Israel Launches Operation Northern Shield; French Protesters, "Yellow Vests," Pull Out of Talks
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. There's breaking news from the Middle East. A military operation underway by Israel on the Lebanese border right now. The IDF says the goal is to expose and neutralize tunnels on the border. CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us now with more details from Jerusalem. OK, a couple of things about this. It sounds almost low-key. They haven't called up reservists. They're not ordering residents in the area to evacuate. It seems more of a maintenance issue, if you like, rather than a full-on conflict.</s>OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly does seem lower key, especially comparing it to what we've seen in Gaza. But there is no doubt that the Israeli military is taking this very seriously. And it's called Operation Northern Shield. It comes on top of efforts by the Israeli military to, if you will, shore up that border in recent months and that includes a defensive wall along some portions. They have built cliffs into some of the mountainside there, as it's very, very hilly terrain. And they have cleared vegetation. As for Operation Northern Shield, the Israeli military says it's been monitoring and trying to figure out if there are and where there are Hezbollah -- what they call attack tunnels, crossing from Lebanon into Israel, this morning it announcing the operation, the IDF spokesperson, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus says they are aware of a number of these tunnels, again, what they term attack tunnels. They say less than 10 but as this operation continues, they expect to find more. Unlike the tunnels we're used from Gaza, which are hundreds of meters long, the Israeli military says these are dozens of meters long, crossing into Israeli sovereignty. So this is the threat. You're right, though, that the Israeli military was also quick to point out that these are not operational yet. There are relatively short tunnels and there was no threat to civilians. The threat now comes as Israel, it seems, as Israel tries to neutralize these, in their words, to try to take these tunnels out and what might the response be. That is where this becomes more than a maintenance issue and becomes essentially a very sensitive, perhaps a threat -- John.</s>VAUSE: yes, there always is potential, the dangers of unintended consequences, especially on the Israeli-Lebanon border. Those tunnels are unlike others that have been dug by Hamas in Gaza. These tunnels are being dug by Hezbollah, the military group with strong links to Iran.</s>LIEBERMANN: You are right. And that is one of Israel's biggest concerns, it's worth pointing out that the foreign ministry announced there are a number of diplomatic efforts that go with the announcing of this operation. Key to point out, there's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in Brussels yesterday, where he met U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo. You have to believe that this was a prime part of what suddenly became an urgent meeting for the prime minister. Israel has long pointed the finger at Iran. In fact, when Netanyahu spoke at the U.N. General Assembly, he pointed at Iran's work in the region and, specifically, Hezbollah for a number of different steps there. Back to the tunnels point for a second, just comparing Gaza to Lebanon tunnels, Gaza tunnels are relatively easy to build. It's sandy soil there, it's easy to move quickly. The Hezbollah border is rocky and mountain. So this is a much more difficult operation on the part of not only Israel to try to stop these but to try to dig these on the part of Hezbollah, as Israel accuses Hezbollah of doing.</s>VAUSE: Oren, thank you, Oren Liebermann there with the very latest on that military operation underway right now on the Israeli-Lebanon border. We'll check in with you, Oren, as the day goes on, appreciate it. France is preparing for another weekend of protests with the goal of keeping violence to a minimum. Three weeks of demonstrations against a fuel tax escalated into riots in Paris Saturday night. President Emmanuel Macron postponed a trip to Serbia to deal with the biggest crisis of his administration. Paramedics joined the protest Monday over changes to their work rules. A meeting between the government and representatives of so-called Yellow Vests was scheduled for Tuesday but right now it's unclear if that will actually happen and there are calls for the tax fuel hike to be suspended.</s>LAURENT WAUQUIEZ, PRESIDENT, LES REPUBLICANS (through translator): The time for debate is over. It's time for actions and measures. An immediate gesture of appeasement is required. And this gesture of appeasement, we ask that it be the immediate cancellation of the tax increases that are still scheduled for January 1 and that the senate, through the Republicans, has had canceled.</s>VAUSE: Benjamin Haddad is a fellow at the Hudson Institute. He also worked as a Washington representative for Macron's presidential campaign last year and he is with us now from New York. OK, Benjamin, thank you being with us. We'll get to the bigger picture here on what this all means for France and Europe in a moment. But right now, where is the off-ramp for Macron? How does he bring the temperature down? There's some talk within the government of cutting taxes; on the other hand, they still haven't ruled out declaring a state of emergency. These are two very different options.</s>BENJAMIN HADDAD, FELLOW, HUDSON INSTITUTE: No, I don't think so because they think first the priority is obviously to confront the violence. There's -- it's impossible to give in to the violence that we've seen from these protesters of the last few days, the vandalizing of public monuments, burning of cars, also some you know, outrageous demands like the resignation of the president. We've heard today a spokesperson from the Yellow Vests, asking for President Macron to resign. He was elected a year ago and has a five years' term and be replaced by a military leader. So obviously it's very important first for the government to impose its authority and refuse this violence.</s>HADDAD: At the same time, it is important to dialogue with those who want to have a constructive dialogue with your authorities and see how we can move forward. There's a lot of dissolution and discontent in the country that is not new; that is the product of 40 years of pent- up frustration over the lack of reforms of the political inertia. This is actually what brought Emmanuel Macron to power last year. So it is important to have this conversation but not absolutely not given to discourage outburst of violence.</s>VAUSE: Yes; to be fair, you know, these are generational issues which have been building for a long time. It was the issue of tax increases on petrol and diesel which sparked these protests last month. You kind of mentioned this; since then, the grievances and the demands have grown. They now include restoration of the country's wealth tax and increase for pensions and also an increase for the minimum wage, also cutting salaries for politicians. Many commentators who have made the point a lot of the anger on the streets is directed at Macron himself. He's seen by many as just a president for the rich and he actually doesn't have a real traditional core base of supporters, which seems also to be a problem.</s>HADDAD: Yes. I think this is an unfair criticism. Once again, I mean, these are -- these ills that these people are protesting against did not start with Macron. I mean the fact is that this country has not been prepared to face the economic challenges of globalization, has not been prepared to face the technological transition, green transition, this was actually why this tax on gasoline was installed in the first place with the support of a majority of the population. But you know, when Macron took office, you had 10 percent unemployment, you had 25 percent youth unemployment, sluggish growth for the last decades. And you know, this is something different than even our neighbor, Germany, has, much lower unemployment and higher growth. So, you know, it isn't necessary for France to take these steps and reform its economy. It's not going to happen overnight. I think President Macron already started last year with opening up and bringing flexibility to the labor market and connect taxes actually to a vast majority of the French population. But obviously -- and it's completely legitimate -- there is a lot of impatience, there's a lot of frustration. But, once again, it's not acceptable to be expressed for violence.</s>VAUSE: Macron has not spoken publicly about the violence in Paris since he returned from the G20 summit. But on Saturday he tweeted that the -- you know, he has respect for the protests and also listened to the opposition. He added that violence is unacceptable but we're also hearing from the government that there is an insistence that, you know, this diesel tax hike is going to go through. And the insistence of sticking with the diesel tax hike, that oil -- the gas tax hike, that doesn't seem to be the central issue here, which seems to suggest that Macron and those around him yet to understand the full implications of these protests.</s>HADDAD: No. You're right. This goes way beyond the diesel tax. And you said it. I mean, we have demands that go from a higher minimum wage, lower retirement age, when the French are -- really has one of the longest retirement times in the world because of its high life expectancy, you know, a cap on salaries or banning outsourcing. This is a broader demand for protectionism. And I would say what we're seeing you know in a grassroots level, to a large extent, is you have a lot of people are just disenfranchised, discontent, but you also have on-the-ground convergence between the far left and the far right. Imagine in the United States if the occupying Tea Party had coalesced together in a more violent way. So what we're seeing, you know, you did say that President Macron brought together reformers, liberals, pro-European figures from the center left in the center right to create a sort of reformist majority beyond the traditional left/right divide. And I think we're seeing a response from both the far left and the far right that right now is a leaderless and expressing itself in this very anarchic way. But I think it is growing into a political force that needs to be understood but also needs to be fought with both core ideas.</s>VAUSE: And with that in mind, here's an opinion piece which you wrote for "The Atlantic." It reads in part, "Macron's fall reveals the profound challenges that moderate liberals face in a polarized political climate. As he pursues his reforms, he's also trying to reshape French politics, bringing together a coalition of reformers from both sides of the political aisle, elected with center left folks but governing with a mostly center right cabinet. "His success or failure to hold the center in the face of populists may well shape the fate of liberals across Europe." So what you're saying is that there are implications here not just only in France but for Europe. It's a lot easier to, what, to rule by division like the American president, that is trying to bring together centrist from both left and right?</s>HADDAD: Yes. I think it is much more challenging to try to bring in structural reforms in a country that has been paralyzed for decades and to try to do it with a moderate vision and approach. Once again, what's interesting is that Macron's election was also a result of this discontent. This is someone who was completely unknown in French politics only two years before running for president, who created his own party from scratch the year before, ran something like 90 percent of parliamentary candidates, who had never run for office, complete political novices. And this is what the French wanted. So you already had this anger that he managed to respond to but without giving in to the populist violence or any extremist or nativist ideology. But you know, once again, the impatience is very high and we see the tide of populism, you know, in Europe all over the place, from the far left and the far right. And this is a very challenging time and I personally hope that he doesn't give in and continue to push a reform- oriented agenda.</s>VAUSE: Yes. It is that middle road which has always being so very, very difficult or even sort of more difficult now than it seems to be for a very long time. Ben, thank you for coming in. Good to see you.</s>HADDAD: Absolutely. Thank you.</s>VAUSE: The clock is ticking for a new trade deal between the U.S. and China after the leaders of both countries met this weekend at the G20 summit in Argentina and agreed to put their trade war on hold. U.S. president Donald Trump says he expect China to ease auto tariffs as well as cracking down on intellectual property theft. In return, the U.S. will not impose a new set of tariffs which were set to begin in January. The world's two largest economy now have 90 days, which started December 1st, to hammer out a new trade deal. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin laid out some -- just some -- of the details.</s>STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We have been working on this for the last year and a half. This is the first time we exchanged specifics on 142 different structural items. President Xi laid out for President Trump very clearly what they are prepared to do on these issues. And the issues cover everything from purchasing more goods, which we have always talked about, but, more importantly, protecting intellectual property, eliminating forced joint ventures --</s>MNUCHIN: -- protecting U.S. technology, currency. This was a big part of the discussion. We want to make sure that they don't depreciate the currency.</s>VAUSE: All three major indices in the U.S. jumped more than 1 percent on Monday in response to the trade war truce. Five days of parliamentary debate that could make or break Theresa May's political legacy will begin in just a few hours. The House of Commons takes up the British prime minister's Brexit plan a week before a scheduled vote. And if the plan passes, Britain would leave the European Union March 29 under terms negotiated with Brussels. If it fails then Prime Minister May will be under pressure to resign. When she opens debate, her office says she will tell lawmakers, "The British people want us to get on with a deal that honors the referendum and allows to us come together as a country, whichever way we voted." When we come back here, moving tributes to a former U.S. president. The legacy of George H.W. Bush, that's ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM.