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Biden and Netanyahu to Discuss Ceasefire and Hostage Deal; Final Preparations Underway for Opening Ceremony; U.S. Economy Grows at 2.8 Percent Rate in Second Quarter; Netanyahu Vows to "Fight until we Achieve Victory"; Netanyahu Calls Protesters "Useful Idiots" of Iran. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired July 25, 2024 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington D.C. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to sit down with President Biden in

there later today. Thanks for joining me this hour. I'm Erica Hill in New York. This is "Connect the World". Also happening over the next two hours

top Democrats speaking out after Mr. Netanyahu's speech on Wednesday to the U.S. Congress, any foreign dignitary has made before Congress.

According to Nancy Pelosi is the worst made by foreign dignitary. And new data is showing the economy actually growing much faster than expected. So

where does it go then from here. Plus, we've just one day to go until the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris, the mayor speaking exclusively with CNN.

The U.S. stock market will open here in New York in just about 30 minutes and a day after the address from President Biden to the nation from the

Oval Office. Of course, he said to sit down there again, in just a matter of hours. You're looking at futures right now, again, about a half an hour

until the opening bell here in New York.

We'll continue to monitor that for you, of course, as they ingest some of those new numbers as well. Meantime, as we look at what is happening on the

ground, of course in the U.S., as I mentioned, on the heels of that historic address from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, President Biden

sitting down later today for a much-anticipated meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel's war in Gaza is of course expected to be the main topic of discussion between the two leaders, a war the Prime Minister defended on

Wednesday in his speech to the U.S. Congress, a speech given as protesters masked outside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Clarity begins by knowing the difference between good and evil. Yet incredibly, many anti-Israel

protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. Well, I have a message for these protesters. When the tyrants of Tehran who hank

gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising promoting and funding you. You have officially become Iran's useful idiots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Netanyahu there addressing Congress after he meets with President Biden today, he will sit down with Vice President and the now presumptive

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Arlette Saenz is at the White House for us this hour, Salma Abdelaziz joining us from London.

And Salma, I want to start with you as we look at what is at stake here. There are also high expectations in this sit down between Biden and

Netanyahu specifically when it comes of course, to a ceasefire.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of course, Erica and bigger picture here, you have to remember that Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to hold

three very different meetings with three very different fingers, Biden, Harris, and Trump of course on Friday at Mar-a-Lago, you can imagine he is

walking a tightrope.

But in that meeting with Biden, you can expect that the very much the focus, as you mentioned, is that ceasefire you have, a lame duck president

on his way out, Israel and his relationship and friendship with Netanyahu has very much been a part of his foreign policy, even one would argue a

cornerstone of his foreign policy.

So, Biden will be focused on his legacy. But there are serious questions, Erica, as to whether or not Prime Minister Netanyahu sincerely wants a

ceasefire. Of course, he insists that he does. But even President Biden himself says that he believes that Prime Minister Netanyahu was prolonging

the fighting in order to stay in power.

So, the question is, is this a genuine meeting? Will there be actual progress? Or is Netanyahu just running the clock?

HILL: And in terms of just running the clock and genuine meeting the other issue, Arlette, of course, is the fact that he is meeting with President

Biden who had said he plans to continue obviously in his role for the month that remain for his presidency. But that will be followed by a meeting with

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the presumptive nominee.

And there are questions about whether there is perhaps any daylight between the way the two of them see this conflict in the war in Gaza and also the

potential for a ceasefire, Arlette.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it'll be really interesting to see how both President Biden and Vice President Harris

navigate this issue of the conflict in Gaza. President Biden has made clear that he wants to make ending the war a key priority in his final six months

in office.

And just a few days ago, he told his own staff and a call that he believes that they are on the verge of reaching an agreement to end that war and

also return the hostages back to their families. Now, that's expected to be a key point of conversation when the president meets with Netanyahu this

afternoon.

[09:05:00]

Then after that one-on-one meeting, they are actually together going to meet with the American families of the Americans who are believed to be

held hostage in Gaza. Officials say that they will be talking about those ceasefire negotiations, talking about the conflict in Gaza itself, but also

talking about the threats currently posed to Israel by Iran.

Now, a senior administration official heading into this meeting said that they don't believe that Netanyahu is standing in the way of a deal or

trying to delay a deal at this time. But they did note that if they do ever feel that way, especially in the coming months, that they will make that

increasingly clear.

Now, as you noted, after Netanyahu invited me this afternoon, Vice President Kamala Harris, will sit down with Netanyahu as well. Harris so

far has really been in most cases in lockstep with President Biden, when it pertains to the conflict in Gaza. One thing she and her team have really

focused on is what happens in Gaza once this conflict ends.

But you have her differences in language between Biden and Harris relating to this war. Back in March, she delivered a speech in Selma, Alabama, where

she explicitly talked about the humanitarian crisis, the catastrophe that people are feeling on the ground in Gaza, really talking about the personal

pain of this conflict for so many Palestinians in a way President Biden hadn't done quite just yet.

But one, of course, this will also be closely watched into this her first foreign engagement with a foreign leader since becoming a Democratic

candidate for president. I didn't tell. So, coming in at a time where there is still much angst within parts of the Democratic coalition, including

among young voters, Arab, American and Muslim, American voters about this administration's handling of the conflicts.

So, it will be very interesting to watch the way both of these President Biden and Vice President Harris handle these meetings with Netanyahu and

the discussions in the days and weeks to come.

HILL: Absolutely! Arlette, Salma, appreciate it. Thank you both. President Biden, of course, in that emotional Oval Office address on Wednesday

evening, talking about his decision to step aside in the presidential race, saying he reveres the office, but loves his country more and talked about

handing the reins to his vice president. Here is, more of those moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Just a few months, the American people choose the course of America's future. I made my

choice. I made my views known. I'd like to thank our great Vice President Kamala Harris. She experienced, she's tough, and she's capable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: President Biden making the case there for his vice president. Just a day after of course, she really hit the ground running. And just a short

time ago, Harris releasing her first campaign video since launching her presidential bid, the theme here, we choose freedom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos, a fear of

hate, but us we choose something different. We choose freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: And the vice president will be back on the campaign trail today speaking to members of a teacher's union in Texas before returning to

Washington, of course for that one on one with the Israeli Prime Minister. Joining me now is Lynn Sweet, the Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago

Sun-Times.

Lynn, great to talk to you this morning, there, of course, has been a lot of parsing of the words that we heard in that Oval Office address last

night. And what I found interesting is some of the criticism for the speech was that the President was not clear enough in talking about why he is

stepping aside in terms of running and yet staying in office to finish out his term. Do you think that criticism is accurate?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF FOR THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, no, I don't, because what did you expect? Everyone who's listening to man to say,

well, I had a disastrous debate, and I saw things going in a terrible way. So, I decided to step aside. I don't think you have to say that, to sum up,

you know your life and your reason for moving on, because people who say that I think don't quite get what you really meant.

And that is sometimes you do the thing that is best for the country, not yourself. And so, once you say that, however he got there, he got there.

And the anatomy of the decision, while interesting, I think in this case wouldn't -- have been distinctly determinative of his end result. See, the

end result is he could have won a second term, he said, but for the good of democracy, he isn't. So sometimes I think the nitpickers just are losing

things to -- about.

HILL: That sometimes there was a little bit that certainly in politics, I think we can agree on that for sure. In terms of nitpicking, when we look

at what this means for President Biden moving forward through the end of his term.

[09:10:00]

This meeting today with the Prime Minister of Israel, in both this meeting and moving forward, how much of a concern is there within the

administration, that this president has now effectively moved into lame duck territory and the impact that could have on these important, important

moments?

SWEET: Well, this is a tough one. Anyone, you do bring up an excellent point that Biden is lame duck president likely to get nothing through in

Congress, likely, however, not to have gotten anything through in Congress, even if he was running. The difficulty that President Biden has with Prime

Minister Netanyahu existed before his decision not to run and will exist when he has a meeting with him today.

There is no clear course ahead, right now and on the day before Netanyahu's meetings with the president -- vice president. The hard part here is to

figure out the path forward and get Netanyahu to sign onto it. And I think that might be independent for the moment of whether or not they're in

office seems my analysis, Netanyahu's in a sense, trying to run out the clock and see if Trump would be elected.

HILL: Who do you think has more writing on this meeting today? Is it the president or the vice president?

SWEET: The vice president has more at stake because she probably would need to figure out a way to say I have a deliverable from this meeting. You

know, just to say the diplo talk, which we get sometimes, as you do, in a read out, we had a frank and candid discussion about what to do next.

I don't think that cuts it anymore. I think she has to know; on her own, in her own way with her own policy map a path forward. That is doable, that

like a consensus that might lead to some movement, and some of the stalemate that run now where Netanyahu seems to be prosecuting the war on

his terms.

And as everyone knows, this is one of the most serious threats to the success of the Paris candidacy is whether or not she can speak to so many

Americans who care about this issue.

HILL: And important to point out to what an issue that is, of course, for Democrats in this campaign moving forward, and certainly we even heard some

of that in the primaries.

SWEET: Right.

HILL: But also, interesting to note that, of course, there will be a third meeting with Donald Trump tomorrow with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Looking

at the Harris campaign over the last couple of days, we have heard a lot about the enthusiasm and about the numbers turning out about what you're

seeing online, the first ad just being released.

And of course, we're in full veepstakes mode, at this point, a couple of days in. What's your assessment of how this is being handled and how

they're doing with the messaging based on this short timeline of what we've seen?

SWEET: Well, I think this is an incredible political story unfolding real time, remember everything because this has never happened before this way.

The swiftness of the campaign has come together from the excitement gap to the messaging gap is just stunning, you know, whether or not it could be

sustained, pretty likely because she does have a whole you know, she is taken over what was the Biden-Harris campaign to be hers.

Also, she has a different kind of vibe around this. That I think that's good enough word. You know, the commercial that she talked about Beyonce

music, isn't it? The different constituencies that had been listless, politically listless, looking ahead to a Biden campaign now are energized.

She also has substantial issues that she talks about in her regular duties as Vice President and as she hits the campaign trail.

HILL: Lynn Sweet, always great to get your perspective and to talk to you. Thank you.

SWEET: Thank you so much.

HILL: And I just want to make a correction at the top of the show. We showed you some of the figures from U.S. markets. Those were actually

yesterday's closing numbers. Here is a look now at today's futures. The markets of course reacting to the new GDP figures released just within the

last hour or so, the world's biggest economy actually growing at an annualized 2.8 percent in the second quarter that is considerably stronger

than at summit.

So again, these futures that you are looking at right now, as of course investors digest those numbers. We'll have a closer look at where things

stand when the markets open in about 15 minutes and we'll continue to keep an eye on that for you. Still to come, here excitement building in Paris,

more athletes arriving of course for the Olympic Games.

And the countdown is now officially on for tomorrow's opening ceremony, but the weather, could it threaten the kickoff. We've got a live report ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

HILL: Athletes from around the world arriving in Paris of course some early events already underway for the Olympic Games and last-minute preparations

of course, for Friday's opening ceremony are happening. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo telling CNN the weather could pose a problem though if it rains.

She remains optimistic however. The ceremony is set to take place outdoors along the Seine. The river which has also as you would likely recall them

in the focus of a fair amount of scrutiny leading up to the games and questions about just how successful the cleanup has been.

For more, CNN's Melissa Bell joining us now, live from Paris, with the beautiful Seine behind her there, great to have you. So, you actually have

the chance. This was an exclusive interview with the Mayor of Paris and Hidalgo about the opening ceremony, a number of other topics. She's feeling

optimistic. What else did she tell you?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are things of course -- authorities that even the mayor can control. That is

the weather right now. It's fine. We expect rain tomorrow morning. But of course, if by tomorrow evening, there's rain that could dampen the

ceremony, because it isn't just the boats that will come down the river Seine, Erica, with the athletes on them.

There are dances that are planted on the rooftops. And so there are concerns about that would imagine at the heart of these games really has

been spectacular ambition, not just holding the opening ceremony out here on the Seine. You can see it's been all decked out along six kilometers of

it.

And that's involved screenings some 20,000 -- who actually live along its banks, it was tremendously ambitious people had wondered whether it could

go ahead, would go ahead. She believed that will and that it will be spectacular. The other big gamble they took is to try and make

sustainability, the ecology climate change at something that they tried to tackle in these games.

Hence, the idea of cleaning up this river, it's taken 1.5 billion euros and just a couple of weeks ago, Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris took a dip

herself to prove to the world that the swimming competitions that are due to take place would be safe. This is what she told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNE HIDALGO, PARIS MAYOR: I love the water. I love the sea. I love the rivers, but it's more than that. It's cleaning the same, cleaning the same

is cleaning our life, cleaning the same is for -- our generation and next generation leave with the natural.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: So, the legacy of these games was one of the big gambles as well and she's very pleased with that. Certainly, a couple of weeks ago when the

weather was fine, it was possible to swim in it. The other big question has been security, Erica, 45,000 people, policemen, soldiers who've been

mobilized to keep Paris safe.

Again, six kilometers out in the open with all the terror threats that weighs on this particular city. What she told us is that it was the terror

attacks and a few years ago when she was already a mayor that it really inspired her to try and tackle head on. The image of Paris but also its

accessibility to show the world that it was safe, that it was open, that people could enjoy themselves to answer the terrorists and the terror

threat itself.

[09:20:00]

You mentioned a moment ago that the competitions have already begun, of course with America, the controversies. There have been espionage

allegations, the Canadian Women's team, one member of that delegation accused of flying a drone over the training of the team that there to take

on New Zealand.

But also, COVID, that's made its appearance, sadly, in the shape of the infection of a number of members of the New Zealand water polo team. So,

authorities at convincing people that all steps will be taken to keep these games as COVID free as they can be, and as safe as they possibly can be.

We've also just heard from the Sports Minister, interviewed by our colleague, Christiane Amanpour this group, lots of speculation about what

artists are going to be involved in this opening ceremony tomorrow beyond the athletes themselves, Celine Dion, Lady Gaga has been spotted in around

Paris.

What she told Christiane, the Sports Minister -- Celine Dion is not in Paris by chance. So, there's a -- for you ahead of tomorrow's ceremony,

Erica.

HILL: Oh, I love that little -- Melissa, appreciate it and look forward to talking with you more about these games over the next few weeks. Thank you.

Let's get you up to speed now and some of the other stories on our radar at this hour flooding and land sides triggered by Typhoon Gaemi tailing at

least 13 people in the Philippines forcing within 600,000 from their homes.

Much of Manila is underwater for a second day now. And some of those floodwaters in areas of the capital are actually as high as a one storey

building, according to local media. In Frankfurt flights gradually taking off after a climate activist with the group's oil kills and last generation

protested against the use of fossil fuels disrupting flights is several protesters actually glued themselves to the tarmac.

This of course follows that climate activists led disruptions at Germany's Cologne Bonn Airport on Wednesday. And there are new details on the secret

family battle for the Murdoch media empire. "The New York Times" reporting that sealed court documents reveal 93-year-old billionaire Rupert Murdoch

is now waging war in their words against three of his children, pushing for his eldest son Lachlan to have sole control of the family trust, rather

than the existing plan which would give each of his four children equal say in the business.

The trust holds key stakes of course and Fox Corporation and News Corp. Just ahead here on "Connect the World", observers say the U.S. economy is

on the verge of a rare achievement, will explain. Plus, more on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with President Joe Biden

scheduled for later today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:00]

HILL: Welcome back, I'm Erica Hill in New York. You are watching "Connect the World". Investors taking a close look at the latest U.S. economic

numbers just released in the last hour, which show the world's largest economy, grew at an annualized 2.8 percent in the second quarter.

That is considerably stronger than estimates that, of course, the initial estimate from the U.S. Commerce Department. So, what is Wall Street think

we can take a look at futures now? See where they are. This comes just one day after Wednesday's selloff. So, a lot of attention being paid to this.

CNN's Paula Newton going through the numbers for us and Paula is with me now. So, much stronger than expected, that's a good thing. What are you

hearing in terms of what this actually says about the state of the economy, even resilience in the face of these high interest rates in the U.S.?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erica, I don't mind telling you, I threw out all my notes, because I was expecting one thing and like most

people was blown away by that 2.8 number, this is extraordinary for the economy to be doing this is essentially firing on all cylinders.

And if we look at a 2.8 figure, in some cases, that was double what economists were expecting. I mean, look, others had predicted that it would

be a strong quarter. Again, this is measuring economic activity from April to June. It will be revised in some way, shape or form. But look, this

means the American consumer is strong, American businesses are strong.

And at the same time, Erica, this is what's extraordinary. Inflation is cooling. Some people would have said a couple of years ago that the Federal

Reserve could not do this, that the U.S. economy could never pull this off. Indeed, it has. I know that you're looking at a tepid response right now in

the markets.

But the markets have other worries. And that has to do with earnings at this point in time, because we are in earnings season. I will say that

politically, there is a lot of political risk ahead that the markets have to look at, which might be why they're holding back right now. I will also

say that if you are the Biden Administration right now, and if specifically, you are the Vice President Kamala Harris, you will be touting

these numbers.

American consumers just didn't hold back. They were spending on everything they have pulled back a little bit in the last few months, which also helps

with inflation. But good news all around, remember, Erica, the -- as you know, the U.S. economy is the largest in the world when the U.S. is doing

well.

That is good news, usually around the globe. I do want to point out one area, though, I mean, look, as well as inflation. American consumers have

been putting up at some pretty high interest rates. Interest rates are as high as they've been in the generation. Now the Federal Reserve needs next

week, unlikely now it's completely off the table that they would cut rates.

Perhaps they will cut them in the fall, though, and that'll be good news for an area of the economy that is still quite dysfunctional, which I'm

sure you've seen it in your own neighborhood, and that is the housing market. And so hopefully when interest rates begin to come down, that piece

of the economy will also move to a better place.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Paula, appreciate it. Thank you. U.S. President Joe Biden insisting in his Oval Office address on Wednesday night, he will

continue to carry out the duties of his office for the remainder of his term. And first up, of course, is today's meeting with Israeli Prime

Minister.

Now ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal are expected to be at the top of that agenda. Although during his address to

the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu gave no indication, he was close to agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas anytime soon. CNN's Alex

Marquardt has more now from Washington.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This was not as partisan a speech as we saw from Benjamin Netanyahu last time, which is

back in 2015. We heard plenty of praise for both Presidents Biden and Trump and thanks for the U.S. support for Israel, particularly during this war in

Gaza.

But a large number of Democratic House and Senate members did boycott and protests including some big names like Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Kamala

Harris wasn't there either. Her excuse was that she was traveling. Netanyahu spent much of the beginning of this speech talking about Israeli

hostages and getting them home but he didn't mention the Biden framework.

It was proposed back in May, which Israel has apparently signed on to. Israeli opposition figures and critics accused Netanyahu of delaying

agreeing to a deal and adding conditions to make one more difficult. Our source tells me that there is another round of ceasefire negotiations being

planned for early next week with the top mediators, including CIA Director Bill Burns.

[09:30:00]

And as protests raged outside the speech in Washington, Netanyahu painted anti-Israel protesters with a broad brush as Hamas supporters propped up by

Iran. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: Many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers. You have

officially become Iran's useful idiots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: He was referring to newly released U.S. intelligence that found that Iran has been fermenting and financing protests here in the U.S. But

that intelligence assessment also noted quote, Americans who participate in protests are in good faith expressing their views on the conflict in Gaza,

end quote. Netanyahu also pushed back on criticism against Israel about aid for Gaza and the civilian death toll there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: Despite all the lies you've heard, the war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatants casualties in the history

of urban warfare, if there are Palestinians in Gaza who aren't getting enough food. It's not because Israel is blocking it, it's because Hamas is

stealing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: The death toll in Gaza is believed to be almost 40,000 people. Even if you take out the number of Hamas militants that Israel claims to

have killed around 14,000, more than 1 percent of the civilian population in Gaza has been killed and it's likely higher than that that is shockingly

high.

And U.S. officials continue to say that Israel's military operations inside Gaza make it extremely difficult to distribute aid and protect aid convoys.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

HILL: Joining me now CNN Political and Global Affairs Analyst, Barak Ravid, Barak, always good to have you with us. You have some reporting about what

could be happening in this meeting. And of course, where everybody stands heading into it. What are you expecting to come out of this meeting between

Biden-Netanyahu today?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think one of the most interesting things here is that Benjamin Netanyahu, for the first

time, I think, in his political career, comes to Washington as the President of the United States, who is not running in the election now.

The vice president who is the Democratic nominee, and the Former President, Donald Trump, who's the Republican nominee, think the same about where the

war in Gaza should go. All of them think the war should end as soon as possible and a hostage deal must be signed. Trump just said that this

morning on Fox News.

And Netanyahu is coming to the meeting with Biden and afterwards, the meeting with Harris and tomorrow, the meeting with Trump is going to hear

the same thing from all three leaders.

HILL: So, he may hear the same thing, but in terms of where he's at in this moment, could actually be a very different place. You noted that just

before the speech, his office actually admitted that the prime minister had canceled, Israeli negotiators planned trip to Qatar on Thursday, because he

wanted to meet with Biden, before they continued, before that delegation went to Doha.

How much of that is political? And how much of that in what you've seen and what your sources are telling you, is truly about just waiting to speak

with President Biden?

RAVID: Well, I think it's a mix, because, you know, the timing, between the meeting with Biden, and the negotiations in Qatar, and the end of the

Knesset session coincide. So, I think that from next week, from Sunday, Monday, when the Israeli delegation will go to Qatar, the Knesset will

already go into recess, which means that Netanyahu's ultra nationalist coalition partners will not be able to topple the government for at least

three months.

So, this will open a window that politically, if Netanyahu wants a deal, and to be honest, I don't think anybody really knows if he wants or not.

But if he does, this will open the window for him that he can go for such a deal without taking too much political risks.

HILL: How is all of this playing inside Israel at this point?

RAVID: Well, you know, let's go back to the speech last night, you know, a lot of people here in, in Washington, and in the U.S., you know, watch the

speech and thought, well, you know, he's speaking really well. He commends the room, et cetera, et cetera. But in Israel said more than 70 percent of

Israelis want him to resign.

And only 30 percent of Israelis think he's fit to be Prime Minister. And more than 65 percent think that he's not pushing a hostage deal because of

his political survival. So, I don't think we'll have to see in the polls and then in the next few days, but I don't think that this speech,

dramatically change his political status inside Israel and where most of the Israeli public opinion sees him these days.

[09:35:00]

HILL: So that frustration remains high, to put it mildly.

RAVID: Definitely!

HILL: And when we look at who he brought with him yesterday to that speech, as he was calling out in the speech, calling out not only the idea of

soldiers and the sacrifices that were made by some of them, some of their family members there for those who had been killed in the fighting.

But of course, a number of family members of hostages, one rescued hostage as well. I couldn't help but think of this reminds me in many ways of the

moments during a State of the Union address with the U.S. President, as they very carefully choose who they will put there in the gallery with the

First Lady and why they have them there. How are those decisions, if they have been addressed in Israel? How are those decisions playing out?

RAVID: I think that there were a lot of people in Israel that thought that he was using risk, you know, Israeli soldiers, and rescued hostages and

hostage families as political props for his own domestic political agendas. But you know one thing that was very interesting that he brought to the

gallery, Noa Argamani, hostage who was rescued in IDF military operation.

And two days before the speech, he met Argamani and the families of the hostages. And Argamani told him the most difficult moment I had when I was

in Hamas captivity was when I listened to the radio, and I heard you say that the words are going to be long. This completely tarnished my hope.

That's what she told Netanyahu. And she told Netanyahu, you need to bring them home now because there's no time to waste. And I think this is a very

courageous thing when you think about it, when a rescued hostage went through such trauma for months in Hamas captivity, comes to Washington at

the invitation of the prime minister, and then speaks truth to power. I think this is a very courageous thing to do.

HILL: It absolutely is. And it certainly speaks to her strength. Barak, always great to have you here. Thank you.

RAVID: Thank you,

HILL: And we're back after a short break, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: This week, we're looking at efforts to make the fashion industry more sustainable. When it comes to footwear it's actually notoriously difficult

to recycle because the shoe itself can contain dozens of different materials. And of course, each one needs to be processed separately.

In the Netherlands however, one couple's kitchen experiment has actually turned into a bit of a recycling revolution. Here's Lynda Kinkade with

more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Throughout its lifecycle, footwear generates a significant carbon footprint for materials to

manufacturing to waste with a staggering 90 percent of shoes ending up in a landfill.

DANNY PORMES, CEO FO FASTFEETGRINDED: Yeah, and always say we are standing on a problem and nobody sees it.

[09:40:00]

KINKADE (voice-over): To tackle this problem. Dutch couple Danny and Erna Pormes developed a foot by recycling method that converts entire shoes into

raw materials for reuse.

PORMES: So, we are sorting now shoes from retail. So, they're collecting in the stores and then we can process all kinds of footwear so from flip flops

to safety footwear.

KINKADE (voice-over): Donated shoes are taken to FastFeedGrinded's factory where the different components like rubber, foam and plastics are sorted.

The footwear is then shredded into small pieces before they are separated and refined into new materials. These recycled granulates are sold to

manufacturers to be made back into shoe parts or flooring for playgrounds, or sports centers.

PORMES: The ideal situation is that brands producing new shoes, new footwear from their materials.

KINKADE (voice-over): A shoe made of 100 percent recycled FastFeedGrinded material has yet to hit the market of brands are making strides like ASICS.

ROMY MILTENBURG, SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER EMEA AT ASICS: More than 60 percent of the environmental impacts of footwear are coming from manufacturing and

the materials that go into the product. So, addressing those is something that as an industry we really need to tackle.

Right now, we are exploring what we can do with the outcome of those materials, seeing can we actually make shoes from shoes again. Using

textile to textile recycled fibers, it's still a challenge. We have more than 90 percent of all new running shoes of ASICS containing recycled

materials in their uppers.

But finding solutions for the midsoles it's much more complicated. When it comes to circularity, we're not there yet as a brand and as an industry.

But I really believe that with the speed of innovation we've seen the last few years. We're going to get there.

KINKADE (voice-over): FastFeedGrinded's next steps are to take the operations international.

PORMES: It's very important to have recycling factories all over the world. It's all about making impact. I see it as my mission. It has to be done

somebody has to do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: For more stories from this series, just head to cnn.com/goinggreen. That's it for this hour of "Connect the World". "World Sport" is up next.

I'll see you back at the top of the next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END