Day 798 - Jacob Magid on the day that never came - Blinken's vision for postwar Gaza
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 December 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
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Summary
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
This week, US bureau chief Jacob Magid fills in for Berman and goes in-depth into an exclusive report he published on just how close the Saudis were to normalization with Israel ahead of the Hamas onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the finer details of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s vision for post-war Gaza.
We learn that months ahead of Hamas’s attack on Israel, the US had been hard at work crafting a document with Saudi Arabia, laying out what Israel would need to do in exchange for Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords. We begin by discussing what steps were taken towards a pathway to a Palestinian state.
A few weeks following the Hamas massacre, Blinken presented his "Tokyo Principles," to G7 countries, essentially outlining his guiding principles in working towards a day after the war. We learn about the 5 "nos" and the three "musts."
Magid compares and contrasts the differences between Blinken's eventual 14-point plan and the finally adopted 20-point Trump peace plan, including the idea of a multinational force and the role of the Palestinian Authority.
We discuss the role of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who is the most well-known personality who worked with both the Biden and Trump administrations. And we hear about what a Hamas official told Magid over the weekend regarding why the terrorist organization took the current ceasefire deal.
Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.
IMAGE: Jacob Magid (courtesy) / Then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he arrives at Ben Gurion Airport, June 10, 2024. (Jack Guez/Pool via AP)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's Laser Focus. I'm your host, Amanda Borschelle Don, here this week with our U.S. Bureau Chief Jacob Magid, in for our usual guest, Laser Bearman. |
| 0:16.2 | Jacob, thank you so much for joining me today. Thanks for having me. Happy to be here. |
| 0:20.2 | It is such a pleasure, and in a weird turn of events, you spent much for joining me today. Thanks for having me. Happy to be here. It is such a pleasure, |
| 0:21.2 | and in a weird turn of events, you spent much of last week, at least, in my part of the world, |
| 0:27.5 | and Laser is in your part of the world, so you're filling in for him. So I really appreciate |
| 0:32.4 | you stepping into the role. Happily, and I was there for so short that I don't even think I got |
| 0:36.7 | jet-lagged. so I'm happy to |
| 0:39.1 | be back. It's kind of like being a parent, you're just always tired. You're not really in one time |
| 0:45.3 | zone at all. Okay, so what we promised in Sunday's daily briefing for those of you who follow that |
| 0:52.2 | channel as well is that today today Jacob and I are going to |
| 0:55.6 | delve into a little more this Blinken vision, the vision of former U.S. Secretary of State |
| 1:02.7 | Anthony Blinken, who had really pushed the envelope a lot in terms of bridging the gaps |
| 1:08.9 | between Israel and Saudi Arabia, leaving towards normalization, |
| 1:13.4 | and then after the October 7th, 2023 Hamas onslaught on southern Israel, he also pushed forward |
| 1:21.4 | a way to get past that and get to the day after. So Jacob is going to talk us through this. And towards the end of the |
| 1:29.8 | program, if we have time, and I think we'll make time, Jacob will also talk to us about an interview |
| 1:34.9 | that he conducted in Doha over the weekend with the Hamas official, and we'll hear what this person, |
| 1:40.8 | at least, is talking about in terms of demilitarization and why Hamas actually did agree to this 20-point Trump plan. |
| 1:49.4 | So all of this and more when we're back. |
| 1:58.3 | This episode is brought to you by the Jewish Communal Fund, |
| 2:02.1 | the largest and most active Jewish donor-advised fund in the country. |
| 2:06.6 | What is a donor-advised fund? |
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