Amid the hype about how Trump "snubbed" Netanyahu on his Middle East trip come reports that his White House is pushing a plan to relocate some 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya—which is in the midst of a massive human rights crisis. Even while on the ground in Qatar, Trump plugged his relocation scheme for the Gazans, who now face complete ethnic cleansing from the devastated Strip. In Episode 279 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg debunks the notion of a Trump tilt away from Israel, and asks why some "progressives" are joining with paleocons to view massive arms deals with the repressive and arch-reactionary monarchies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar as a good thing. 

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Erratum: At approximately 17.20 we recall that in March 2017 Prince Mohammad bin Salman called Trump a "true friend of Muslims" one day before the US bombed a mosque in Syria, killing at least 50. Contrary to what we state, this exchange between Trump and Prince Mohammad did not take place in Riyadh, but in the White House. Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, where he met again with the prince, was in May 2017.

Production by Chris Rywalt

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