? Every partner , the 13:23.423 --> 13:25.534 Palestinians a great gesture . Sure , 13:25.534 --> 13:27.757 every partner uh plays a different role 13:27.757 --> 13:26.989 and has different and capabilities that 13:27.000 --> 13:29.222 they bring to bear . We are the leading 13:29.222 --> 13:31.444 donor of humanitarian assistance to the 13:31.444 --> 13:33.611 Palestinian people . The United States 13:33.611 --> 13:35.833 just announced a significant uh new aid 13:35.833 --> 13:37.556 package of over $50 million of 13:37.556 --> 13:39.778 humanitarian assistance today that will 13:39.778 --> 13:41.889 go into Gaza . Um That said there are 13:41.889 --> 13:43.667 other partners that bring other 13:43.667 --> 13:45.889 capabilities to bear and we welcome the 13:45.889 --> 13:47.944 government of Jordan uh air dropping 13:47.944 --> 13:50.111 supplies in and we'll continue to work 13:50.111 --> 13:52.222 with him on that . But um we have our 13:52.222 --> 13:54.444 own ways of getting supply humanitarian 13:54.444 --> 13:56.611 assistance into Gaza . And lastly , uh 13:56.611 --> 13:58.778 would the United States be prepared to 13:58.778 --> 14:00.869 deal with uh uh sort of a , a super 14:00.880 --> 14:03.102 urgent situation if the cease fire ever 14:03.102 --> 14:05.380 takes place ? Because you have disease , 14:05.380 --> 14:07.491 you have problem , you have issues of 14:07.491 --> 14:09.658 shelter and so on schools and all that 14:09.658 --> 14:12.510 to sort of accelerate beyond aiding U 14:12.770 --> 14:15.090 on on your own , so to speak . Uh II I 14:15.099 --> 14:17.155 don't understand what was the last ? 14:17.155 --> 14:19.266 The the question is , will the United 14:19.266 --> 14:21.043 States have any kind of its own 14:21.043 --> 14:23.266 initiative , so to speak after ? If the 14:23.266 --> 14:25.043 cease fire takes place , if the 14:25.043 --> 14:27.210 hostility cease cease , will this , do 14:27.210 --> 14:29.155 you talk in this building ? Do you 14:29.155 --> 14:31.377 discuss in this building ways and means 14:31.377 --> 14:33.599 to aid the Palestinians afterwards with 14:33.599 --> 14:35.488 possibly things with food stuff , 14:35.488 --> 14:37.229 medicine , emergency things ? 14:37.239 --> 14:40.309 Absolutely . So it would be um a 14:40.570 --> 14:43.369 part of our ongoing , excuse me , 14:43.380 --> 14:45.602 humanitarian assistance that we've been 14:45.602 --> 14:47.713 providing to the Palestinian people . 14:47.713 --> 14:49.989 But as we saw in the last pause , the 14:50.000 --> 14:52.250 nature of a pause is it's safe , safer 14:52.260 --> 14:54.260 for humanitarian assistance to move 14:54.260 --> 14:56.427 around inside Gaza . And so relief can 14:56.427 --> 14:58.538 get into the hands of the people that 14:58.538 --> 15:00.260 need it most . And because you 15:00.260 --> 15:02.260 alleviate some of that backlog that 15:02.260 --> 15:04.149 happens once you get humanitarian 15:04.149 --> 15:06.149 assistance through Rafah or through 15:06.149 --> 15:08.260 Karem Shalom into Gaza , you can then 15:08.260 --> 15:10.371 can get more it in . So we would very 15:10.371 --> 15:12.538 much anticipate that during a pause or 15:12.538 --> 15:14.704 a temporary cease fire , you would see 15:14.704 --> 15:14.570 increased humanitarian assistance come 15:14.580 --> 15:16.636 in and of course , the United States 15:16.636 --> 15:18.802 would play its role and its part as we 15:18.802 --> 15:21.024 have from the outset to try to get that 15:21.024 --> 15:23.024 humanitarian assistance in and make 15:23.024 --> 15:25.247 sure it's sustained . Is there anything 15:25.247 --> 15:27.469 you can , you can point to , to back up 15:27.469 --> 15:29.469 the assertion that you just made in 15:29.469 --> 15:31.469 response to one of Syed's questions 15:31.469 --> 15:33.524 that we're closer today than we were 15:33.524 --> 15:35.302 yesterday just that we continue 15:35.302 --> 15:36.913 negotiations . And I can't , 15:36.913 --> 15:40.909 unfortunately , I , I haven't 15:40.919 --> 15:43.940 broken down . Is that why we , I am so 15:43.950 --> 15:45.894 I can't really answer that without 15:45.894 --> 15:48.006 getting into the underlying substance 15:48.006 --> 15:50.006 of the negotiations . But the talks 15:50.006 --> 15:52.061 continue and we think we continue to 15:52.061 --> 15:54.283 make progress . But you said , I said , 15:54.283 --> 15:54.280 we think we continue to make progress . 15:54.820 --> 15:56.987 That is the basis of my statement . We 15:56.987 --> 15:59.400 are closer today than continuing , 15:59.450 --> 16:01.117 continuing to make progress . 16:03.229 --> 16:05.396 Just wondering what you , what you can 16:05.396 --> 16:07.770 point to , to , to , to back that I am 16:07.780 --> 16:09.947 not going to point to anything related 16:09.947 --> 16:11.947 to these underlying talks because I 16:11.947 --> 16:14.113 can't do it without hold on . Let me , 16:14.113 --> 16:16.280 let me just finish . Matt , I can't do 16:16.280 --> 16:18.502 it without getting into the issues that 16:18.502 --> 16:17.570 we're discussing and the sticking 16:17.580 --> 16:19.802 points that remain , but we continue to 16:19.802 --> 16:21.636 make progress . And that's in my 16:21.636 --> 16:23.524 statement . One hit Wonder Spiral 16:23.524 --> 16:25.691 Staircase Song . I love you more today 16:25.691 --> 16:27.691 than yesterday , but not as much as 16:27.691 --> 16:29.747 tomorrow . But you can't . Well , we 16:29.747 --> 16:31.580 would hope so . We , there isn't 16:31.580 --> 16:33.549 anything you can give to us now or 16:33.559 --> 16:35.940 present to us or tell us that would 16:35.950 --> 16:38.460 actually back up the idea that that a 16:38.469 --> 16:42.369 cease fire is closer today than it 16:42.380 --> 16:44.436 was yesterday . I can never show you 16:44.436 --> 16:46.547 definitive progress and talks that by 16:46.547 --> 16:48.840 their very nature are secret until we 16:48.849 --> 16:51.071 have an agreement . What I can tell you 16:51.071 --> 16:53.293 is that we made progress Last week , we 16:53.293 --> 16:55.405 continue to make progress and we hope 16:55.405 --> 16:57.571 to get a deal as soon as possible . Uh 16:57.571 --> 16:59.738 should have left to Europe before if I 16:59.738 --> 17:01.905 may uh starting from your uh operation 17:01.905 --> 17:03.905 on Russia and human rights . Uh The 17:03.905 --> 17:05.699 family has found this in a very 17:05.709 --> 17:07.876 particular situation . You know , they 17:07.876 --> 17:10.042 can recover the body and um you know , 17:10.042 --> 17:12.376 her , her mom was threatened , you know , 17:12.376 --> 17:14.153 by officials and her lawyer got 17:14.153 --> 17:15.987 arrested today . Do you have any 17:15.987 --> 17:18.042 comment on this ? Uh So we remain in 17:18.042 --> 17:20.098 touch with the Navalny family as you 17:20.098 --> 17:22.265 know , secretary met with Y Navalny on 17:22.265 --> 17:24.209 the margins of the Munich security 17:24.209 --> 17:26.300 conference last week . We , as we've 17:26.310 --> 17:29.550 said , hold Russia accountable for 17:29.560 --> 17:31.560 Navalny's death . You saw us impose 17:31.560 --> 17:33.782 sanctions on officials connected to the 17:33.782 --> 17:35.949 death of Navalny last week and we will 17:35.949 --> 17:38.060 continue to main to maintain to be in 17:38.060 --> 17:40.171 touch with the Navalny family . I had 17:40.171 --> 17:42.393 not seen the reports of the arrest . So 17:42.393 --> 17:44.338 I'm not going to comment in detail 17:44.338 --> 17:46.560 until I have a chance to look at them , 17:46.560 --> 17:48.671 but I will say we have of course seen 17:48.671 --> 17:50.782 continued crackdown on dissent by the 17:50.782 --> 17:53.004 Russian government . That was the focus 17:53.004 --> 17:55.171 of my opening comments and it's why we 17:55.171 --> 17:54.790 continue to call on the Russian 17:54.800 --> 17:57.022 government to release all the more than 17:57.022 --> 17:59.356 600 political prisoners . It is holding . 17:59.356 --> 18:01.522 Thank you . I'm moving to Ukraine . Uh 18:01.522 --> 18:03.689 any comment on the French leaders late 18:03.689 --> 18:05.689 uh comments about potentially , you 18:05.689 --> 18:07.522 know , western soldiers , troops 18:07.522 --> 18:09.744 fighting in Ukraine concerns around the 18:09.744 --> 18:12.022 debates around the way I used to do so . 18:12.022 --> 18:14.189 President Biden has made clear , going 18:14.189 --> 18:16.411 back more than two years to before even 18:16.411 --> 18:18.633 Russia's in uh invasion of Ukraine that 18:18.633 --> 18:20.744 he will not send us soldiers to fight 18:20.744 --> 18:22.467 in Ukraine . And what was your 18:22.467 --> 18:24.633 observation about the current state of 18:24.633 --> 18:27.229 state in the battlefield ? Ukraine 18:27.239 --> 18:29.380 appears to be in retreat of the next 18:30.130 --> 18:33.380 dangers is the current , the situation 18:33.390 --> 18:35.501 is extremely serious . Right now . We 18:35.501 --> 18:37.612 have seen Ukrainian front line troops 18:37.612 --> 18:39.779 who don't have the ammo , they need to 18:39.779 --> 18:41.723 repel Russian aggression . They're 18:41.723 --> 18:41.680 still fighting bravely , they're still 18:41.689 --> 18:45.344 fighting , they still have armor and 18:45.354 --> 18:47.465 weapons and ammunition they can use , 18:47.465 --> 18:49.465 but they're having to ration it now 18:49.465 --> 18:51.632 because the United States Congress has 18:51.632 --> 18:53.743 failed to act . And so we expect that 18:53.743 --> 18:55.521 for the remainder of the year , 18:55.521 --> 18:57.743 Ukrainian forces will continue to fight 18:57.743 --> 18:59.910 bravely and they will make advances as 18:59.910 --> 19:01.965 they have done most significantly in 19:01.965 --> 19:04.132 the Black Sea as of late . But it will 19:04.132 --> 19:06.298 be much tougher for them if they don't 19:06.298 --> 19:08.410 have access to the ammunition that we 19:08.410 --> 19:08.045 need , which is why you see the 19:08.055 --> 19:10.277 president continue to push for Congress 19:10.277 --> 19:12.540 to act . We believe , as we have said , 19:12.550 --> 19:14.550 multiple times , if the house would 19:14.550 --> 19:17.000 just hold an up or down vote on aid to 19:17.010 --> 19:19.069 Ukraine , it would pass . And so we 19:19.079 --> 19:21.190 again call on Congress to do its duty 19:21.239 --> 19:23.609 to , to hold this vote and get , uh , 19:23.630 --> 19:25.660 get the assistance to the Ukrainian 19:25.670 --> 19:27.781 Army that , that desperately needs it 19:28.630 --> 19:32.560 for a meeting tomorrow in 19:32.569 --> 19:34.736 Berlin . I know that secretary to have 19:34.736 --> 19:37.192 them here . Is it the end of the 19:37.562 --> 19:40.682 process ? What is your expectation ? I 19:40.692 --> 19:42.859 don't have any announcements to make , 19:42.859 --> 19:45.081 but we continue to encourage both sides 19:45.081 --> 19:46.970 to try to reach a durable lasting 19:46.970 --> 19:49.343 agreement . The question that 19:51.902 --> 19:54.069 I know , of course , the president has 19:54.069 --> 19:56.291 made clear that the US is going to send 19:56.291 --> 19:58.180 soldiers to Ukraine . The overall 19:58.180 --> 20:00.069 debate though . Do you think it's 20:00.069 --> 20:02.235 useful to have a Macron sort of museum 20:02.235 --> 20:01.515 that it shouldn't be ruled out ? Is , 20:01.526 --> 20:03.637 is it something that should be on the 20:03.637 --> 20:05.859 card a little bit should be discussed ? 20:05.859 --> 20:05.586 Not necessarily the US troops but some , 20:05.595 --> 20:07.906 some Western . So certainly every 20:07.916 --> 20:10.276 country is free to speak to uh to its 20:10.286 --> 20:12.453 own interests . But in addition to the 20:12.453 --> 20:14.508 president , making clear that the US 20:14.508 --> 20:16.564 will not send any troops to fight in 20:16.564 --> 20:18.619 Ukraine . The NATO Secretary General 20:18.619 --> 20:20.786 has ruled out any NATO troops to fight 20:20.786 --> 20:22.897 in Ukraine . I think fundamentally we 20:22.897 --> 20:24.842 think that the path to victory for 20:24.842 --> 20:26.786 Ukraine right now is in the United 20:26.786 --> 20:26.430 States House of Representatives . 20:26.500 --> 20:28.611 That's what Ukraine needs most . They 20:28.611 --> 20:30.833 need the national security supplemental 20:30.833 --> 20:33.000 that the president has proposed to get 20:33.000 --> 20:35.167 Ukraine , the weapons and ammunition , 20:35.167 --> 20:37.056 it needs to defend themselves and 20:37.056 --> 20:39.000 continue to fight courageously for 20:39.000 --> 20:41.056 their freedom and independence . And 20:41.056 --> 20:40.930 just finally , have there been any 20:40.939 --> 20:43.050 discussions with the French before or 20:43.050 --> 20:45.050 after about these remarks ? I don't 20:45.050 --> 20:46.606 have , I'm not aware of any 20:46.606 --> 20:48.828 conversations or don't have any need to 20:48.828 --> 20:50.939 read out . Go ahead Michelle . Yeah . 20:50.939 --> 20:52.995 Do you have any comments on the text 20:52.995 --> 20:54.939 that the Houthis made yesterday on 20:54.939 --> 20:58.020 cables , submarine communication cables 20:58.089 --> 21:01.030 and that only that it's the latest in a 21:01.099 --> 21:03.439 long string of reckless attacks by the 21:03.449 --> 21:07.219 Houthis on entities and interests that 21:07.229 --> 21:10.089 have nothing to do with the conflict in 21:10.099 --> 21:13.750 Gaza . Just as when we saw the Houthis 21:13.780 --> 21:16.709 attack ships that were bringing food to 21:16.719 --> 21:19.219 the people of Yemen . These attacks are 21:19.229 --> 21:22.829 on entities that do nothing to help 21:22.939 --> 21:25.410 Palestinians who are suffering . Um 21:25.599 --> 21:27.689 They are in no way connected to the 21:27.699 --> 21:30.369 conflict in Gaza and they should stop 21:30.380 --> 21:32.380 immediately and we will continue to 21:32.380 --> 21:34.491 hold them accountable for the times . 21:34.491 --> 21:36.602 How would you counter these attacks ? 21:36.602 --> 21:38.324 And the alternative , does the 21:38.324 --> 21:40.491 international community have ? I'm not 21:40.491 --> 21:42.602 going to speak to the uh any specific 21:42.602 --> 21:44.824 actions we might take ? I never want to 21:44.824 --> 21:46.880 pre preview them in advance , but we 21:46.880 --> 21:48.936 will continue to work to degrade and 21:48.936 --> 21:50.991 deter the houthis capability to take 21:50.991 --> 21:53.047 such reckless actions . Is there any 21:53.047 --> 21:55.158 alternative for these cables ? You're 21:55.158 --> 21:56.658 going to have to talk to a 21:56.658 --> 21:58.658 telecommunications expert ? Someone 21:58.658 --> 22:00.991 other than that is very , that's not me . 22:01.142 --> 22:03.253 Yeah , just , just read back what you 22:03.253 --> 22:05.420 said , just wanted to see if there's a 22:05.420 --> 22:07.586 nuance to it saying that the president 22:07.586 --> 22:09.753 has been clear about Macron's comments 22:09.753 --> 22:11.975 ruling out sending soldiers to fight in 22:11.975 --> 22:13.920 Ukraine . Is that could there be a 22:13.920 --> 22:16.142 training role ? There is no nuance that 22:16.142 --> 22:18.309 I mean that I mean to , to communicate 22:18.309 --> 22:20.531 there , we are not sending boots on the 22:20.531 --> 22:20.233 ground in Ukraine . The president has 22:20.243 --> 22:22.243 been very clear about that from the 22:22.243 --> 22:24.243 beginning . I don't believe it's in 22:24.243 --> 22:26.426 Ukraine , believe it's in , I'll defer 22:26.436 --> 22:28.605 there's various National Guard forces 22:28.615 --> 22:31.576 who were in the train and , and are in 22:31.586 --> 22:33.875 Poland and elsewhere . I believe that's 22:33.885 --> 22:35.996 correct . I'll defer to my colleagues 22:35.996 --> 22:38.052 at the Pentagon . But I believe that 22:38.052 --> 22:40.329 the training , if I remember correctly , 22:40.329 --> 22:42.329 the training mission was before the 22:42.329 --> 22:42.105 invasion . And since it's happened 22:42.115 --> 22:45.439 outside of Ukraine on uh Afghanistan , 22:45.449 --> 22:47.393 I know this secretary spoke to the 22:47.393 --> 22:49.449 oppression of women there today . He 22:49.449 --> 22:51.671 didn't mention anything about the three 22:51.671 --> 22:53.782 public executions that have been held 22:53.782 --> 22:56.130 there in the past five days . Uh So 22:56.140 --> 22:58.307 what if any comment you have on that ? 22:58.307 --> 23:00.469 And separately , Chairman mccall is 23:00.479 --> 23:02.701 again threatening to hold the secretary 23:02.701 --> 23:04.923 in contempt of Congress demanding notes 23:04.923 --> 23:07.035 from Dan Smith on the withdrawal . We 23:07.035 --> 23:09.090 turned over by March 6th , the state 23:09.090 --> 23:11.770 intend to comply with that . So as it 23:11.780 --> 23:14.660 pertains to uh public executions , we 23:14.670 --> 23:17.349 condemn the uh public executions . It's 23:17.359 --> 23:20.329 another sign of the brutality that the 23:20.339 --> 23:22.283 Afghan government shows to its own 23:22.283 --> 23:24.849 people and with respect to the letter 23:24.859 --> 23:27.800 from uh Chairman mccall . So uh been a 23:27.810 --> 23:29.921 while since I've spoken to this , but 23:29.921 --> 23:31.866 I've spoken to it before . We have 23:31.866 --> 23:34.280 repeatedly and explicitly underscored 23:34.290 --> 23:36.234 the important role that we believe 23:36.234 --> 23:38.179 Congress plays in foreign policy . 23:38.489 --> 23:40.849 Excuse me and its vital uh oversight 23:41.229 --> 23:44.589 respon responsibility . We have engaged 23:44.599 --> 23:46.949 with the committee extensively to 23:46.959 --> 23:49.280 respond to requests on the after action 23:49.290 --> 23:51.510 review . Uh We remain committed to 23:51.520 --> 23:53.187 accommodating the committee's 23:53.187 --> 23:54.964 legitimate need for information 23:54.964 --> 23:57.329 regarding the withdrawal in terms of 23:57.339 --> 23:59.339 that cooper operation and what it's 23:59.339 --> 24:01.506 looked like for more than six months . 24:01.506 --> 24:03.750 We have every week provided hundreds of 24:03.760 --> 24:06.449 pieces of in uh hundreds of documents 24:06.459 --> 24:08.515 and information from , from the A ar 24:08.515 --> 24:10.420 files . We sent our most recent 24:10.430 --> 24:12.486 transmission to the committee . Just 24:12.486 --> 24:14.486 this past Friday . We have provided 24:14.486 --> 24:16.374 them numerous briefings , tens of 24:16.374 --> 24:18.263 thousands of pages of documents , 24:18.263 --> 24:20.430 public testimony from the department's 24:20.430 --> 24:22.486 senior leaders and witnesses for day 24:22.486 --> 24:24.594 long transcribed interviews . Uh All 24:24.604 --> 24:26.382 demonstrating in our view , our 24:26.382 --> 24:28.160 commitment to accommodating the 24:28.160 --> 24:30.160 commitments request the committee's 24:30.160 --> 24:32.382 request to the greatest extent possible 24:32.382 --> 24:34.437 while still respecting the executive 24:34.437 --> 24:34.415 branch's legitimate confident 24:34.425 --> 24:37.280 confidentiality interests . So that's 24:37.290 --> 24:39.457 our overall record in cooperating with 24:39.457 --> 24:40.901 the committee's oversight 24:40.901 --> 24:42.901 responsibility as it relates to the 24:42.901 --> 24:45.012 chairman's latest letter , I think it 24:45.012 --> 24:47.123 is worth pointing out that it doesn't 24:47.123 --> 24:49.179 have some of the facts , right . The 24:49.179 --> 24:51.401 department has never told the committee 24:51.401 --> 24:53.290 that the White House or any other 24:53.290 --> 24:55.401 agency is holding the interview notes 24:55.401 --> 24:57.346 used to compile the A ar those are 24:57.346 --> 24:59.234 department records . What we have 24:59.234 --> 25:01.179 actually asked for is a chance for 25:01.179 --> 25:03.346 Chairman mccall to speak to the Deputy 25:03.346 --> 25:05.457 Secretary of State for management and 25:05.457 --> 25:07.457 resources rich verma to discuss our 25:07.457 --> 25:09.623 concerns in order to try to reach some 25:09.623 --> 25:09.569 understanding and those requests have 25:09.579 --> 25:12.030 gone unanswered . So we will continue 25:12.040 --> 25:13.984 to work in a good faith and timely 25:13.984 --> 25:15.984 manner with the committee to answer 25:15.984 --> 25:18.207 their oversight requests . But we would 25:18.207 --> 25:20.262 ask that they also engage with us in 25:20.262 --> 25:22.760 good faith . Go ahead , I told I 25:24.550 --> 25:28.339 told , come next , please do not 25:28.349 --> 25:30.516 interrupt your colleagues . Go ahead . 25:30.516 --> 25:32.627 If I may . I would like to go back to 25:32.627 --> 25:34.571 Gaza . Uh Earlier this month , the 25:34.571 --> 25:36.349 Sinai Foundation said that they 25:36.349 --> 25:38.310 obtained information that current 25:38.349 --> 25:41.369 instructions in eastern Sinai is to 25:41.380 --> 25:45.010 create a highly secure uh gated 25:45.020 --> 25:48.449 isolated area near the Gaza borders to 25:48.459 --> 25:51.099 prepare for the reception of 25:51.109 --> 25:54.280 Palestinian refugees . I took note that 25:54.339 --> 25:57.035 the government has come out , has 25:57.045 --> 25:59.084 denied it . What is the State 25:59.094 --> 26:01.316 Department's assessment ? Especially at 26:01.316 --> 26:03.974 a time when Israel is planning for a 26:03.984 --> 26:06.545 military operation around Rafah that 26:06.555 --> 26:09.305 would affect about 1.5 million 26:09.324 --> 26:12.084 Palestinians . So I will let the 26:12.104 --> 26:14.326 government of Egypt speak to what it is 26:14.326 --> 26:16.437 they're constructing . I know they've 26:16.437 --> 26:18.715 seen said that that is uh construction , 26:18.715 --> 26:20.826 I believe for staging of humanitarian 26:20.826 --> 26:22.937 assistance . Um I will also note that 26:22.937 --> 26:25.050 we have made clear uh for months that 26:25.060 --> 26:26.782 we are opposed to the forcible 26:26.782 --> 26:29.290 displacement of Palestinians from Gaza . 26:29.530 --> 26:31.697 The Egyptian government has made quite 26:31.697 --> 26:33.474 clear that it is opposed to the 26:33.474 --> 26:35.586 forcible displacement of Palestinians 26:35.586 --> 26:37.989 from Gaza . And we have seen just in 26:38.000 --> 26:40.111 the past few days that the government 26:40.111 --> 26:42.111 of Israel has come out publicly and 26:42.111 --> 26:44.167 said it has no intention to forcibly 26:44.167 --> 26:46.439 displace Palestinians from Gaza . So as 26:46.449 --> 26:48.630 it pertains to any potential military 26:48.640 --> 26:52.020 operation in Rafah , what we want to 26:52.030 --> 26:54.270 see is a credible and executable 26:54.280 --> 26:56.502 humanitarian assistance plan to account 26:56.502 --> 26:58.058 for the more than 1 million 26:58.058 --> 27:00.224 Palestinians who are sheltered . There 27:00.224 --> 27:00.119 are some of them who have been 27:00.130 --> 27:02.297 displaced more than once . We have not 27:02.297 --> 27:04.463 been briefed on such a plan yet by the 27:04.463 --> 27:06.241 government of Israel . It's our 27:06.241 --> 27:08.408 understanding that they have developed 27:08.408 --> 27:07.400 one and presented , we've seen the 27:07.410 --> 27:09.577 public comments that they presented to 27:09.577 --> 27:11.799 the Prime Minister . So we will look to 27:11.799 --> 27:13.910 that plan , but I do think it's worth 27:13.910 --> 27:15.743 emphasizing again that our focus 27:15.743 --> 27:17.521 continues to be on achieving an 27:17.521 --> 27:19.243 agreement that would give us a 27:19.243 --> 27:21.410 temporary ceasefire and alleviate some 27:21.410 --> 27:21.209 of that humanitarian suffering that 27:21.219 --> 27:23.290 might allow people to leave crowded 27:23.300 --> 27:25.467 areas in Rafah and go elsewhere inside 27:25.467 --> 27:28.180 Gaza . When you said , yeah , go ahead . 27:28.449 --> 27:30.560 If you aren't done when you said that 27:30.560 --> 27:33.130 we have not been briefed by BB plane , 27:33.140 --> 27:34.918 are you talking about the State 27:34.918 --> 27:36.918 Department or you talking about the 27:36.918 --> 27:39.290 whole information . I'm speaking on 27:39.300 --> 27:41.356 behalf of the State Department . I'm 27:41.356 --> 27:43.356 not aware of any brings . It may be 27:43.356 --> 27:43.339 that we've received briefings , but I 27:43.349 --> 27:45.460 know we have not engaged with them in 27:45.460 --> 27:47.460 any kind of substantive way on this 27:47.460 --> 27:49.293 plan that was , was reported was 27:49.293 --> 27:51.516 presented to the Prime Minister just in 27:51.516 --> 27:54.170 the past couple of days . Go ahead . I 27:54.329 --> 27:57.060 want to hold on . I'm just gonna say I 27:57.069 --> 27:59.489 was getting ready to call on you but , 27:59.500 --> 28:01.869 but , but I was getting , I was getting 28:01.880 --> 28:03.936 ready to call on you , but I'm gonna 28:03.936 --> 28:06.660 observe my loss . First of all , it's 28:06.670 --> 28:08.892 the second time you've interrupted your 28:08.892 --> 28:11.003 colleague . I'm gonna observe my long 28:11.003 --> 28:13.170 standing rule that the best way to get 28:13.170 --> 28:15.114 called on is to not interrupt your 28:15.114 --> 28:14.834 colleagues when they're asking 28:14.844 --> 28:16.844 questions and I'll call on the 28:16.854 --> 28:18.798 gentleman sitting next to you . Uh 28:18.798 --> 28:21.021 Thanks Matt , I want to ask about Aaron 28:21.021 --> 28:23.076 Bushnell , uh the 25 year old active 28:23.076 --> 28:25.132 duty airmen who self emi in front of 28:25.132 --> 28:26.910 the Israeli embassy on Sunday , 28:28.189 --> 28:30.133 especially since it didn't come up 28:30.133 --> 28:32.356 during yesterday's briefing . Uh I know 28:32.356 --> 28:34.578 you released a statement uh extend your 28:34.578 --> 28:36.633 condolences to his family . Uh But I 28:36.633 --> 28:38.689 want to ask if you have any comments 28:38.689 --> 28:40.856 beyond that . Uh Specifically , I want 28:40.856 --> 28:43.078 to ask , uh will us policy uh in , in , 28:43.078 --> 28:45.245 in any way , be changed or affected by 28:45.245 --> 28:47.750 what happened on Sunday ? So again , I 28:48.410 --> 28:50.510 just want to reiterate or hear our 28:50.520 --> 28:52.770 deepest condolences to his family . 28:52.920 --> 28:55.530 It's obviously a horrific situation and 28:55.939 --> 28:59.390 um our most heartfelt sympathies go out 28:59.400 --> 29:03.209 to them um with respect to this act 29:03.219 --> 29:05.441 or any kind of protest . Obviously , we 29:05.449 --> 29:07.671 are aware of the depth of feelings that 29:07.671 --> 29:10.109 people have over this issue . And we 29:10.119 --> 29:14.079 are constantly taking those , those 29:14.089 --> 29:17.810 points of view into account and using 29:17.819 --> 29:20.709 them to think about how we approach the 29:20.719 --> 29:22.663 issue issue and whether there is , 29:22.663 --> 29:24.441 there are things that we can do 29:24.441 --> 29:26.275 differently . That is the case , 29:26.275 --> 29:28.608 whether it's with respect to protesters , 29:28.608 --> 29:30.719 it is the case with respect to people 29:30.719 --> 29:32.941 that the secretary meets with and hears 29:32.941 --> 29:34.886 from directly on all sides of this 29:34.886 --> 29:37.108 issue . So yes , we will always look at 29:37.108 --> 29:39.275 uh the points of view that people have 29:39.275 --> 29:41.330 and but ultimately , we have to make 29:41.330 --> 29:43.275 our own decisions based on what we 29:43.275 --> 29:45.163 think is in the national security 29:45.163 --> 29:47.108 interests of the United States and 29:47.108 --> 29:49.108 we'll continue to do that . So , so 29:49.108 --> 29:51.386 will us policy be affected ? Yes or no . 29:51.386 --> 29:55.170 I I that's I want 29:55.180 --> 29:57.402 again just iii I don't think I should , 29:57.402 --> 29:59.458 I should comment with regard to this 29:59.458 --> 30:01.920 specific case other than extending my 30:01.930 --> 30:04.520 sympathies to his family . As I said , 30:04.719 --> 30:07.140 generally , we are always looking at 30:07.150 --> 30:09.640 the strongly held views by , by people 30:09.729 --> 30:13.170 across the spectrum and I guarantee you , 30:13.180 --> 30:15.099 we do hear from people across the 30:15.109 --> 30:17.180 spectrum who want us to do one thing 30:17.189 --> 30:19.300 differently , whether it comes from , 30:19.300 --> 30:22.000 from stopping support for Israel to 30:22.010 --> 30:24.066 supporting Israel more . And we hear 30:24.066 --> 30:26.869 loudly from people about this issue . 30:27.150 --> 30:29.261 We have to make the best decisions we 30:29.261 --> 30:31.483 can about national security interests . 30:31.483 --> 30:33.483 And right now , we believe the best 30:33.483 --> 30:35.650 thing that we can do is to continue to 30:35.650 --> 30:37.872 pursue a temporary ceasefire that would 30:37.872 --> 30:40.039 get the hostages out and alleviate the 30:40.039 --> 30:42.150 suffering of the Palestinian people . 30:42.150 --> 30:44.317 Go ahead at the back . Go ahead . No , 30:44.317 --> 30:46.372 no , no , you go ahead . Thank you . 30:47.619 --> 30:51.000 God bless you . Um There have been now 30:51.010 --> 30:52.899 at least six documented instances 30:52.899 --> 30:54.566 depicting members of the ID f 30:54.566 --> 30:56.677 displaying or rifling through women's 30:56.677 --> 30:58.788 underwear and of course , that's just 30:58.788 --> 31:00.843 on camera . Soldiers have , as we've 31:00.843 --> 31:03.177 seen stripped and tortured Palestinians . 31:03.177 --> 31:02.920 There have been a reported history of , 31:02.930 --> 31:05.500 of , um , soldiers abusing Children 31:05.510 --> 31:07.399 that they've detained even before 31:07.399 --> 31:09.677 October 7th . And of course , you know , 31:09.677 --> 31:11.788 investigations need to be pursued but 31:11.788 --> 31:14.010 still given , you know , all that we've 31:14.010 --> 31:13.859 seen from Israeli forces just up to 31:13.869 --> 31:15.980 this point . What's the US government 31:15.980 --> 31:18.147 doing in response ? Now , given the UN 31:18.147 --> 31:20.258 experts alarm at credible allegations 31:20.258 --> 31:22.369 of human rights violations and sexual 31:22.369 --> 31:24.647 violence committed against Palestinian . 31:24.647 --> 31:26.869 We make clear to the governor of Israel 31:26.869 --> 31:28.536 that we expect them to behave 31:28.536 --> 31:30.536 consistent with the laws of war and 31:30.536 --> 31:32.480 consistent with their own rules of 31:32.480 --> 31:34.369 engagement . And we have seen the 31:34.369 --> 31:36.591 Israeli military come out and say it is 31:36.591 --> 31:38.702 conducting its own investigation into 31:38.702 --> 31:40.869 reports of soldiers who have failed to 31:40.869 --> 31:43.319 comply with either of those two sets of 31:43.329 --> 31:45.551 rules and that's appropriate and that's 31:45.551 --> 31:47.773 what you expect a professional military 31:47.773 --> 31:49.218 to do and we expect those 31:49.218 --> 31:51.109 investigations to proceed and if 31:51.119 --> 31:53.239 appropriate , hold the , the 31:53.319 --> 31:55.430 responsible parties accountable and a 31:55.430 --> 31:57.652 few more . And then like really to that 31:57.652 --> 31:59.875 investigation , then late is what the B 31:59.875 --> 31:59.859 memo a couple of weeks ago regarding 31:59.869 --> 32:02.040 this kind of thing of ensuring that , 32:02.050 --> 32:04.272 you know , American military , it isn't 32:04.272 --> 32:06.550 contributing to these kinds of actions . 32:06.550 --> 32:08.606 What sort of conversations are being 32:08.606 --> 32:10.717 had right now to make sure that these 32:10.717 --> 32:10.040 accountability measures if they need to 32:10.050 --> 32:12.272 be taken are taken , you know , on time 32:12.272 --> 32:14.383 expeditiously . I know for instance , 32:14.383 --> 32:16.328 like the assurances for the memo , 32:16.328 --> 32:18.494 those need to be done within 45 days . 32:18.494 --> 32:17.920 So what's the conversations like around 32:17.930 --> 32:20.097 it is the exact kind of conversation I 32:20.097 --> 32:22.263 just detailed in response to your last 32:22.263 --> 32:24.486 question , which we have very frank and 32:24.486 --> 32:23.729 candid conversations with the 32:23.739 --> 32:25.850 government of Israel about this . But 32:25.850 --> 32:27.906 again , the government of Israel has 32:27.906 --> 32:29.906 itself come out and said publicly , 32:29.906 --> 32:32.128 you've seen the head of the , of the ID 32:32.128 --> 32:33.850 F say that they are conducting 32:33.850 --> 32:36.017 investigations . You've seen , I think 32:36.017 --> 32:38.128 it's the , it's the , the , the chief 32:38.128 --> 32:38.069 attorney or the chief lawyer , I'm 32:38.079 --> 32:40.135 gonna get the exact title wrong come 32:40.135 --> 32:42.246 out with a report in the last week or 32:42.246 --> 32:44.357 so of alleged violations and say that 32:44.357 --> 32:46.412 they are members of the ID F who did 32:46.412 --> 32:48.523 not behave in accordance with Israeli 32:48.523 --> 32:50.579 rules of engagement . And that there 32:50.579 --> 32:52.690 are investigations ongoing . We think 32:52.690 --> 32:52.689 those are appropriate . That's what we 32:52.699 --> 32:56.260 expect our military to do when American 32:56.270 --> 32:58.159 servicemen or service women don't 32:58.159 --> 33:00.437 behave consistent with the laws of war , 33:00.437 --> 33:02.770 consistent with the rules of engagement . 33:02.770 --> 33:01.780 It's what we expect the Israeli 33:01.790 --> 33:03.790 military to do . It's what we would 33:03.790 --> 33:05.790 expect of any professional military 33:05.790 --> 33:05.650 operating anywhere in the world . And 33:05.660 --> 33:08.280 then on Erin Bushnell , per my 33:08.290 --> 33:09.957 colleague's question just now 33:09.957 --> 33:11.846 specifically , I was wondering if 33:11.846 --> 33:14.068 there's any concern with regards to him 33:14.068 --> 33:13.930 saying , you know , as you said , I'm 33:13.939 --> 33:15.939 an active duty member of the United 33:15.939 --> 33:18.050 States Air Force and I will no longer 33:18.050 --> 33:19.883 be complicit in genocide . I I'm 33:19.883 --> 33:19.630 curious if there's been any 33:19.640 --> 33:21.807 conversations about that kind of claim 33:21.807 --> 33:23.807 being made by a member of the armed 33:23.807 --> 33:25.807 service before , of course , he had 33:25.807 --> 33:27.862 such a I think I should defer to the 33:27.862 --> 33:30.196 Pentagon for an answer to that question . 33:30.196 --> 33:31.918 Any updates on hind jobs , the 33:31.918 --> 33:31.839 investigation into the killing of hider 33:31.949 --> 33:34.171 job's family and the paramedics tend to 33:34.171 --> 33:36.338 save her . I don't have an an update . 33:36.338 --> 33:37.949 My understanding is that the 33:37.949 --> 33:40.750 investigation is ongoing . Authorities 33:40.760 --> 33:42.871 in Pakistan detaining journalists who 33:42.871 --> 33:45.180 are talking about the reports of 33:45.229 --> 33:47.459 rigging in elections . We also heard 33:47.469 --> 33:50.199 that Pakistani authorities also asked 33:50.839 --> 33:53.061 the bureau chief for the New York Times 33:53.061 --> 33:55.172 to leave Pakistan as soon as possible 33:55.172 --> 33:57.283 because she was also reporting on the 33:57.283 --> 33:59.506 same subject . Do you have any comments 33:59.506 --> 34:01.672 on the free speech ? So we want to see 34:01.672 --> 34:03.839 freedom of expression and the right to 34:03.839 --> 34:06.061 a free press observed in Pakistan as is 34:06.061 --> 34:08.117 true anywhere around the world , the 34:08.117 --> 34:10.117 United States spends millions every 34:10.117 --> 34:09.975 year winning hearts and minds and 34:09.985 --> 34:11.707 promoting democracy overseas , 34:11.715 --> 34:14.004 including investments in Pakistan . But 34:14.014 --> 34:16.125 in the last few months , the image of 34:16.125 --> 34:17.903 the US has suffered due to some 34:17.903 --> 34:20.125 misleading and irresponsible statements 34:20.125 --> 34:22.236 by some political leadership . What's 34:22.236 --> 34:24.458 his matter to the Pakistani people ? Is 34:24.458 --> 34:26.403 there anything , is there anything 34:26.403 --> 34:28.570 specific you're asking me to , to , to 34:28.570 --> 34:30.236 respond to other than general 34:30.236 --> 34:32.347 statements ? What , what specifically 34:32.347 --> 34:34.514 do you mean ? He's still saying the US 34:34.514 --> 34:36.736 is involved in Pakistani politics . You 34:36.736 --> 34:38.847 know , because of America , I I'm not 34:38.847 --> 34:41.070 in the power and chanting in the street 34:41.070 --> 34:43.181 against us . All I can do is continue 34:43.181 --> 34:45.292 to stand up here and tell the truth , 34:45.292 --> 34:47.014 which is those allegations are 34:47.014 --> 34:49.070 incorrect , they are false . What we 34:49.070 --> 34:51.181 want is for the people of Pakistan to 34:51.181 --> 34:52.958 be able to decide the future of 34:52.958 --> 34:54.681 Pakistan , including their own 34:54.681 --> 34:56.074 government . Go ahead 35:00.219 --> 35:02.386 after so many weeks , I don't know how 35:02.386 --> 35:04.608 to even ask questions , just get to the 35:04.608 --> 35:06.830 question . So a couple of weeks ago , I 35:06.830 --> 35:08.886 had asked you about my assessment of 35:08.886 --> 35:10.886 the Taliban getting stronger and my 35:10.886 --> 35:12.886 colleague just mentioned them about 35:12.886 --> 35:15.979 their public hanging . You did not 35:15.989 --> 35:17.933 agree with my assessment . But the 35:17.933 --> 35:20.156 State Department in their letter to the 35:20.156 --> 35:21.822 cigar stated that the Taliban 35:21.822 --> 35:24.409 resurgence is going on . Can you now at 35:24.419 --> 35:26.363 least officially accept that under 35:26.363 --> 35:28.419 President Biden , the Taliban are 35:28.429 --> 35:31.379 becoming more stronger . At least I am 35:31.389 --> 35:33.445 not familiar with that letter . So I 35:33.445 --> 35:35.556 want to review it before I comment in 35:35.556 --> 35:38.010 detail . One more , sir . Just one uh 35:38.020 --> 35:41.709 for 20 years the US was in Afghanistan . 35:41.719 --> 35:43.608 It lost two more than 2000 of the 35:43.608 --> 35:46.030 soldiers there . Ok . So some questions 35:46.040 --> 35:47.879 are a bit more serious . Can you 35:47.889 --> 35:50.209 officially agree with me on one point 35:50.219 --> 35:52.600 here that all these 20 years China was 35:52.610 --> 35:54.721 the one basically that was supporting 35:54.721 --> 35:56.979 the Taliban with those weapons , 35:56.989 --> 35:59.229 especially those Chinese AK-47s which 35:59.239 --> 36:01.239 they copied from the Russians . And 36:01.239 --> 36:03.270 China is the only country right now 36:03.280 --> 36:05.224 that has one of the diplomats from 36:05.224 --> 36:08.449 Taliban in their country . So I am 36:08.459 --> 36:10.515 unfortunately unable to offer you an 36:10.515 --> 36:13.530 assessment of how the Taliban was 36:13.540 --> 36:15.651 arming itself over the course of that 36:15.651 --> 36:17.989 20 years of war . Um uh It's not 36:18.000 --> 36:20.056 something I was working on in the US 36:20.056 --> 36:22.056 government at the time . Go ahead . 36:24.149 --> 36:26.205 You're presuming the negotiations in 36:26.205 --> 36:30.100 Paris and Doha . Um is the government 36:30.110 --> 36:34.090 holding off the draft resolution in 36:34.100 --> 36:36.370 New York to see if you get to a deal ? 36:36.560 --> 36:38.979 And uh what do you intend to do with 36:38.989 --> 36:40.933 that ? No , the two issues are not 36:40.933 --> 36:42.878 related . We continue to discuss a 36:42.878 --> 36:45.040 potential resolution with partners on 36:45.050 --> 36:47.161 the Un Security Council . Continue to 36:47.161 --> 36:50.860 talk through the both the uh content of 36:50.870 --> 36:53.580 such a resolution and the timing of 36:53.590 --> 36:55.701 when one might come up for a vote . I 36:55.701 --> 36:57.479 don't have any updates on those 36:57.479 --> 36:59.701 conversations continue , would reaching 36:59.701 --> 37:02.070 a deal . Put uh cancel that uh 37:02.080 --> 37:05.120 presenting the resolution that asked me 37:05.129 --> 37:06.685 to , I think , respond to a 37:06.685 --> 37:08.796 hypothetical and I'm going to decline 37:08.796 --> 37:10.518 to do so well . I have another 37:10.518 --> 37:12.629 hypothetical but just do it . Did you 37:12.629 --> 37:15.370 get a deal ? Um Did you want , uh does 37:15.379 --> 37:17.601 the administration want it presented to 37:17.601 --> 37:20.290 the Security Council ? Uh Again , I'm 37:20.300 --> 37:22.467 gonna decline to comment on that until 37:22.467 --> 37:25.290 if and when we reach such an agreement . 37:25.909 --> 37:28.131 Yes , you would . No , I said I'm going 37:28.131 --> 37:30.353 to decline and comment on what we might 37:30.353 --> 37:32.465 do until if and when we reach such an 37:32.465 --> 37:34.360 agreement , any information or 37:34.370 --> 37:36.370 additional answers from the Israeli 37:36.370 --> 37:38.537 government on the desk of the 270 year 37:38.537 --> 37:40.648 old Americans who were shot only that 37:40.648 --> 37:42.259 those matters are both under 37:42.259 --> 37:44.148 investigation and we think that's 37:44.148 --> 37:45.759 appropriate . And when those 37:45.759 --> 37:47.419 investigations conclude , if 37:47.429 --> 37:49.899 accountability is the appropriate 37:49.909 --> 37:52.139 outcome , you will , you can be sure 37:52.149 --> 37:53.705 that we will be calling for 37:53.705 --> 37:55.593 accountability and we will expect 37:55.593 --> 37:57.649 accountability . Have you given them 37:57.649 --> 37:57.340 any sort of timeline in which they need 37:57.350 --> 37:59.517 to get back to you with answers ? So , 37:59.517 --> 38:01.949 again , like with respect to the two 38:01.959 --> 38:04.181 investigations , one is being conducted 38:04.181 --> 38:05.959 by , I believe it's the Israeli 38:05.959 --> 38:08.015 National Police , the other is being 38:08.015 --> 38:10.015 conducted by the Palestinian Police 38:10.015 --> 38:12.354 because of where that specific killing 38:12.364 --> 38:14.364 took place . And so it's not just a 38:14.364 --> 38:16.197 question of pressing the Israeli 38:16.197 --> 38:17.808 government , it's one of the 38:17.808 --> 38:17.745 investigations that is being conducted 38:17.754 --> 38:19.976 by the Palestinian authorities , police 38:19.976 --> 38:22.310 force that said we want them to proceed . 38:22.310 --> 38:24.476 We want them to be finished as soon as 38:24.476 --> 38:26.532 possible . I think , you know , it's 38:26.532 --> 38:29.705 sometimes hard to put a time frame on 38:29.715 --> 38:31.715 investigation , especially criminal 38:31.715 --> 38:33.826 investigation . So I'm not able to do 38:33.826 --> 38:33.784 that . We want to see it happen as soon 38:33.794 --> 38:37.750 as possible . Given the 38:37.760 --> 38:39.982 fact that the Palestinian Authority has 38:39.982 --> 38:41.760 removed maps of Israel from new 38:41.760 --> 38:43.816 Palestinian textbooks . Is there any 38:43.816 --> 38:46.038 evidence that the Palestinian Authority 38:46.038 --> 38:48.669 will accept and recognize a two state 38:48.679 --> 38:50.659 solution ? Yes or no and I have a 38:50.669 --> 38:52.889 follow up . So the evidence that I 38:52.899 --> 38:55.320 present to you is that in all of our 38:55.330 --> 38:57.608 conversations with President and Abbas , 38:57.615 --> 38:59.782 he has represented that he is ready to 38:59.782 --> 39:01.948 move towards a two state solution . He 39:01.948 --> 39:05.166 is ready to uh uh uh uh look at any 39:05.176 --> 39:07.398 proposal that we can put forward and we 39:07.398 --> 39:09.509 are working with our Arab partners in 39:09.509 --> 39:11.676 the region to come up with just such a 39:11.676 --> 39:13.732 plan . Ok . The PC Authority at UN R 39:13.732 --> 39:15.620 have reinserted a text with great 39:15.620 --> 39:17.805 phrases of woman terrorist , Mu Rabi 39:17.815 --> 39:19.926 who attacked a civilian bus murdering 39:19.926 --> 39:22.822 38 Israelis including 13 Children . 39:22.902 --> 39:24.958 Will you demand that the Palestinian 39:24.958 --> 39:27.221 Authority and UN R A remove that text ? 39:27.231 --> 39:29.541 Yes or no . I am not familiar with the 39:29.552 --> 39:31.885 specific text to which you're referring . 39:31.885 --> 39:35.781 So I'm not going to comment on it . Do 39:35.791 --> 39:38.013 you mind please ? Thank you very much . 39:38.971 --> 39:42.300 So , so I'm very genuinely confused . 39:42.310 --> 39:44.310 Is the administration calling for a 39:44.310 --> 39:46.532 permanent ceasefire or are they calling 39:46.532 --> 39:48.477 for a temporary ceasefire ? We are 39:48.477 --> 39:48.209 calling for a temporary ceasefire as 39:48.219 --> 39:51.250 part of the negotiations . Ok . And 39:51.709 --> 39:54.810 um President Biden is going to the 39:54.820 --> 39:56.876 southern border on Thursday . Do you 39:56.876 --> 39:59.070 expect him to bring up the migration 39:59.080 --> 40:01.024 matters in Latin America ? I think 40:01.024 --> 40:02.913 that's a question . You should uh 40:02.913 --> 40:04.969 direct to the White House briefing , 40:04.969 --> 40:04.949 which I believe starts in two minutes . 40:05.669 --> 40:09.050 Um You've called for the unconditional 40:09.060 --> 40:11.389 release of hostages . Why then support 40:11.399 --> 40:13.455 a deal where there would be hostages 40:13.455 --> 40:15.510 released in exchange for Palestinian 40:15.510 --> 40:17.677 prisoners who have committed terrorism 40:17.677 --> 40:19.843 against Israel . We ultimately want to 40:19.843 --> 40:22.010 see these prisoners get out and in any 40:22.209 --> 40:24.265 prison , we want to see the hostages 40:24.265 --> 40:27.100 get out and in any such negotiation , 40:27.110 --> 40:29.166 you have to make difficult choices . 40:29.166 --> 40:31.388 Ultimately , these are choices that the 40:31.388 --> 40:31.030 government of Israel is going to have 40:31.040 --> 40:33.096 to make and we're going to work with 40:33.096 --> 40:35.040 them to try to reach the best deal 40:35.040 --> 40:36.929 possible . We want to see all the 40:36.929 --> 40:38.873 hostages released , but this is as 40:38.873 --> 40:41.096 often is the case around the world when 40:41.096 --> 40:43.262 you're trying to get hostages released 40:43.262 --> 40:42.100 or where you're trying to get 40:42.409 --> 40:44.187 wrongfully detained individuals 40:44.187 --> 40:46.298 released . You have to make difficult 40:46.298 --> 40:48.131 choices to bring them home . And 40:48.131 --> 40:49.798 finally funding for the state 40:49.798 --> 40:52.020 department expires at midnight on March 40:52.020 --> 40:52.010 9th . Does the department have a 40:52.020 --> 40:53.964 contingency plan in the event of a 40:53.964 --> 40:56.020 shutdown ? I'm not going to speak to 40:56.020 --> 40:58.020 contingency plans other than to say 40:58.020 --> 41:00.076 that we think Congress should do its 41:00.076 --> 41:02.409 job and pass a funding bill . Thank you . 41:02.409 --> 41:04.520 Sorry . Just to really brief things , 41:04.520 --> 41:03.979 one , you were just asked if there was 41:03.989 --> 41:05.767 any evidence of the Palestinian 41:05.767 --> 41:07.989 Authority supports a two state solution 41:07.989 --> 41:10.211 or any evidence that they do . Is there 41:10.211 --> 41:12.322 the evidence that the current Israeli 41:12.322 --> 41:14.545 government supports ? So we continue to 41:14.545 --> 41:16.600 engage with the government of Israel 41:16.989 --> 41:19.780 who does the current Israeli government 41:19.790 --> 41:22.780 support ? I think you can , I think you 41:22.790 --> 41:24.901 can look at the Prime Minister's very 41:24.901 --> 41:26.957 well covered public comments on this 41:26.957 --> 41:30.169 matter that said , that said , that 41:30.179 --> 41:32.235 said , I will let you interpret them 41:32.235 --> 41:34.457 how you want . That said we continue to 41:34.457 --> 41:36.512 believe that a two state solution in 41:36.512 --> 41:38.679 the interests of Israel . Uh and we'll 41:38.679 --> 41:40.790 continue to push for it . All right . 41:40.790 --> 41:42.568 And then secondly , on these uh 41:42.568 --> 41:44.790 questions about Bush and all that , I'm 41:44.790 --> 41:44.350 a little bit confused as to why this is 41:44.360 --> 41:46.249 coming up in the state department 41:46.249 --> 41:48.304 briefing . Other than that , it is a 41:48.304 --> 41:50.527 policy matter , but this guy was not an 41:50.527 --> 41:50.010 employee of the , of the state 41:50.020 --> 41:52.290 department as it does relate to the 41:52.300 --> 41:55.989 State Department because this happened 41:56.239 --> 41:58.461 outside the Israeli embassy . Was there 41:58.461 --> 42:00.709 any contact between the Israelis and 42:00.719 --> 42:03.459 you guys about what actually happened ? 42:03.469 --> 42:05.790 There was contact at the security level 42:05.800 --> 42:08.050 on Sunday , I believe when this 42:08.060 --> 42:10.060 happened , I know there was contact 42:10.060 --> 42:12.227 with DSS was looking at the matter and 42:12.227 --> 42:14.227 I believe the secret service was as 42:14.227 --> 42:16.227 well . So there was contact at that 42:16.227 --> 42:18.060 level about a potential security 42:18.060 --> 42:20.116 situation , but I'm not aware of any 42:20.116 --> 42:22.171 beyond that . Just on the , when the 42:22.171 --> 42:24.393 incident , when the incident occurred , 42:24.393 --> 42:26.616 there may have been other conversations 42:26.616 --> 42:28.671 that I'm not aware of , but ok , but 42:28.671 --> 42:30.560 since then , since Sunday , there 42:30.560 --> 42:32.770 hasn't been any discussion , at least 42:32.780 --> 42:35.350 involving you guys about in what regard 42:35.979 --> 42:38.146 I'm not trying to just that we talk to 42:38.146 --> 42:40.312 them all the time . I mean , if you're 42:40.312 --> 42:42.535 from an Israeli perspective , you could 42:42.535 --> 42:44.646 imagine that this might be like , you 42:44.646 --> 42:46.646 know , they might look at this as a 42:46.646 --> 42:48.757 security incident in which they might 42:48.757 --> 42:50.868 get in touch with you guys about it . 42:50.868 --> 42:50.770 But as far as you know , there hasn't 42:50.780 --> 42:52.929 been any . So I will say we talked to 42:52.939 --> 42:55.919 them Sunday when the event first 42:55.929 --> 42:58.040 happened about any potential security 42:58.040 --> 43:00.262 threat . I'm sure we are having ongoing 43:00.262 --> 43:02.485 dialogue with them uh about that , that 43:02.485 --> 43:04.762 would be the normal course of practice . 43:04.762 --> 43:04.600 I'm not aware of any specific 43:04.610 --> 43:06.610 conversations in that regard and we 43:06.610 --> 43:07.750 have a wrap for today . Thanks everyone .