Hello and welcome to background briefing, available 24-7 at background briefing.

I'm Ian Masters, and today we're looking at a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with the return of Israeli prisoners, minus the remains of many hostages,

the release of 1,700 Palestinian prisoners, Donald Trump's address to the Israeli Knesset,

and the meeting of regional leaders in Egypt, and speak with Aaron David Miller,

a senior fellow at the Canadian Dandem International Peace, focusing on US Middle East foreign policy.

He has been an advisor to six secretaries of state.

Under President Clinton, he served as a deputy special Middle East coordinator for Arab

Israeli negotiations. His books include

The Much Too Promised Land, America's Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli peace, and his latest book

is The End of Greatness, Why America Can't Have and Doesn't Want Another Great President.

Then we'll look into the absence of Palestinians in the peace deal

and the broader efforts of leaders hostile to democracy underway and Sharmel Shait,

meeting with Trump for a regional peace deal,

and speak with Sarah Lee Whitson,

the executive director of Democracy in the Arab World now,

Dawn, who was formerly the executive director of Human Rights the Arab world now, Dawn, who was formerly the executive

director of Human Rights Watchers, Middle Eastern North African Division, where she oversaw work

in 19 countries. Her latest book with Michael Omer Mann, Just Out, is From A Partate to Democracy,

a blueprint for peace in Israel,ine. Then finally, we'll assess

what might happen if all of the benchmarks in Trump's Israel-Hamas, peace deal and reconstruction

plan aren't met and speak with Paul Pillar, who served for 30 years as an analyst at the CIA,

...