CBS senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams positively beaming on Friday when she shared the news that the Biden administration would be putting forward a resolution in the United Nations Security Council calling for a ceasefire in the Israel/Hamas War. Of course, Williams was less concerned about the Israeli and American hostages being held in Hamas captivity than she was about getting Israel to stop killing terrorists.
In leading into the segment co-host Tony Dokoupil tried to ensure that the hostages remained a central part of the equation but Williams seemingly wasn’t interested; keeping her focus on getting Israel to stop their campaign to eradicate Hamas. Williams admitted she didn’t know if Biden’s resolution would amount to anything substantive, but she was hyped that it seemed like he was starting to abandon Israel:
DOKOUPIL: We're hearing that there is optimism about a potential ceasefire and hostage release. How quickly could it happen?
WILLIAMS: Well, I don't know the answer to that. But what we are seeing is a kind of change in the U.S.'s approach and language. So, we've seen the U.S. previously veto three separate U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire. Now, the U.S. has drafted its own cease-fire resolution that's expected to be voted on later on today. And it used much stronger language than we've seen previously from the U.S.: “an immediate and sustained ceasefire.”
“That said, we have every reason to be skeptical,” she tempered her excitement.
Dokoupil responded by pointing out that the terrorists have “been rejecting deals” the entire time while Israel had only rejected the most recent one Hamas had countered with. “What about this resolution would potentially move either party closer to yes?” he wondered. Williams still didn’t have an answer, but she found comfort in the U.S. beginning to turn on Israel:
Well, I guess one of the questions is like -- why has the U.S. position changed? Right? And how much influence will that have? I guess when it comes to the why, maybe it's the kind of horrific images that we're seeing coming out of Gaza on an almost daily basis now. The World Health Organization says that up to 60 percent of children under the age of five in Gaza are now malnourished.
“Now, no matter who you ultimately blame for that, and people have different positions, it's deeply distressing. And it ups the pressure on the U.S. to do something,” she proclaimed, trying to distance Hamas from the responsibility for starting the war.
Williams also seemed to be shocked or possibly disheartened by Israeli resolve to eradicate Hamas:
I don't think that many people in the U.S. government thought back in October that we would still be here in March, that the war would still be ongoing, and that Blinken would be in the Middle East for the sixth time since the war began.
She also called for rewarding Hamas for October 7 by giving Palestinians their own country and pushed Hamas propaganda about a pre-war “occupation” in Gaza (Israel had left Gaza in the early 2000s and in response, Palestinians elected Hamas to rule them):
…there needs to be a two-state solution. That the Palestinians need their own state in Gaza and the West Bank because it gives them, you know, hope for a better future. And the argument is that when Palestinians suffer the daily humiliations of occupation, it helps kind of push them into arms of Hamas.
What she didn’t care to admit was that international law was a fallacy and a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire didn’t really mean anything. For a ceasefire to take effect both sides needed to agree, and in this case, both sides seemed to be playing for keeps this time.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CBS Mornings
March 22, 2024
8:02:15 a.m. EasternTONY DOKOUPIL: We’re going to begin with new U.S. pressure on Israel to pause its war in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel today pushing for alternatives to a ground offensive in the city of Rafah. And he says they're getting closer to a potential temporary ceasefire deal which could include the release of Israeli hostages.
At the same time, the U.S. is sponsoring a resolution at the U.N. calling for an immediate and sustained ceasefire after vetoing previous ceasefire resolutions.
Our senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams has been covering this conflict since it began in October and is here in studio with us. Holly, so great to have you here. You've been reporting on this for months now. We're hearing that there is optimism about a potential ceasefire and hostage release. How quickly could it happen?
HOLLY WILLIAMS: Well, I don't know the answer to that. But what we are seeing is a kind of change in the U.S.'s approach and language. So, we've seen the U.S. previously veto three separate U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire. Now, the U.S. has drafted its own cease-fire resolution that's expected to be voted on later on today. And it used much stronger language than we've seen previously from the U.S.: “an immediate and sustained ceasefire.” That said, we have every reason to be skeptical.
DOKOUPIL: Well, because you got Hamas which has apparently been rejecting deals, you got Israel which is apparently unwilling to accept the deal as it currently stands. What about this resolution would potentially move either party closer to yes?
WILLIAMS: Well, I guess one of the questions is like -- why has the U.S. position changed? Right? And how much influence will that have? I guess when it comes to the why, maybe it's the kind of horrific images that we're seeing coming out of Gaza on an almost daily basis now. The World Health Organization says that up to 60 percent of children under the age of five in Gaza are now malnourished.
Now, no matter who you ultimately blame for that, and people have different positions, it's deeply distressing. And it ups the pressure on the U.S. to do something.
NATE BURLESON: Okay. Speaking of that pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he promised a major ground incursion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. President Biden says that would be a mistake. How would that impact the relationship between Israel and the U.S.?
WILLIAMS: Look, it's a really tricky one, isn't it? I mean, the U.S. is not just Israel's most important ally. It's the most powerful country in the world. So, you assume that there's a lot of leverage there. That said, I don't think that many people in the U.S. government thought back in October that we would still be here in March, that the war would still be ongoing, and that Blinken would be in the Middle East for the sixth time since the war began. So, there are limits to U.S. leverage.
MICHELLE MILLER: You know, Holly, you've spoken to both sides, Israelis, Palestinians. What are they saying about this in the midst of it all going on?
WILLIAMS: So, look, this current war was sparked by the horrors perpetrated on October 7th. But these two sides have been locked in a cycle of violence for decades. And many people on both sides when they've experienced violence, when they've lost loved ones, they're pushed to more extreme positions and more extreme behavior.
So, how do you get out of that cycle of violence, right? Now, the U.S. position -- and this is shared by a lot of countries, a lot of people -- is there needs to be a two-state solution. That the Palestinians need their own state in Gaza and the West Bank because it gives them, you know, hope for a better future. And the argument is that when Palestinians suffer the daily humiliations of occupation, it helps kind of push them into arms of Hamas.
But when you look at recent polls, it is a minority of people on both sides who actually want a two-state solution. You know, and those numbers are way down from ten years ago.
DOKOUPIL: Wow.
WILLIAMS: So, it seems as if what people on both sides actually agree on is that they're kind of resigned to violence.
DOKOUPIL: Wow.
BURLESON: Good to see you here at the table. Your coverage has been incredibly eye-opening. Thank you.
