The Chris Hedges Report

Episode: Deconstructing Trump's Gaza 'Peace' Plan (w/ Norman Finkelstein)
Date: January 15, 2026
Host: Chris Hedges
Guest: Norman Finkelstein (Middle East scholar and author)

Episode Overview

In this powerful and critical episode, Chris Hedges hosts Norman Finkelstein to dissect the recent United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803, broadly referred to as Donald J. Trump’s Gaza ‘Peace’ Plan. The episode explores the moral, legal, and humanitarian failure represented by both the plan and its overwhelming international endorsement. Together, Hedges and Finkelstein unravel the resolution’s context, its implications for Palestinians, and the abdication of international responsibility, pulling no punches in their criticism of both the plan’s architects and the global community’s complicity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The UN Security Council Resolution: Context & Meaning

• The Trump-led peace plan, adopted in November 2025, was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Security Council, with only Russia and China abstaining ([00:10]-[06:14]).
• The plan requires Hamas to surrender weapons and for Israel to withdraw, but both steps are seen as impractical and unlikely ([00:10]).
• Finkelstein describes the international community’s endorsement as a “watershed moment” and the UN’s “declaration of war against Gaza” ([00:43]).
• The resolution signals “the abolition of 70 years of UN history” regarding Palestine and international law ([10:04]-[17:25]).

Notable Quote:

“The UN is now a rotting corpse. It's dead... it abolished 70 years of UN history... That whole history vanished in this UN resolution.”
— Norman Finkelstein ([10:04])

2. International Response and Arm-Twisting

• Russia and China, despite global cynicism, issued pointed statements about their abstentions; Russia’s was especially candid, calling it a “black day in the history of the United Nations” ([06:14]-[09:59]).
• Finkelstein points out the intense pressure and “arm-twisting” faced by member states, as well as the complicity of Arab and Muslim states in supporting the resolution ([06:14]-[09:59]).

Notable Quote:

“The Russians did say... there was a lot of arm twisting in the capitals and in the UN, on the officials, the representative officials... their last words were, 'don't say we didn't warn you.'”
— Norman Finkelstein ([06:14])

3. Legal Annihilation and Colonial Parallels

• The resolution omits any mention of occupation or legal status for Gaza, rendering it “legally non-existent”—a return to colonial concepts of “res nullius” (nobody’s land) ([16:23]-[17:25]).
• Finkelstein likens Trump’s unilateral “ownership” of Gaza to the colonial handover of the Congo to King Leopold, emphasizing the danger and absurdity of such precedents ([21:05]-[23:00]).

Notable Quote:

“The UN resolution gave Gaza to Donald J. Trump... Gaza is now one more property in the Trump Organization's portfolio.”
— Norman Finkelstein ([17:25])

4. Total Israeli Control and the Hamas Disarmament Pretext

• The disarmament of Hamas is an Israeli precondition for any withdrawal, but, as Finkelstein insists, “Hamas has always been a sideshow,” and Israel’s real goal is ethnic cleansing, not demilitarization ([23:00]-[29:52]).
• The international stabilization force is critiqued as performative; Israeli and Egyptian authorities are highlighted as “virtuosos at pacification,” using it to legitimize long-term control ([35:02]-[36:23]).

Notable Quote:

“From day one [Israel] was saying, we're going to give the people of Gaza two [choices]: to stay in, to starve or to leave. That was very straightforward. So when you listen to the talk... [Hamas] is just a prop in the exterminatory enterprise.”
— Norman Finkelstein ([23:50])

5. Humanitarian Catastrophe: Famine, Destruction, and Aid Blockades

• Current humanitarian aid is minimal; only 140 of the promised 600 aid trucks/day are allowed in, keeping Palestinians at the edge of famine ([00:10], [31:12]).
• Israel has revoked access for the majority of international NGOs, including UNRWA, and is blocking reconstruction totally ([00:10], [29:52]).
• Finkelstein dismisses the plan as naive, suggesting all talk of reconstruction or “peace” is a façade to facilitate Saudi normalization and maintain the Abraham Accords’ optics ([31:12]-[34:00]).

Notable Quote:

“Can anybody in his or her right mind believe that suddenly they're going to start chanting om, give peace a chance, singing Kumbaya, linking arms and rebuilding Gaza... It was just so stupid how anyone could possibly believe these things.”
— Norman Finkelstein ([31:12])

6. The Political Roadmap: Reform Mirage and Israeli Veto Power

• The Board of Peace will relinquish control of Gaza only if the Palestinian Authority enacts reforms—according to unspecified benchmarks judged by hostile actors ([41:35]-[44:27]).
• Even if reforms are adopted, at best it “may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination”—but nothing is guaranteed without Israeli consent ([44:31]-[46:36]).

Notable Quote:

“All we have now is if the Palestinian Authority reforms, it may lead to a credible pathway to, well, to what Israel decides when it negotiates with the Palestinians.”
— Norman Finkelstein ([44:31])

7. The UN, U.S. Power, and Cowardice of Member States

• Hedges probes the motives for such widespread UN support for a U.S.-dominated, anti-Palestinian peace plan; Finkelstein argues Gaza’s symbolic and material power has been eroded, and countries act out of self-interest and fear of American retaliation ([46:51]-[52:33]).
• The episode highlights continuity of U.S. coercion at the UN, but with Trump’s methods being exceptionally crude and aggressive ([50:13]).

Notable Quote:

“You can imagine, Trump said to the other countries... we're going to increase your tariff by 300%. We'll bankrupt your country if you don't vote. Because he's a criminally deranged megalomaniac.”
— Norman Finkelstein ([50:24])

8. Prospects for Gaza and the Path Forward

• There is no optimism for Gaza’s immediate future; the episode closes with a sober discussion of organizing, public resistance, and the importance of free speech and backbone in combating such injustice ([53:09]-[66:38]).
• Finkelstein invokes the abolitionist Charles Sumner and contemporary activist Mamdani, urging listeners to “organize, organize, organize” and “win back that right to free speech” as the foundation for future change ([53:55]-[66:38]).

Memorable Moment:

“Backbone. If we have the backbone and we have the numbers in our sight, we can win. I do believe that.”
— Norman Finkelstein ([65:45])

Timestamps for Notable Segments

• Introduction to the Peace Plan & UN vote: [00:10]-[06:14]
• Russia/China Abstentions & "Black Day" Statement: [06:14]-[09:59]
• UN's Abandonment of Legal Framework: [10:04]-[16:23]
• Trump as Gaza's New 'Owner': [17:21]-[23:00]
• Ethnic Cleansing as the Real Israeli Goal: [23:00]-[31:12]
• Humanitarian Famine & Blockades: [31:12]-[34:00]
• International Stabilization Force Analyzed: [35:02]-[36:23]
• Polls showing Israeli Public Support: [38:06]-[40:10]
• Self-determination, Reform Mirage, and Veto: [41:35]-[46:19]
• International Motives & Arm-Twisting: [46:51]-[52:33]
• What the Future Holds—Call to Organize: [53:09]-[66:38]

Notable Quotes

• “The adoption of Resolution 2803... was simultaneously a revelation of moral insolvency and a declaration of war against Gaza.” — Chris Hedges ([00:10])
• “The UN resolution gave Gaza to Donald J. Trump... Gaza is now one more property in the Trump Organization's portfolio.” — Norman Finkelstein ([17:25])
• “Can anybody in his or her right mind believe... suddenly they're going to start chanting... and rebuilding Gaza... It was just so stupid how anyone could possibly believe these things.” — Norman Finkelstein ([31:12])
• “If we win that right [to free speech], we're going to win. We're going to win the battle. They have nothing to stand on anymore.” — Norman Finkelstein ([55:00])
• “Backbone. If we have backbone and we have the numbers in our sight, we can win.” — Norman Finkelstein ([65:45])

Closing Thoughts

The episode is an unflinching critique of the new “peace” plan for Gaza and the international community’s abdication of law, morality, and responsibility. Finkelstein’s historical and legal analysis, paired with Hedges’ incisive questions, exposes the “peace plan” as an instrument of ongoing dispossession for the Palestinians—and a warning about the power of U.S. hegemony at the expense of justice and self-determination. The conversation ends with a message of resistance, emphasizing the importance of organizing and reclaiming free speech as the essential tools to challenge and eventually overturn such injustices.