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brett: you know as someone coming out of college it can be very nerve-racking not knowing what to expect, whether you'll like your job or not, whether you'll make friends, whether you'll fit in, and here i feel like it's so welcoming and such an inclusive place to work, you just feel like you're valued. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" christian: hello, i'm christian fraser. this is "the context." >> seems to me a lot of countries around the world like to express concern about gaza and the palestinian people but very few are willing to do anything about it. >> the whole idea that we are going to build into the riviera of the gaza strip, looking like miami beach or something like

that, is not going to happen. >> egypt again today rejecting any notion of forcibly rejecting palestinians from gaza, resettled in egypt or jordan. >> applauded by his loyal supporters as you might expect but met with else -- outrage elsewhere not only because of the clear breach of international law but also the impracticality. christian: we are told not to take him literally. some thought his advisers were walking it back but today donald trump doubled down on his plan to occupy gaza. the israeli defense minister is preparing a plan for the palestinians to leave with a warning to arab states, they need to step up. we will get reaction from egypt's former prime minister and donald trump former advisor john bolton. and the bonfire of red tape. the british prime minister rips up the planning rules to fire up

nuclear power. very good evening. if the president's plan for the united states to take ownership of gaza was being discussed internally, if it indeed have been part of a national security discussion, then the people who knew about it were extremely limited in number. it came as a shock to most in the inner circle even to his own secretary of state. certainly he caught the israeli prime minister by surprise. he could hardly disguise his joy on tuesday night. not sure that would have been the first reaction of those who were sent out to then explain it, but their job is to apply the gloss. the press secretary described it as visionary. >> insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. president trump is an outside of the box thinker and a visionary leader who solves problems that many others, especially in the city, claim are unsolvable. christian: later on wednesday,

his secretary of state marco rubio tried to qualify some of the details, maybe even to walk it back. >> what he has very generously offered is the ability of the united states to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction, rebuilding of homes and businesses, things of this nature so that then people can move back in. in the meantime they have to live somewhere. christian: overnight in a post on troop social, the president doubled down. the gaza strip would be turned over to the united states by israel at the conclusion of fighting. the u.s. would begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on earth. no u.s. soldiers on the ground, he promised. so what of the palestinians? the post suggests they will be resettled in far safer communities. the israelis say donald trump

already formulating a plan. today, israel's defense minister says his forces should prepare for "the voluntary departure of palestinians from gaza in line with president trump's proposal. arab communities and those who supported a future palestinian state should also step up," he suggests, including eu countries like spain and norway. with us tonight is the former assistant foreign minister of egypt and former egyptian ambassador to germany. very well. thank you for sparing us some time tonight. the day before donald trump announce this plane for gaza he announced a new one billion-dollar arms deal for egypt, security from america since the camp david accords has been very important. how much leverage does donald trump currently have over president lcc, and is it enough to force him to take a million palestinians? >> not at all.

the relation with the united states is strategic nature. it is quite sequenced and normal. what is not normal is the declaration and the proposition from trump on the riviera of gaza, sending american troops into occupy, although he retreated from this declaration a couple hours ago. 48 hours after the declaration of the press conference with netanyahu. i think this was unlawful, unexpected from our leader, who ignored the legality and rule of law, resolution that calls for a two state solution. palestinians are the owners of gaza and the west bank. this two state solution, which

has been supported all over the world. you have identified many reactions against this declaration including the prime minister. christian: what would be the likely consequences if donald trump were to threaten to withdraw that offer of military aid he promised this week? who would egypt then turned to? >> egypt stood firm from day one. i don't think you have to link between -- christian: you know that he might. >> i think you and britain and worldwide know very much egypt is a country that is responsible, country that is adhering to international law and legality. our call for a palestinian state is unwavering. we will affirm our position against the declaration, against

the position which has been described by the international legality as war crimes. christian: humor me for a second. let's suppose, for arguments sake, that america does own it. let's suppose a million palestinians decided to leave, admitted to sinai, egypt, what would happen to the other half that refused to go? >> i don't think we have to hypothetically consider that. egypt is firm and its position about the redline. about all the palestinians even adhering to the rule for their city. while netanyahu destroyed it, standing next to trump, who was supposed to blame him. christian: i am trying to understand the security situation for egypt. we know that president cc has been fighting an islamist

insurgency in the sinai for many years. what would be the consequence of a million people just spilling into that area where the infrastructure is let's face it, pretty poor. it is a desert-like area of the country. >> you know very well that a million in the hat have gone back to gaza and that they are going to witness and see and face ruins and destruction. including the south. we have seen what happened. they return to the land, the soil of their land, spirit of the palestinians. i assure you that our position, their position is firm as well. i am sure the international community, including the friends of the u.s. and israel, like the u.k., like the prime minister --

christian: we have heard from the parliament today saying the government opposes it. just a final thought. we are supposed to be beginning in doha this week, negotiations for the second phase of the cease-fire agreement. what do you think donald trump's proposal does to that negotiation? >> we would have liked to see donald trump supporting the second phase, supporting his special envoy, the efforts that have been exerted by the u.s. administration, qatar, egypt over the past 15 years to bring us to this very important and historical deal. if we insist on making it a success, it would bring back the hope and the light at the end of the tunnel. i would have suggested the

advisor of president trump, bring him back to conscious, understand the truth which is so important to the well-being of the hostages, stability of the region. new where the light will appear at the end of the tunnel. this is an effort that requires europe in particular to stand firm in its position as it has opposed the illusion that was held in the press conference between the two. christian: we are really grateful for your time. thank you for joining us this evening. one person who knows what it is like to be blindsided by a trump announcement is ambassador john bolton. he served as a national security advisor from 2018 to 2019 in the first trump presidency. on the first day of his second

administration, the president withdrew his security detail despite credible threats he has faced from iran. i spoke to him a short time ago about the gaza plan. how widely does he think it was shared? >> it doesn't look like it was shared much at all although trump read a good part of the language about gaza from a prepared text, so somebody must have written it up. not anybody who i think thought through at least the potential american participation, that's for sure. christian: he has doubled down on it today, says america will take control of gaza after the war, although troops may not be on the ground. of course, the israelis have already reacted to it, saying they're preparing a plan for people to leave. what are the security implications of that? >> you have to look at this in two pieces. the first piece is what exactly the u.s. role would be. i would say the u.s. role is

between slim and none. you cannot put americans in that kind of security environment without military protection. that just isn't going to happen. it remains a very dangerous area. the whole idea that we are going to build it into the riviera of the gaza strip, looking like miami beach or something like that, just isn't going to happen. the second question that i think many people have gotten confused in all the fuss about it is there has to be a very serious question here about the future for the citizens of gaza. rebuilding a high-rise refugee camp is not an answer. some kind of resettlement, which would not be enforceable, but which would be consistent with international refugee doctrine, such as that followed by the u.n. high commissioner for refugees, says resettlement is a

far better option than staying in a refugee camp. christian: you are right, one of the main fault lines that runs through the cease-fire is the lack of any future for gaza, and future governance for gaza. but what would it mean for the united states relationship with the arab world, egypt, jordan, saudi arabia, if the plan is to move them out of gaza against their will? >> that couldn't be the plan. i don't think even trump thinks that. the problem is trump announces it in public without consulting with anybody. the palestinians have been mistreated, for decades, by the arab states, beginning with their radical arab states in the 1950's and 1960's that wanted to keep them close to israel, so that when israel was driven into the sea, the palestinian refugees could be a part of it and go back home. it turns out israel is not going to be driven back to the sea,

but none of the arab states have been willing to take any significant number of them. if you believe, as i do, that the two state solution is dead particularly after october 7, the best solution is to split the gaza problem from the west bank problem, and try and decide what is the humane thing to do for palestinians who were in gaza as refugees or otherwise. and the only real humanitarian answer here is to put them into a functioning economy, so that they have a future and their children have a future, of which there is not in gaza. christian: you are well aware that president el-sisi is fighting within the sinai and islamist threat. if you put 2 million people into egypt, that comes with some very serious security implications. >> i am completely sympathetic

to president el-sisi, all of the arab countries that are not exactly rushing forward to take these people. but again, i will say this, if you put them back in gaza, you will get the same answer again. the palestinians have been mistreated because they are the only refugee population in the world since 1945 that has not had the chance to resettle. one interesting thing, and i'm sure your intrepid reporters can look into this, i've heard that several thousand, up to 200,000 gaza residents have been able to in effect, bribe their way out of the population of 2 million since october 7, and are now living elsewhere. this is not totally impossible. i think people have to come together and say, look, this is a circumstance that has built up over 75 or more years. it will not be solved immediately. but if you replaced unrwa, the

agency that deals with palestinians since the creation of israel, replace it with you and high commissioner for refugees, --

the treasury announced it was sanctioning an international oil network for allegedly facilitating the shipment of millions of barrels of iranian

crude. donald trump did promise maximum pressure on iran to cut their exports to zero. to what end? >> that is a partial step. during the time i served in his administration, we had iranian oil exports almost down to zero. my view was that was a step toward overthrowing a regime to put maximum pressure on the economic side and those oil revenues are critical to the financing of iran's government, support for terrorist groups, its nuclear program. but i don't think you will ever have real peace and stability in the middle east until the regime of the ayatollahs is overthrown. christian: that's possible? >> when you are dealing with a group of religious

dealing with the consequence just a final one. jonathan powell

strategically vital british territory. what sort of reception do you think jonathan powell will get at the white house? >> i hope the reception he gets is you are not going to make this deal with mauritius. the whole basis of this, i'm written about this for the wall street journal. it's ridiculous to acknowledge mauritius' claim. the mood they are in and the white house today, you should offer to give them sovereignty to the united states. maybe trump would take it. christian: the prime minister here would say we are following international law. >> that is ridiculous, a fantasy. interestingly, no one has bothered to take a referendum of the checo silence since the diaspora. heaven forbid you might ask them who sovereignty they want to be under. my understanding it would not be mauritius. that is for sure. christian: ambassador bolton, thank you for your time. john bolton speaking to me earlier. we will get reaction to that

from our panel later in the program. let's take a short break. around the world and across the u.k., you are watching bbc news.

christian: welcome back. the british government says it is reforming the archaic planning rules which the prime minister says has been holding back britain in the race for clean, secure, and affordable energy. today he set out new rules to make it easier to build nuclear reactors here in england and wales. the old-style plants are expensive and decades in the planning. we have not completed one since 1995. but since the invasion of ukraine and the advance of ai, nuclear has become a necessary and desirable part of the mix. the changes to the planning rules today means if and when the smaller, modular reactors become available and commercially viable, britain should be in position. with me to discuss is michael fitzpatrick, professor at coventry university, expert in

nuclear power technologies. explain to those of us who are not so sure on this, what is a small modular reactor? >> the reactors we are currently building in the u.k., they offer a very large scale power generation. they will be about three gigawatts of electricity. that is enough for about 6 million homes, a significant proportion of the electricity supply. but they are expensive, major civil engineering projects, so they take a long time to build. a small modular reactor would be about 1/6 of the electricity generation but for maybe 10% of the price. the fact they are modular means there reactors and associated pipework and so on can be done effectively on a pipeline -- assembly line, so the cost of approving a project to getting it on the grid is lower.

with the changes in the planning regulations, that will happen. christian: that sounds good. where is the one in operation? >> of the designed in the u.k., championed by rolls-royce, there would be none, but it is based on the same technology used for most nuclear reactors in the world, pressurized water reactor. there are reactors of that size, electricity generation working around the world. it would just be a new variant on an established technology. christian: the question for some of us today, why not just build plants in the eight places that the government has identified? or even in the sea, which has still not been built? >> absolutely, and we could have been doing that, but we have been very slow in that decision-making process. as you say, the sea is not yet a reality but it could have been. christian: do these planning

rules make that more of a likelihood? >> more of a likelihood that the existing sites will see reactors on them. it will open up the possibility for existing sites where if you are looking at, you mentioned ai data centers that you could be looking at having a reactor close to, ai data center, powered by low carbon electricity. christian: quickly, with the spring done our bills or is this more about energy security? >> i think it's more about energy security. if you are looking at switching from gas, getting more expensive for all the reasons we know, with the rise of renewables, renewables we are looking to build in the future such as offshore wind for renewable capacity, that will be pushing up prices. nuclear, the prices are fairly stable but we are not looking at electricity bills coming down significantly on afraid. christian: professor fitzpatrick, thank you for

humming on and getting us your time. a nice segue into what we will be discussing after the break, ai decoded. of course, it is the new ai technologies which means we need more nuclear power if we are going to advance ai in the way the prime minister wants. that is coming up after the break. don't go away. we will be right back after this. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app

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