secondly and more specifically, initiative related to egypt- israel relations -- there will not be a u.s.-egypt free trade agreement given all the uncertainty in egypt within the foreseeable future. if it is serious, egypt can reap many of the benefits of free trade through a massive expansion of a qiz system with israel. israel would do this deal in a heartbeat and would lower the amount of is really content required as part of the deal. that would require the islamic president of egypt to recognize the benefits of much significantly broadened qic relationships and utter the word publicly -- israel -- which he has not done in his official capacity. a third initiative, repairing a turkish-israel ties. it is overdue and is in our interests and in the interest of both these countries. i know, mr. president, you tried wants to do this and did not succeed but times have changed. syria has happened. netanyahu will be stronger if he gets reelected. after the politics is clarified, it is time to try this again. well, one last set of items -- what are the game changers'? what are the unknowns

border with russia remains open while they say they'll close down the border between israel and egypt israeland gaza and in fact this border has consistently been closed that is not something that the former egyptian president hosni mubarak would have done for instance he did not keep that border open on his on his side he in fact kept the down in alliance and in coordination with the israelis so certainly the gameplay and has changed on the ground these are very easy. i think we're just taking a look at the global chessboard here another example of the tide changing if you take a country like qatar an ally of the united states used to have ties with israel now leaders there are saying that they're supporting hamas in this conflict talk all about the bigger picture here with not just dealing with you know egypt israel and gaza but there are several other countries that are sort of giving clues that this is in fact a very different battle this time around. it's . well it certainly is a very different battle this time around if you look at qatar for instance earlier this month the emir of qata

secondly, and more specifically, an initiative that's related to egypt-israel relations. here's not a #*us-egypt free trade geement given all the uncertainty in egypt within the foreseeable future, but if it is serious, egypt can reap many of the benefits of free trade through the massive expansion of the qu disirks system with -- qiz system with israel. they would lower the amount of israeli content required to be as part of the deal, but that would require the islamest president of egypt to recognize the benefits of much significantly broadened qiz relationship and to, in fact, utter the word publicly, "israel," something which he was not yet done in the official capacity. a third initiative, repairing israeli-turkish ties. it's in the interest of the countries. i know, mr. president, you tried, once to do this, and we did not succeed, but times have changed. syria has happened, they are weakened than before, and should benjamin netanyahu be elected, he'll be stronger after the election than he was the last time we tried to do this. after politics is clarified, it's time

. >> reporter: clinton expects egypt to play a key role in maintaining peace. now israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu said he's willing to give the cease-fire a chance but holds the possibility of resuming fighting. head of hamas said israel is destined for defeat. >> susan mcginnis in washington on this thanksgiving morning. thank you so much. the islamist government of egypt is winning praise for its role in brokering the truce. clarissa ward is in cairo with more. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. happy thanksgiving. >> good to have you on this morning. egypt playing a key role in making this truce happen. what does this mean for the region as we look ahead? >> reporter: absolutely. you heard secretary clinton calling egypt a cornerstone of stability in this region, praising the government for its actions, for its calm throughout the last eight days. i think there had been some speculation or concern in the west as to how exactly egypt's new islamist government would react to this type of situation. they have to walk a very fine line politically betw

airstrike were brought in whilst egypt's prime minister was there and he reportedly said that he described the situation in gaza as a disaster saying i simply cannot keep quiet israel must stop its aggression egypt really throwing its weight behind the gazans and how much they're saying it is israel that bears the burden for this escalation in aggression thirty thousand israeli reservists are ready to be called up they've also been numerous reports of tanks and troops moving south towards the border with gaza and a number of harsh statements by i.d.f. and israeli defense spokespeople saying things like this is just the beginning of this operation it will go on for some days yet and saying that this operation will hit many more targets and israel will do anything that is needed including a ground invasion in order to secure the safety of its citizens living in the south but the risk of a ground war very much looming still and the shattering of this cease fire almost before it could begin really doesn't give any any greater hope that it can be avoided. reporting right now palestinians are continuing to ask world leaders to help to stop the israeli assault while israe

a visit by egypt's prime minister to the gaza strip there were supposed to be a truce on his visit which was broken almost immediately by both sides rockets being fired into southern israel and an israeli airstrike which killed two civilians one of them a child those bodies brought into the hospital as it was being visited by egypt's prime minister and harasses prime minister on seeing those bodies egypt's prime minister saying that he felt he couldn't keep silent and that israel must stop its aggression in gaza backing up hamas and the garzon people there all of this supposed to have been a truce period that wasn't held and firing by both sides intensifying now as a result of all these casualties and rocket attacks and bombings in the meantime garza's former health minister told us here at r.t. that the israeli army operation is ultimately breaking international law. the nuclear those studies have proved that israel is using internationally prohibited weapons in quality and quantity they have managed to destroy many buildings and houses using percussion bombs which led to the collapse of many of the surrounding buildings are the bodies of those killed were completely bu

visiting gaza to assess the situation and there was a cease fire that was called for but which israel and egypt being broke and this is despite the fact that the israeli army denies this however we have heard there were at least some two people who were killed in gaza there are some seventy five thousand reservists who have been called out these troops are now and nothing along the israel gaza border and speaking to his release here inside as well as outside the country you have israelis who are returning as they are called up for duty and very much is. that we are going to look at an offensive that will happen remarkably soon they do believe that the prime minister here will call for a ground offensive you also need to remember that we're not that far away from elections for the parliament netanyahu has always been a prime minister when support by showing a very strong so strong so he the mood here is that this is an opportunity for him to drum up support ahead of such crucial elections. at least twenty nine palestinians are civilians women and children among them have been killed since israel

balance between appeasing their muslim brotherhood supporters who wanted to hear egypt take a tougher stance against israel whilst ensuring that the peace treaty between egypt and israel was never jeopardized. >> glor: clarissa ward, thank you. in israel, prime minister benjamin netanyahu made it clear he was acting on president obama's recommendation when he agreed to the cease-fire. allen pizzey is in tel aviv tonight. allen, was netanyahu reluctant to sign the cease-fire? >> reporter: he probably was, but he also didn't have a lot of choice, really, because they didn't want to go to a land war and they were under pressure from the americans. in his address to his people, netanyahu said that he thanked the americans for all their help and said that president obama had agreed that america would help israel prevent the smuggling of weapons into gaza, which the israelis say all come from iran. >> glor: allen, from your advantage point, will this cease-fire hold? >> that's the $64,000 question. probably it will hold for a while. the problems will start tomorrow, 24 hours after this came into effect. they're

can israel really trust egypt or turkey? rtin fletcher joins us now. >> larry, it's been another day of bitter fighting between palestinians and israels. they have been continuing to bombard targets in gaza. over 110 palestinians, several hundred wounded. the palestinians at a lower pace than before. the rockets fired at israel today. no serious damage done today. successfully intercepted those rocketsment all of the attention is on the question will israel invade gaza with its army or will there be a truce. there is intense negotiations especially in the arab world. trying to get israel and hamas to agree to a truce. but the question now is what will come first? truce or a ground invasion? very close call. everyone, of course, hoping that a truce will take place but an israeli invasion is very much on the coards. >> now let's get some good analysis. we have dan, co-author of start-up nation. dan, welcome back. you know, this whole business about this discussion israel supposedly negotiating with turkey and egypt. a former is

hamas official who is involved in the contacts that are going on between hamas to egypt, from egypt to israel. and they are discussing a cease-fire, sending messages back and forth. hamas says they have sent a draft proposal for a cease-fire through egypt to israel. they're hoping to get a response either tonight or sometime early tomorrow morning. and now there are sticking points, however. one of the sticking points is the question of buffer zones. the israelis want buffer zones around the gaza strip to prevent anybody getting near to the border. but as you mentioned before, gaza is very small. it is basically twice the size of washington, d.c. if there is a large buffer zone that means lots of agricultural land will be simply out of operation. on the other hand, israel also wants a complete end to arms smuggling. hamas isn't necessarily opposed to that, at least in theory, but their attitude is they do not control every militant group in gaza. there are others like islamic jihad which to a certain extent are out of hamas' control and therefore hamas is hesitant to make any sort of guarante

america spoke to hamas through egypt. israel spoke to hamas through egypt. and president obama in his statement after the cease-fire said that he had urged the israeli prime minister to accept egypt's proposal. they definitely played the major role here in getting hamas to the table. i had an exclusive interview with the head of hamas, he said what they want out of it is a lifting of the siege. that may happen. what israel wants out of it is no more rockets into israel and no more supply of weapons to gaza. they might get that, as well. but of course, we're going to watch. it's fragile. >> and christiane, you heard the word the white house used today, tenuous, late this afternoon. what is your sense on the ground about how strong the truce is? >> reporter: well, it's really early days. it went into effect. everybody in gaza is celebrating, as you've already reported. but people are worried, of course. you know, though, it looks like to some that this could be a turning point. but absent of peace process, david, absent a real peace process, yes, there are con

example egypt you know they gonna be egyptian population is massive and the overwhelming majority of egyptians population support we've got some people on the. manifest the outrage that israel is doing so saying some political atmosphere is coming from egypt saying that population would actually just like to storm into gaza and act as human shields to prevent. violence so there is a regional support which is increasing because people as well as instances of some resistance are fighters actually hitting israeli targets israeli forces so things are different to how they were two days ago when it looked just like a terrible. magical massacre. very fear frank you for joining us live from gaza here on r.t. well stay with us for the latest there we've also got live coverage on our web site and twitter stream. britain makes a push to support the rebels in syria london hosts the new opposition alliance and joins from the scene calls to lift an evil weapons embargo to allow for direct all those deliveries to fighters on the ground. plus two former croatian generals are acquitted of war crimes in the hague the game needing to cries of bias over the bloody division of yugoslavia in on

israel and hamas terrorist and gaza continued unabated while diplomat i canic talks continue in egypt, israel'srs are preparing to take what they call operation pillar and defense. theyprominent netanyahuprime minister netanyahu and his cabinet deciding what to do. they said if israel was going to invade gaza, they would have done so already. after israel killed hamas' military commander in airstrike three israeli civilians have been killed and 70 wounded missile strikes that reached as far as tel aviv, 50 miles from gaza's northern border. but israel's iron dome defense system has knocked down hundreds of palestinian missiles, limiting casualties and damage. they have launched 1300 airstrikes against targets in gaza. 106 palestinians have been killed in the fighting. hospital officials say half of those killed were civilians. however, israeli officials say they believe the majority of those killed were militants for hamas or one of the associated palestinian terror groups. in bangkok thailand, president obama said sunday the u.s. while working to de-escalate the situation and end the fighting

israel and hamas has come into force having been hammered during marathon negotiations hosted by egypt israel's been pounding the palestinian territory with missiles from both year in the sea for more than a week in response to cross border rockets our correspondent in a reports now on this much sought after troops. a ceasefire has been announced and agreed to by both israel and hamas this is the second time in two days that we've heard such an announcement but this time it's a new does seem as if it's accurate it was earlier a press conference between the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton and the egyptian foreign minister at that press conference clinton said that the u.s. was committed to making sure that the israelis face an increased safety and security situation and also to improving the conditions of people in gaza and egypt for its side has said that cairo has a historical duty to represent and help the people of palestine now the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu earlier held a telephone call with the american president barack obama in that phone call he said that israel w

how much difference does egypt's new government make to that crucial relationship with israel? >> i think the fact you have the muslim brotherhood in power in egypt really made israel hesitant to even start this kind of operation, which is why they waited until over a cut rockets have fallen from gaza the past year. this is not an operation they wanted to begin, in large part because they knew this egypt would respond differently to the way hosni mubarak's would have. >> what about the historic peace treaty? >> for the moment, it appears that the president, a former moslem brotherhood leader, understands he cannot do anything to break the treaty. what he is doing is anything that he can that kind of stops short of breaking it. the making of strong statements against israel in support of a hamas, sending his prime minister, encouraging egyptians to go to gaza, where they effectively act as human shields because they deter israel from continuing its operation law giving hamas the cover to intensify their attacks. he is not doing anything aggressive, not explicitly breaking the tre

i think he recognizes that a conflict along, you know, egypt's border with israel is not in egypt's interest any more than it's in israel's interests. so -- but these are people who have long been in opposition and they're having to learn to balance these political calculations as they go forward. >> right. and there's no rest after election day when you're the active president. p.j. will stay with us as we turn to another discussion right on point with president obama's foreign policy team. many republicans are attacking ambassador susan rice, a top candidate to replace secretary of state clinton. the senate has spiked some key nominations from president obama before, from elizabeth warren to nobel peace prize winner peter diamond. there is one number that suggests obama is likely to win this battle. we will look at the math after the break on "now." so you say men are superior drivers? yeah. then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check? every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. ok. [ voice of dennis ] silence. are you in good hands? [ male an

because there had been a calm before the assassination that egypt brokered and israel violated that with the assassination. nevertheless they took this risk and the reaction from egypt has been far more muted than it could have been so far the greatest consequence has been for the egyptian ambassador to tel aviv to be withdrawn and that's something that even mubarak did nathan through all analysts with the middle east program of the international crisis group thank you thank you by this latest outburst of violence in the holy land has been left to many on the sidelines and already the lancelot i gave gaza is warning protests worldwide activist and demonstrators in a number of countries have rallied to decry the deaths and demand any needed end to the fighting. that's russia pledges to rate of the latest gaza friends over at the un i'm all for show and public reaction and ongoing coverage of the situation both in israel and gaza on our website right now. i'll be back with other news in a couple of minutes to stay with us. to use it secret laboratory to mccurdy was able

terrorists heard only terrorists are targeted while the visit of egyptian of the prime minister of egypt israel didn't try and didn't attack any target in gaz but the master is the target israeli civilians while the visit of the prime minister of egypt and i suggest you check the information because there it cannot be people hurt while the visit of the prime minister of egypt because we didn't are you are also doing are certainly government will show you any. you are absolutely right according to the i.d.f. no airstrikes were carried out on the gaza strip during the during the visit of the egyptian prime minister although somehow two palestinians did manage to die the israeli army and the israeli government will do everything needed targeting terrorists only. to stop the firing of rockets from israeli cities don't really schools and israeli children and if we will need some ground operation we definitely will consider. reaction and insight now from dr alan been mia from the center for global affairs joining me live from new york. public opinion in israel tel aviv and jerusalem being targeted fo

the prime minister of egypt israel didn't fry and didn't attack any target in gaza but a master is the target israeli civilians while the visit of the prime minister of egypt and i suggest you check the information because there it cannot be. people hurt while the visit of the prime minister of egypt because we didn't also doing i'll certainly get i will show you my information you are absolutely right according to the i.d.f. no airstrikes were carried out on the gaza strip jur in the during the visit of the egyptian prime minister although somehow two palestinians did manage to die the israeli army and the israeli government will do everything needed targeting terrorists only terrorists to stop the firing of rockets from israeli cities don't because really schools is really children and if we will need some ground operation we definitely will consider how mass is vowing to keep fighting as long as the attacks continue let's have a quick listen here to the prime minister speaking in just a little bit earlier please stand by. we will never forget the blood of our martyrs and the blood o

that to be so turkey will be on the phone with washington and egypt doesn't influx of gazans into egypt israel attacks on the other hand israel can seal the gates of gaza like mubarak did and so they're going to be on the phone to washington and i think the pressures are going to be brought to bear on margins and then on israel to agree to a cease fire not from new york political scientist an activist and also noble norman finkelstein thank you very much indeed for joining us here on out here appreciate your time thank you. well earlier my colleague spoke to an israeli official who hailed the ongoing operation in gaza as a success despite the rising number of civilian casualties this is been so far one of the most surgical pinpoint military operations in modern military history i think again you will see that the civilian to militant casualty ratio will show up in israel to have unfortunately killed civilians but fall fewer then than any other comparable military. action but you have a pin point operation you call this one of the most precise and exact and pinpoint military operations that isr

egypt. then he called prime minister netanyahu in israel. and then had another call with egypt's morsi up till 2:30 in the morning. so doing his own work on the middle east after focusing on asia. the president, obviously, trying to find out what needs to be done, what steps both sides are willing to take in order to create some sort of a peace. and the final conclusion was it's best to send secretary of state clinton to do this in person. this trip has been overshadowed by this crisis overseas, john. >> jessica yellin cambodia. >>> we want to take you to the conflict zone. we have arwa damon for us, she's live in gaza city. arwa, set the scene for me. what are you seeing? what are you hearing today? >> reporter: well, just a few moments ago, we heard some explosions in the distance. unclear at this point exactly what they were caused by. the streets behind me, the streets of gaza city, still remain to be as deserted as they have been since this conflict began. there are very few people out and about. the vast majority of the shops are closed

the prime minister of egypt israel didn't try and didn't attack any target in gaz but a master is the target israeli civilians while the visit of the prime minister of egypt and i suggest you check the information because there it cannot be. people hurt while the visit of the prime minister of egypt because we didn't know you are also doing also if. you are you're absolutely right according to the i.d.f. no airstrikes were carried out on the gaza strip during the during the visit of the egyptian prime minister although somehow two palestinians did manage to die the israeli early in the israeli government will do everything needed targeting terrorists only to earth to stop the firing of rockets israel is serious about these really schools and israeli children and if we will need some ground. with those who will consider so. gaza based documentary filmmaker an activist harry fear i spoke to a little earlier he says that gazans are ready to repel law if need be but this is a massacre according to god's image most of the gazan population to be aged eighteen seventy five percent youth unem

terrorists heard in only terrorists are targeted while the visit of egyptian of the prime minister of egypt israel didn't fry and didn't attack any target in gaza but hamas here is the target israeli civilians while the visit of the prime minister of egypt and i suggest you check the information because there it cannot be. people well the visit of the prime minister of egypt because we didn't also doing are certainly going to show you. you know you're absolutely right according to the i.d.f. no air strikes were carried out on the gaza strip juror during the visit of the egyptian prime minister although somehow two palestinians did manage to die the israeli army and the israeli government will do everything needed targeting terrorists only. to stop the firing of rockets on israeli cities don't really schools is really children and if we will need some ground operation we definitely will consider it so. as palestinians are continuing to ask world leaders deployed how to help put a halt to their soul to the u.s. remains firm in its backing of israel president obama spoke to israel's prime minister be

wanted, and egypt. israel told me in jerusalem they don't want to go into a nebulous cease-fire, they think if there is a problem, they can go and talk to the guarantor. so that, i think, is a bit of a change, as well. >> all right, christiane amanpour, appreciate talking to you tonight, thank you. >>> and netanyahu warning there could be additional problems if that doesn't lead to security. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon says there are other issues necessary to address the conflict now. michael, we have heard from a lot of israelis tonight, particularly in the border regions along the gaza border who are very concerned and very doubtful about hamas's ability, long-term to maintain the cease-fire. to live up to the agreements and make progress on these agreements. how can you guarantee that hamas will simply not use this and other groups, like islamist jihad, to re-arm, to re-stock their supplies of some of the sophisticated weapons that we've seen them having? >> well, first of all it is good to be back,

the geography of history it bordered on one side by egypt and on the other two sides by israel and onbody kind of owns it right now. historically, for two decades, in the last century, egypt administered it after 1948, after israel came into being in the war that drove so many people of the arabs lived in what is now israel, made them refugees and they collected themselves and gathered in the gaza strip where three out of four people called themselves a refugee already, a defendant of these people. and egypt survives for a couple of decades. then you had the six-day war and israel won big and overran the west bank and gaza and administrated it for the next 40 years or so. but seven years ago they pulled out of gaza and gaza sort of hasn't belonged to anybody since. and in the last five or six years they had this blockade and the siege because israel doesn't like hamas and they really very much are sort of an -- or have been. >> why should anyone believe that -- why should anyone believe with this deal that anything is going to be different? >> i don't know. i think only because watchi

it's surrounded by egypt or israel. according to various agreements, any goods that come in or out of are subject to severe restrictions and the people of gaza can't leave unless they are also given the specific security agreements. so what hamas is asking for is immediate change of all of that status. a lifting of the blockade making it possible for the people of gaza to export what they want, to travel as they want, and to have that coincide at the same time as a cease fire. israel doesn't want to do that. they want to pair up the old agreements that says are necessary to restrict the flow of goods goo gaza, to restrict the e flow of weapons and israel believes in you allow more products to come into gaza, there will be more weapons coming in and israel is positioned thus far -- stop firing rockets and then with hamas about some of these other things like the trade restrictions. >> we're having a little trouble with your uplink in terms of you jumping in and out of your question. let me ask about secretary of state hi

to be very careful when it comes to crossing any red lines regarding the peace treaty between israel and egypt that dates back to the late 1970s, but certainly it's a huge change from just four years ago when the war was going on between gaza and israel. when president hosni mubarak, basically, it was well understood that he had no sympathy for hamas because, of course, the muslim brotherhood were his main political enemies and therefore, this situation is completely different, but morsi and egypt has to really tread carefully because many egyptians have no desire whatsoever to get involved in any sort of conflict with israel. egyptians will tell you we fought war after war with israel and we don't want to go down that path again. >> stay safe and thank you all for your reporting. >>> last night we aired this video showing a man being pulled from flames in gaza. after the video aired we were pointed to an israeli website, to another image, this image, the man who was being dragged standing and conscious. the allegation made was that the man was playing for the cameras when he was soon dragged

and now this new test between israel and new islamist government in egypt. what should we be watching for? >> reporter: well, this potentially is very dangerous situation. on the brink -- on press hiss, israel attacking gaza killing the leader yesterday who by the way was the top of israel's hit list for ten years. but just as significant was israel's concentration on the rocket facilities, the storage of hamas in gaza, focusing on the long distance rockets. israel wants to eliminate the rocket threat against its cities from gaza. you mentioned in your introduction i think it is 850 rockets fired this year at israel. they fired 100 the last five days. that's what provoked the response. now the problem is that israel, it was sensed that israel's hands were tied because of their relationship with egypt. egypt was in fear that egypt would end the peace treaty. that is one reason why israel feels it's calibrating carefully the attack on gaza.poised on th of gaz yachlt they're trying this pinpointed air attacks and also attacks from the sea. they resumed the polic

and now this new test between israel and new islamist government in egypt. what should we be watching for? >> reporter: well, this potentially is very dangerous situation. on the brink -- on press hiss, israel attacking gaza killing the leader yesterday who by the way was the top of israel's hit list for ten years. but just as significant was israel's concentration on the rocket facilities, the storage of hamas in gaza, focusing on the long distance rockets. israel wants to eliminate the rocket threat against its cities from gaza. you mentioned in your introduction i think it is 850 rockets fired this year at israel. they fired 100 the last five days. that's what provoked the response. now the problem is that israel, it was sensed that israel's hands were tied because of their relationship with egypt. egypt was in fear that egypt would end the peace treaty. that is one reason why israel feels it's calibrating carefully the attack on gaza.poised on th of gaz yachlt they're trying this pinpointed air attacks and also attacks from the sea. they resumed the polic

government can play a helpful role because there are things that egypt as with israel, there are things that egypt wants from us. not only u.s. aid, but help in getting this imf loan. and i think however this is resolved, because it's not going to resolve the long-term problem, perhaps it can help clarify hopefully in a good way the egyptian role. it could open up and just shatter that long-term linchp of stabity in the mideast between egypt and israel. >> woodruff: do you see a role for the u.s. in the short term? >> yes. in explaining quietly to egypt the essential nature of keeping the peace troty with israel and calming down the situation and probably the same quietly for israel which has, of course, bigger news -- --. >> i would say i think syria remains the most fragile thing. the explosion of syria would spill into everything else. so our role, i don't know what our role is in syria but i have a feeling our attention will be focused wherever it is. >> woodruff: margaret's reporting was excellent tonight. the two of you were excellent, ruth marcus, david brooks, thank you both. >>