U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is visiting Israel as more countries join the call to recognize a Palestinian state in September. CBS News' Robert Berger has the latest.

Jerusalem

Israel and Iran have agreed a ceasefire after a twelve day conflict. Meanwhile, Israel strikes in Gaza continue with the humanitarian crisis deepening.

Middle East Conflict

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff is currently in Israel, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss efforts to revive ceasefire talks with Hamas. These discussions occur as international pressure increases on Israel due to the humanitarian situation in Gaza and as more countries, including Canada, announce plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly.

Israel has expressed strong opposition to these recognitions, viewing them as rewarding terrorism, while the U.S. administration under President Trump has reiterated its support for Israel and imposed new visa restrictions on officials from the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization. The situation remains complex, with the U.S. and Israel rejecting the Palestinian Authority as a post-war alternative to Hamas, despite support for this approach from European and Arab states.

Trump envoy in Israel as Canada joins call on Palestinian statehood

All right. We want to begin with this breaking news out of the Middle East. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff is in Israel right now and has been holding talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this morning. You're looking at these fresh new pictures. And this visit comes as international pressure mounts on Israel over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. Yesterday, Canada announced it would recognize the Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly coming up in September, and they're joining France, the U.K., and other countries in that pledge. CBS contributor Robert Berger has more for us and joins us now from Jerusalem. Good morning, Robert. What do we know about Steve Whitkoff's morning meetings and his specific objectives today? Well, he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the purpose of the visit is to try to get ceasefire talks back on track. A couple of weeks ago, both Israel and the U.S. pulled out of the talks and blamed Hamas for basically refusing to make a deal. There's been a deal on the table for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of about 10 living Israeli hostages for a long time, but Hamas hasn't gone for it. And so the question is, what did the U.S. and Israel do now? Because Hamas is clearly in no hurry to make a deal. You have a lot of international pressure on Israel right now, with nations recognizing a Palestinian state, with the pictures of hunger coming out of Gaza. So the question is, what does Israel and the U.S. do now? Does Israel make more concessions at the negotiating table or perhaps more military pressure by stepping up attacks in Gaza? Neither of those tactics have worked so far. And Robert, Israel has taken the position that it doesn't want to negotiate with Hamas. It's a terror organization. Netanyahu wants to see it eliminated. So now that we're looking at Canada and other states looking to recognize a Palestinian state, how might that add to the complicated picture? I understand, as part of these agreements, Hamas would not be a part of any future Palestinian state, but how might Israel and the U.S. react to that? Well, Israel and the U.S., but especially Israel, is really angry about this—it's being called a tsunami of political pressure now on Israel. We have major countries in Europe—France, Britain, Canada, Portugal, a lot of countries—Australia, all coming on board now to recognize a Palestinian state when—at the U.N. General Assembly in September. Now Israel is saying that this is a reward for terror, for the October 7th attacks. What the Israelis call a genocidal attack on Israel. And you'll be rewarded with a state. So far, the voice that really counts in all of this, President Trump, is backing Israel and opposing this move for a Palestinian state. Now there are political organizations that do represent Palestinians. And what's interesting is, at this moment, the Trump administration has just announced that it is blocking officials with the Palestinian—the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority—that's the PA and the PLO—from getting U.S. visas for the U.N. General Assembly. Can you help us understand that? Yeah, these sanctions just announced a short time ago, and the U.S. State Department accusing the Palestinian Authority of supporting terrorism. For instance, they say, paying stipends to families of terrorists who have carried out attacks against Israel, and also bringing Israel to international forums like the International Criminal Court in The Hague and accusing the Israelis of war crimes, which the U.S. says is a violation of the terms of peace. And so the problem with all of this is that Europe and the Arab states basically see the Palestinian Authority as the only viable alternative to Hamas and post-war Gaza, but neither Israel nor the U.S. are going for that. Such a complicated picture. Robert Berger helping break it down for us. Robert, thank you.

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Trump envoy in Israel as Canada joins call on Palestinian statehood

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