frank lowenstein, _ ceasefire in the days ahead.k lowenstein, thank you _ ceasefire in the days ahead. frank lowenstein, thank you very - ceasefire in the days ahead. frankj lowenstein, thank you very much. thanks for having me. we turn now to the situation in the democratic republic of congo, where a deadly bombing of a displacement camp in the eastern city of goma on friday killed at least nine people, including children. the congolese army and the m23 rebel group blame each other for the attack. the attack has been internationally condemned. the us says it is "gravely concerned" about the expansion of m23 fighters and army forces from neigbouring rwanda in eastern dr congo. french president emmanuel macron has also urged rwanda to end its alleged backing of m23. rwanda rejects claims that it is involved. congolese president felix tshisekedi cut short his visit to europe following the attacks. government officials are urging people in goma to remain calm until it carries out a proportionate response. the humanitarian situation is

we'll see if either side is really interested in the ceasefire in the days ahead. 0k, frank lowensteinraeli—palestinian negotiations. thank you very much. thanks for having me. anti—war protests at us colleges continued on saturday, some conflicting with graduation ceremonies. ro—palestinian demonstrators interrupted a graduation ceremony at the university of michigan. some graduates held palestinian flags while chanting slogans in the packed stadium. amid growing demonstrations over the war in gaza, more universities are bracing for disruptions at graduation ceremonies. meanwhile, police at the university of virginia tore down tents and cleared out protesters after declaring the encampment was an unlawful assembly and columbia university in new york is rethinking its commencement plans. more than a0 us college campuses have seen student protests or encampments over the past two weeks. earlier i spoke to neal mccluskey, director of the kato institute�*s centre for educational freedom. disruptions at the university of michigan during the graduation ceremony. what do you make of it overa

thank you so much let's discuss all of this with frank lowenstein. he's a former special envoy to the israeli palestinian negotiators. thanks so much for being with us frank. this move by spain, norway in ireland, pledging to join more than 140 other nations recognizing palestinian statehood how do you see it? >> well, i think it's really a reflection of just how frustrated the world has become with prime minister netanyahu. and his unwillingness to move in the direction of the two-state solution. norway in particular was interesting to me because they obviously brokered the oslo accords, which is the underlying agreement that governs the israeli palestinian relationship right now. so they're obviously very invested in in a negotiated outcome here. and for them to say, we're gonna go ahead and recognize a palestinian state in the absence of any negotiations, suggests to me it just an extreme amount of frustration that pervades really the united states and all around the world is it ultimately just a symbolic move though yeah, it's, it's entirely small

for more on this, i spoke to frank lowenstein, former us special envoy for israeli—palestinian negotiationsmer senior advisor to the secretary of state. we are hearing these efforts towards a ceasefire are intensifying. these have been going on for several weeks. some mixed messages. the hamas delegation saying it was in positive spirits but then today hearing that there haven't been any significant steps forward. how optimistic are you that we could see a ceasefire deal agreed in the coming days or weeks? i agreed in the coming days or weeks? ~ . agreed in the coming days or weeks? ~' ., , weeks? i think we have seen some encouraging _ weeks? i think we have seen some encouraging signs - weeks? i think we have seen some encouraging signs in l weeks? i think we have seen i some encouraging signs in the last hour to from hamas. previously they rejected the proposal outright and now they are saying that they are looking at with positivity. but there are core issues to be resolved, particularly whether this will be permanent or not. then there are comments that they will do rafah, and hamas sa