Video Infoblog: Palestine’s U.K. Ambassador Decries Israel’s Attack on Gaza & U.S. Complicity
Transcript
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this is democracy Now democracynow.org
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The War and Peace report I'm Amy Goodman
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Israel it's intensifying its War across
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the Gaza Strip as the official death
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toll has now topped 35,000 including
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more than
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14,500 children according to the United
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Nations more than 360,000 Palestinians
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have now fled the southern city of RAF
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despite fears there's nowhere safe to
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escape the Israeli bombardment this
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comes as the United Nations General
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Assembly voted 143 to9 Friday in support
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of Palestine becoming a full UN member
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25 countries abstained from the vote the
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United States and Israel both voted
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against the
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measure the vote Grants New rights and
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privileges to Palestine but it can't
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become a full UN member without support
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from the UN Security Council last month
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the US veto to Palestine statehood
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resolution at the security Council for
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more we're going to London to speak with
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the Palestinian ambassador to the United
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Kingdom Hassam zumot welcome to
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democracy Now Ambassador thanks so much
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for being with us let's start in Gaza
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with Israel
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intensifying uh the bombardment of Rafa
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360,000 Palestinians now moving out of
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Rafa where so many of them had already
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fled to can you describe the situ ation
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on the ground as we speak we hear that
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the Kuwaiti hospital has been ordered to
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evacuate with staff saying they don't
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want to leave their
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patients there are no words Amy to
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describe the situation in Rafa in Gaza
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what is it horrific
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Armageddon I mean people have been
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targeted uh uh for seven months the some
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of them had to leave five times seven
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times 10 times including uh family
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members of mine and I know what they
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have done
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uh uh uh through and not only uh the
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displacement uh not only the slaughter
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house um that they have gone through but
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there is nowhere to go there is nowhere
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safe fathers mothers are thinking about
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their children right now I mean it's
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it's
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undescribable and it's obvious Israel
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has decided to go on they are not going
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to end this war without a serious
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pressure and many are telling us you
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know Israel doesn't have a military plan
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Israel doesn't have a political plan
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well Israel does have a plan and Israel
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is executing the plan with almost
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Perfection and the plan is genocide and
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the plan is the mass expulsion of the
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Palestinian a repeat of the neba of 1948
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which we are commemorating this very
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month in in in May otherwise nothing of
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what Israel is doing uh makes sense so
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the situation is horrendous horrendous
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in every
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sense of the
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world President Biden said he's
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withholding a shipment of weapons bombs
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that could be used in Gaza as uh the
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Rafa ground invasion is threatened your
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response to this Ambassador do you feel
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that uh President Biden is Shifting his
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position well it's a very important step
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uh uh uh uh and it it did break a taboo
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a US taboo uh uh and we must build on
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this but it is 100,000 people killed and
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maed late and we need to make sure that
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this is not just a pause but this is an
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arms embargo that the US does fulfill
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its commitment under international law
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by making sure that its weapon does not
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end up in violation of international law
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uh and it is absolutely bluntly clear
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particularly after the ruling of the
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international cour court of justice
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that's the highest court of the land of
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the globe uh clear ruling whereby they
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uh officially put Israel on trial for
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genocide ruling that it is plausible
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that Israel is committing genocide and
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therefore there is no conversation after
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that every third party that does provide
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Israel genocidal Israel with weapons
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especially these 2,000 bombs that are
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not supposed to be used in civilian
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areas like Gaza especially those and
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many other uh weapons uh uh we should
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see an arms embargo now and we should
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build on that step that small step uh
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taken by uh the US president and I
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assure you if Netanyahu was certain that
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there will be a NS embargo he wouldn't
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have gone through Rafa he wouldn't have
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crossed that American red line but he
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knows pressure in the US by some of his
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allies will Mount and that this pose in
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the shipment of these lethal weapons
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might actually resume soon um we got
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word on Friday that the state department
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had concluded Israel likely used Us
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weapons in violation of us and
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international law but the report claims
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the Biden Administration has not yet
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found specific instances that could
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force the US to withhold military aid
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your response
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Ambassador I think the US here is
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missing their words dodging an IR
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responsibility laying the inevitable and
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not having uh the guts and the will the
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political will to do what is right and
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this has been the story with the US for
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a long time for decades Amy and that's
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why we are where we are today uh the US
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knows very well the legal assessment is
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bluntly clear Israel not only uh
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violated international law Israel has
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bombed international law has bombed the
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UN un premises uh and what have you and
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then when the when Israel came up with
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these allegations against against Ona
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the US was absolutely uh clear or at
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least you know quick to suspend funding
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from the organization that deals with
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the humanitarian side of Gaza of the
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West Bank of Palestinian refugees in
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general the US policy VAV Palestine is
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inconsistent contradictory it does not
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make sense it doesn't add up the US has
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been saying for all along that it it
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wants a two-state solution and when we
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go to the UN seeking un membership you
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know they they they V to it in the
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security Council and they vote against
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it in the general assembly and why if
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you really believe in a two-state
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solution why do you do so unless you
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really don't and all what you're doing
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is just buying time giving cover for
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Israel to finish off its job this is
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very disingenuous in the part of the US
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Administration extremely disingenuous
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and very counterproductive because
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what's the end game Israel will not be
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able to kill all pales Ians they will
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not be able to finish us off so what's
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the end game uh with doing that the US
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says humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza
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they want to see help and then they
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still defund hona and so forth so
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doesn't make sense uh and I I believe
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this is a moment when the last seven
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months have unmasked beyond beyond doubt
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many things including the hypocrisy
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selectivity double standards of of
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certain International actors and I
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believe the US Administration is right
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at the top of that list of not really
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being consistent with its own
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responsibilities uh uh as a founding
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member uh uh of the international uh
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legal uh system and we have been
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following some letters by senior us
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officials and Senators threatening the
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IC threatening judges Global judges uh
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uh literally using words in their
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letters like you have been warned you
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know that reminds
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of The Sopranos a mafia likee
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threatening of Courts of international
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courts that we created after the horrors
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of the second world war to make sure
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that never again to make sure that
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everybody who commits war crimes is held
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accountable to International legality
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you threat you are threatening judges
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imposing sanctions on International
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courts on the IC only to Shield a
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government and the military that is
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committing genocide and is on trial for
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genocide so and we are also following
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letters by also Senators pressuring uh
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uh uh uh the US president not to go
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ahead with the pose of the of the arms
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shipment uh to Israel and therefore yes
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this is a time when we are following
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everybody we will not forget we will not
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forget we will not forget those who
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stood uh firm against the genocide stood
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firm with International legality and
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international law and those who are
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literally ransacking our human anding
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our International Ambassador husum Zam
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you are joining us from London you're
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the Palestinian ambassador to Britain
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the foreign office there is
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investigating a claim by Hamas that a
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British Israeli hostage nadav papell has
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died in Gaza died about a month ago UMAS
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has said that nadav papa will succumb to
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wounds from an Israeli air strike about
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a month ago his mother was released
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months ago at she was also a hostage can
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you tell us what you know at this
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point I really don't have information
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about this Amy whatsoever uh but all all
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loss of life is is is is uh
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heartbreaking uh regrettable uh uh all
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hostages from both sides must be uh uh
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released and returned safely and I
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repeat from both sides because Israel
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has taken thousands of our people
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hostages without trial without charge
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and you have followed some of the the
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astonishing heartbreaking reports of the
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Israeli treatment Israeli pres guards
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treatment of our hostages a CNN report
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only last week uh about the torture and
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uh some of them have actually died uh
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under uh torture like Dr Adnan
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borch of Gaza who who is world renowned
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uh for uh being a a backbone of the
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health sector in in in Gaza and uh once
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he operated uh 41 uh uh operations in
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one day and therefore uh uh you know it
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is crucial to focus on the uh uh what
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Israel has done to hospitals and to the
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health sector of course also to the
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education sector I mean destroying all
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uh uh uh and targeting uh uh the number
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of hospitals they did and you know this
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is this is important so people in the US
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Amy understand in in relative terms in
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proportionate terms if you apply the
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ratio of those killed and maed including
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children if you apply the ratio in Gaza
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of schools of hospitals to the US let me
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give you some numbers about the people
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who have been killed uh and maimed in
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Gaza would make uh in the US the
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equivalence aund the equivalence of the
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same in the US would be 14 million
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Americans killed and maed if it's about
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only killed it will be 5 million if it's
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about children there would have been 2.1
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million American children killed in the
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last seven months about uh universities
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and and and and hospitals it would be
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6,000 American universities destroyed
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either in in full or in part would be
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4,000 American uh hospitals uh targeted
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destroyed bombed and it would be
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105,000 schools in the US uh uh damaged
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or completely destroyed so this is the
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situation and therefore in Gaza you have
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no way to treat anybody and the
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situation has become uh exactly in line
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with the original plan the blueprint of
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Netanyahu and Israel lifeless a place
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that you cannot live in and even if you
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want to move within it you have no home
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to go back to you have no school to send
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your children and kids to you have no
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hospitals to be treated in a lifeless
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territory for the final push of people
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out of their Homeland I want to ask you
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about the United Nations general
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assembly vote 143 to9 Friday in support
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of Palestinian state be was Palestine
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becoming a full UN member 25 countries
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abstain us and Israel both voted against
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the measure the vote Grants New rights
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and privileges to Palestine but not full
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un membership which requires the support
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of the UN Security Council last month
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the US veto to Palestine statehood
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resolution at the security Council can
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you
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respond yes that tells you the contrast
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on the one hand you have the
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overwhelming majority of the world in
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support of Palestinian rights the right
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to self-determination our right to have
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a state status in the UN a member state
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in the
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UN
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43 uh countries and on the other
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hand uh uh uh you have the US standing
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almost alone against that together with
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Israel and couple of other uh uh smaller
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countries being isolated and the us is
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going out of its way always to Shield
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Israel and to prevent its own policy I
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mean it's so telling it's so telling you
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know that vote and that speech by the
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Israeli representative that shredding of
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the UN Chata what was he objecting what
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was the Israeli representative objective
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what was the US objecting was it
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objecting to Hamas was it objecting to
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uh uh violence was it objecting to no
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Israel was and is and has been objecting
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to the creation of a Palestinian State
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that's the objection the rest is details
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the rest is symptoms and that objection
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that block of our right to
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self-determination our right to
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sovereignty and Independence our right
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and our duty to liberate our land and
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live in a state of our own is the heart
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of the matter that's the root cause and
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why would the US object to that and then
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the whole thing becomes about certain
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periods of our history 7th of October
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second antifa first antifa that's the
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key uh part and I believe that moment
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has revealed much and I think you I can
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confirm for you that we will build on
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that historic moment uh we must thank
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all the nations that have come in
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support of the State of Palestine and
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its status in the UN and and we will
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come back we will come back to the
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security Council we will come back to
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the general assembly we will come back
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every session if needed every time every
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day until we uh are admitted as a un
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because the the majority of of the world
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have spoken because Palestine is has the
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right meets the criteria of the UN chter
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for membership and the US has no right
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and has no business the United States
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and the administration of the US has no
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right and has no business of objecting
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to Palestinian right to self
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determination they must that zomlot we
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want to thank you very much for being
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with us Palestinian ambassador to the
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United Kingdom um interestingly uh uh
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the speech of um the US ambassador to
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the United Nations um uh was cancelled
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the uh to Linda Thomas Greenfield um uh
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both to and also invitations withdrawn
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by Xavier University and University of
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Vermont because of student objections to
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American Support uh for Israel um
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President Biden's expected to address
15:56
morous the historic black college next
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weekend and there's Rising protest
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around that address democracy Now is
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funded by viewers like you please give
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