Fuel, food, water run out. On wednesday, an israeli airstrike killed the wife, son, daughter, and grandson of one of gazas was prominent journalist, wael dahdouh, al jazeeras bureau chief in gaza. There is no safe place in gaza. No one is safe. No one is safe from the aggression of the occupation. Amy we will go to gaza to speak of one of waels al jazeera colleagues. And then to ramallah, we will be joined by longtime diplomat and scholar hanan ashrawi. Finally, philosopher Judith Butler, who recently joined other jewish writers and artists signing an open letter to President Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Israeli tanks have invaded the Northern Gaza Strip overnight in what military leaders are calling a targeted raid ahead of a much larger Ground Invasion. The incursion comes as israel continues to bombard the whole gaza strip for a 20th consecutive day by air, land, and sea. The Palestinian Death toll has soared to more than 7000, including nearly children. 3000 the u. N. s Refugee Agency for palestinians unrwa says it has been sharing its own dwindling supplies of fuel to keep lifesaving hospital equipment running and aid deliveries moving. An unrwa spokesperson asked the Associated Press do we give for the incubators or the bakeries . It is an excruciating decision. On wednesday, the british aid Charity Oxfam accused israel of intentionally starving gazas 2. 3 million residents. Oxfams regional middle east director said the situation is nothing short of horrific where is humanity . Millions of civilians are being collectively punished in full view of the world, there can be no justification for using starvation as a weapon of war. In a live broadcast on al jazeera arabic wednesday, gaza bureau chief wael dahdouh learned his wife, daughter, and son had been killed by a missile attack. All of them killed by a missile that flattened a home where theyd been sheltering from israels aroundtheclock bombardment. Another of dahdouhs sons was seriously injured with a head wound. The family had fled israels bombardment of their neighborhood in the north to seek shelter in the nuseirat refugee camp in central gaza, heeding israels order to 1. 1 million palestinians to evacuate southwards. Dahdouh was interviewed live shortly after learning his family members were dead. Do you think it has angered the army of the occupation so that would target your family . And firstly, everything is possible these days. All redlines have been crossed by the occupation army. This is very probable. Amy the attack came as axios reported secretary of state Antony Blinken recently asked qatars Prime Minister to tone down al jazeeras rhetoric about the war in gaza. Hamas intensified a barrage of rocket attacks on central and southern israel overnight. Israeli Officials Say most of the rockets fired from gaza were intercepted by israels iron dome Missile Defense system, though at least six people were wounded. Two more attempts at the u. N. Security council to halt israels assault on gaza both failed wednesday. A u. S. Resolution called for a pause in violence to allow for aid to be delivered. Russia and china vetoed the proposal. A competing russian resolution called for an immediate ceasefire. It also failed to pass. Members of the Security Councils are drafting a new resolution, while the 193member u. N. General assembly will vote friday on a draft ceasefire resolution. There are no vetoes in the general assembly, though resolutions are nonbinding. Meanwhile, in washington, d. C. , white house spokesperson john kirby acknowledged more innocent people will be killed. This is war. It is combat. It is bloody. It is ugly and it is going to be messy. Innocent civilians are going to be hurt going forward. Amy after more than three weeks without a leader, the house of representatives voted 220209 to elect hardright conservative mike johnson as speaker. All House Republicans voted for johnson. The louisiana congressmember was closely involved in Donald Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including voting against the certification of Election Results and leading the amicus brief in support of a texas lawsuit that attempted to toss out results in four swing states. Johnson is a christian fundamentalist who opposes abortion and lgbtq rights. He has proposed trillions of dollars in cuts to social security, medicare, and medicaid. He spoke tuesday after being sworn in. I believe scripture, the bible is very clear that god is the one who raises that those in authority. He raised up each of you, all of us. I believe god has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment in this time. Amy in its first legislative business after a threeweek standstill, the house overwhelmingly approved a resolution backing israel and condemning hamas. The vote was 412 to 10. As the u. S. Refuses to call for a ceasefire, protests continue on capitol hill to put pressure on lawmakers. Dozens of American Jewish activists with the group if not now were arrested as they held sitins at the offices of House Minority leader hakeem jeffries, democratic whip katherine clark, and vermont independent senator bernie sanders. Activists sang cease fire now not in our name and no genocide as u. S. Capitol police placed them in plastic handcuffs. Senator sanders did not say he supports a ceasefire. In maine, a manhunt is underway for a man wielding a highpowered militarystyle Assault Rifle who opened fire on a Bowling Alley and a Bar Restaurant in the city of lewiston wednesday, killing at least 22 people and wounding as many as 60 others. Maines Public Safety commissioner has ordered residents to shelter in place with their doors locked. Police are currently searching for robert card. Card is considered armed and dangerous. He is a person of interest, however, and that is what we will label him at. People see him, they should not approach card or make contact with him in any way. Amy card is an officer in the Army Reserves and a trained firearms instructor. Police say he recently reported hearing voices and threatened to shoot up a military facility. I National Guard base. He was committed to a Mental Health facility for two weeks over the summer yet continued to be allowed to abuse his guns. According to the gun violence archive, there have been 565 Mass Shootings across the United States this year. In philadelphia, a judge reinstated all charges, including murder, against former Police Officer mark dial, who shot and killed Eddie Irizarry inside the car during a traffic stop in august. Philadelphia District AttorneyLarry Krasner reissued its criminal complaint against dial after another judge dismissed the case last month. Body cam footage shows the officer shooting irizarry six times at close range even though he did not appear to pose any threat. The United Auto Workers has reached a tentative deal with ford six weeks into its historic strike against the big three automakers. Uaw president shawn fain announced the breakthrough wednesday evening. For months, we said record contracts means record amy the agreement, which still needs to be approved by rankandfile union members, includes pay hikes totaling over 33 when costofliving adjustments are factored in. It also includes wins on pensions and job security and could serve as a blueprint for the ongoing strikes at gm and stellantis. And in montana, a White Nationalist has been charged with vehicular homicide in the march hitandrun killing of mika westwolf, a 22yearold woman and member of the blackfeet tribe. 28yearold sunny white, whose children are named aryan and nation, also faces drug possession and child endangerment charges. Her children were reportedly in the car at the time she crashed into mika. White was released from jail on sunday after she posted bond. Mika westwolfs mother, carissa heavy runner, called the arrest a bittersweet moment for the family and for the campaign for missing and murdered Indigenous Women after prosecutors took months to bring charges. We just want the system to administer justice, impartially, without favor or bias. People who commit crimes need to be punished in accordance with the laws they have broken. In this case, this person killed my daughter. She was only 22 years old. Amy to see our coverage of mika westwolfs killing, visit our website democracynow. Org. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Nermeen and im nermeen shaikh. Welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. We begin todays show in gaza, where palestinian Authorities Say the death toll from israels 20day bombardment has topped 7000, including over 2900 children. On wednesday, an israeli strike killed the wife, son, daughter, and grandson of one of the most prominent journalists in gaza, wael dahdouh, al jazeera arabics gaza bureau chief who has been described as the voice of gaza. The israeli strike occurred on the nuseirat refugee camp killed at least 25. Dahdouhs family had fled to the refugee camp in central gaza after israel ordered residents of northern gaza to vacate their homes. Al jazeera condemned the israeli attack, describing it as a indiscriminate assault. Dahdouh learned about his family members live on air. They aired footage of wael heading to the hospitals morgue to see the bodies of his dead wife, son, and daughter. He was still wearing his press flak jacket. Moments later, al jazeeras senior political analyst Marwan Bishara spoke onair to condemn israels killing of civilians. This is a crime, a deliberate crime. The israelis are targeting civilians. The israeli president said there are no innocents in gaza. Here it is, the president of israel, telling me these children are not innocent. When you say there are no innocents in gaza, i want to tell me, you describe in your responsibility this genocide has been called by the israeli president and Prime Minister, enabled by the leaders of western democracy. Amy that was al jazeeras senior political analyst Marwan Bishara speaking after an israeli airstrike killed the family of his colleague wael dahdouh. Wael also spoke to al jazeera arabic from inside the hospital. There is no safe place in gaza at all. No one is safe. No one is safe from the aggression and the butchery of the occupation. That is why we have delegated our faith to allah and we will continue this path we have chosen, whatever you want to call it. Allah almighty, i hope allah would show patience on us. To the coverage you did, you stayed here steadfast. Do you think your coverage has angered the army of the occupation so they could target your family . Unfortunately, everything is possible these days. All redlines have been crossed by the occupation army. This is very probable. However, we want to say for the record that when we carry out our duties to the fullest with high professionalism in the middle of bodies and the injured and in the middle of destruction , we have a professionally that would need eons for them to me that professionalism. So everything that takes place on the ground, our camera will capture without any fabrication and without exaggerating. We are not exaggerating. What is happening is truly big and the coverage has to be big as well. If you would come although that is reality now, would you pursue legal action to prosecute the occupation for murdering your family . Lets see what happens after the surgeries that some of my family members are undergoing and after we bury our dead, and then we will talk about this matter. Nermeen that was wael dahdouh, al jazeera arabics gaza bureau chief, speaking just after an israeli airstrike killed his wife, son, daughter, and grandson. The killing came the same day after axios reported u. S. Secretary of state tony blinken had urged the Prime Minister of qatar to tone down al jazeeras coverage of israelis bombardment of gaza. We go now to gaza city where we are joined by one of wael dahdouhs colleagues, youmna alsayed, a correspondent for al jazeera in the gaza strip. Welcome to democracy now please accept our condolences on the deaths of the family members of your colleague. Could you explain what you know about what happened and where exactly his family was killed . First of all, wael, like thousands of palestinians who got the order to evacuate from the north and from gaza city to the south, heeded that border and moved his family to the south to a refugee camp. When i say refugee camp, it means i am talking about a very densely populated area with homes very much adjacent to one another. A place that just hosts thousands of homes and civilians and armed civilians. This is where wael kept his family, and another home or a family home there. They were hosted. The entire family his wife, his kids, his nephews, nieces everyone. He stayed in gaza city to report from gaza city where most of our crews headed to the south report from khan younis. But as you have seen, as the whole world has seen, the bombardments were relentless. Every single day in the south. When i say the south, i mean khan younis and rafah for people who dont know. All these days since the evacuation order, not one day, not one hour, these places were not targeted. Homes were targeted. Hospitals were targeted. In the same areas that people were asked to evacuate. Hundreds of families who had evacuated from the north and from gaza city were killed in those bombings. When we say there is no safe place in gaza, we are not lying. We are not being biased. We are not exaggerating. The north, gaza city, and the south they are all just the same in terms of bombardment, in terms of targeting. And in all the life conditions, it does not mean they are asking people to go to the south because there is a better life condition in the south. There is water in the south. For example, there is electricity or there is Drinking Water that you can buy or you can find bread easily. I just want to ask one question, why did they ask us to go to the south . Amy earlier this week, the Israeli Government approved emergency regulations that would close broadcasters thought to be acting against the security of the state. Is al jazeera the only Network Broadcasting live from gaza . Cnn has a reporter there. He files tape reports. He, too, with children is fleeing the bombardment. But in terms of the live, standup reporter, is al jazeera alone . Yes, it is al jazeera alone. I want to ask, how does israel or the United States describe al jazeera to be biased because they say this, they say al jazeera is biased. They say al jazeera should lower its tone on its coverage of gaza. Why are we getting these orders . Is al jazeera showing something that is not happening . Is al jazeera filming a targeting or bombing or those thousands that are being brought to the hospitals or hundreds that are being kept under the rubble or Civil Defense crews that dig with their hands and with no resources . Is this not a reality . Is al jazeera saying there is no water and there is no electricity in gaza and there is . Is it saying there are no networks in the mobile phones and there are . Why are we why are we getting these orders . We are getting these orders because we are broadcasting what we really see. We are neutral. We are not showing one part against the other. Didnt you hear al jazeera say that there were rockets launched from gaza . There are rockets launched from gaza. Dont our correspondence in al jazeera arabic and Al Jazeera English say there dozens of rockets launched from gaza . They hit places in israeli towns. Sirens were heard. Injuries in israeli towns were conducted. Dont we report that . We are not biased if we only report what is happening on the israeli side, but we are vice will be report on what is happening on the palestinian side. Is this what we have learned and Journalism Schools around the world . Is this how were supposed to be neutral and objective . Is this the image that we should give our audience who trust us . Amy in 2021, israel leveled a 12 Story Building and gaza housing the offices of Associated Press al jazeera and other media outlets. Israel justified the bombing by claiming hamas had been using the building but offered no proof. They gave media workers inside advance warning of the attack, telling them they had just one hour to evacuate, and refused to delay the airstrike when journalists begged for more time to recover personal items, cameras, and other equipment. The head of al jazeera called the attack a war crime. Blatant violation of human rights and war crime. The Associated Press said it had of no evidence of hamas operating in the building. Shireen abu aqua was killed as she was covering the jenin refugee camp in the west bank. Can you talk about what the calls are for the u. S. Government, which provides so much of the funding of the israeli military, to make demands now . They have been pushed into calling possibly for a pause, not calling for a ceasefire, but this issue of journalists and civilians dying in such large numbers . At this point, i think the number is 24 journalist, three east raleys, 20 palestinians, and one lebanese cameraman from reuters. In 2021, i had an interview on your show on the phone, maybe that is why you dont remember me. I told you clearly that this was a targeting against journalism and against media. All media offices in the gaza strip, in 2021, were completely destroyed. All buildings hosting any media office, including al jazeera and the ap, or leveled to the ground. I myself survived a car accident i dont even want to say car accident because it was a targeting of another jihad, Islamic Jihad wanted it a car. He wasnt, by the way. They assumed he was. I survived that targeting mercilessly. I almost died in that attack. United states claims to be the democratic state. It claims to respect all rights. It claims to be a civilized nation. What is the correct description of these words for the United States . What did the United States do when shireen was killed and she is a palestinianamerican . Did they stand up for her . What did they do when our bureau and aps bureau were bombed when the ap is an American Agency and there was no proof of any israel i claim until this day where in 2023 United States, it is clear to the whole world, to you americans, before any other nation, supports the benefits of israel despite all realities, despite all proof, and despite any claim of democracy or rights. The United States only supports what israel says, even if the entire world sees that this is not the truth. It will continue standing next to it. And i cant respect and nation saying or a government im not talking about the American People because i know that not all governments represent their people but how can i respect a government that sees all these violations and claims to be a supporter of human rights and democracy and standstill not doing anything . Nermeen i would like to go to a clip of you live on the air on october 7 at the moment when israel bombed a tower behind you in gaza city. All right, youmna, please take cover. If you are in a position to to do so safely come expired what is happening. If not, please get to safety. It is ok. This was a missile attack on palestine tower right in the middle of gaza city. Take a moment to breathe. You and your team, take a moment to breathe. Nermeen that was october 7, the day hamas carried out its attack. If you could describe this scene . What was the scene then in gaza . Can you believe that that missile that you saw in front of you was just a warning missile . This is how the people of gaza get warned before they are completely bombarded. That strong and powerful but bartman bombardment that you saw in front of you was just a warning missile. I was standing normally. I did not even feel it was danger where we are. We were on the rooftop of our bureau. It is perfectly a safe place. We take safety precautions first. Because we dont want to risk our lives. We dont want to put our lives in danger. But can we, no matter how much precautions we take, can we push that danger and risk away . Was wael able to protect his family . Is anyone in gaza able to protect their families . We are not. We are under constant fire. We are under constant environment. We are under constant environment. Amy we thank you for being with us. Yes, we do remember you from 2021 on the phone or when we can see you. Your reporting has been unforgettable, youmna alsayed, correspondent for al jazeera, speaking to us from gaza. Please be safe and again, condolences our newsroom to your whole al jazeera family. Your last comment . I just want to say one thing, i want to say this and i want the world to remember my word. In my culture, in my language, we say in your culture, in your language, they say, what goes around comes around. And when it comes around, like this whole world is watching, the genocide is happening in the gaza strip, we shall be watching, too. Amy youmna alsayed, thank you so much for joining us. Coming up, we go to rome a lot in the occupied west bank we will be joined by the longtime palestinian diplomat and scholar hanan ashrawi. Stay with us. [music break] amy strong tree by taina asili. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. Nermeen we continued to look at israels bombardment and gaza as israel and the United States reject growing calls for a ceasefire. The dental and gaza has topped 7000 israels bombardment continues for a 20th day admitted evening humanitarian catastrophe as fuel, food, and water run out. Israel began bombing october 7 after hamas carried out in attack that killed 1400 people in israel. We go now to the west bank where Israeli Forces are continuing to arrest large numbers of palestinians across the occupied west bank most of overnight, at least 85 more palestinians were detained in a series of raids in east jerusalem, have run, and elsewhere. According to post any prisoners rights groups, nearly 1500 people in the west bank have been arrested since october 7. Many of whom are being held without charge under israel socalled administrative detention policy. Over 100 palestinians have been killed across the west bank this month. Amy were joined now by hanan ashrawi, palestinian diplomat and scholar. Formally an executive Committee Member of the palestine liberation organization. The first woman to hold a seat in the highest executive body and palestine. She also served as the official spokesperson of the palestinian delegation to the middle east peace process. Welcome back to democracy now if you can, following youmna, talk about the bombardment, the global calls for ceasefire, including the u. N. Secretarygeneral, and also talk about the u. S. Response and what a difference it makes what the u. S. Says. Absolutely. The u. S. Is not an evenhanded observer. The u. S. Is certainly a partner in crime with israel. The u. S. Is funding israel, providing it with massive weapons, said aircraft carriers, the bombs being rained down on gaza are sometimes made in the u. S. , the airplanes are american airplanes. And not just that, but the u. S. Has decided to become spokespeople, the u. S. Administration, including biden andblinken. An affordable way in which they affect the credibility not just of themselves but americans by repeating the propaganda of the israeli spin machine and labeling and smearing the palestinians and then calling us liars. So what israel says in many ways affects what u. S. It affects public opinion. Even the europeans swallowed all those lies at the beginning of the incursion, in which they accuse the palestinians of horrible things without evidence , without any kind of proof. Then it became actual fact. So let me say that now the u. S. Has no credibility whether a political scene or military scene or even legal scene by consistently voting against any kind of ceasefire. By giving israel not just a green light, but all the weapons, all the materials needed to continue with this genocide and there is other way to describe it than u. S. Is in many ways not just complicit as part of this war and this war against gaza is a massacre against civilians. 731 families have been totally eradicated. It is not just when we say 7000 killed, 750 or several thousand children, 3000 children these are all human beings that we are seeing live on the air. We are seeing bodies torn to pieces. Were seeing people digging through the rubble. We know there are over 1700 who are under the rubble who cannot be dug out. People dont know who they are, where they are. There are children who have lost whole families. There are babies left alone and nobody knows to whom they belong. There are massive mass graves in gaza. It is just so horrific, that to see blinken or biden stand up and say, we dont believe the palestinians . Look at netanyahu. They had a spin machine. They have weapons of mass instruction mass destruction, everything they can throw on innocent people come on whole families, on buildings, neighborhoods, whole areas, hospitals and schools and universities. And i think our weapon is not just we have International Law and rights on our side. That is the difference. We talked about a symmetry of power, yes, they can kill all of us and they have been trying to do that piecemeal and gradually in the west bank, killing people, demolishing homes, abductions of people and so on. And in a massive way in gaza, longdistance, where they are not seeing or the gazans are being killed by were machines that are provided by the u. S. The intimacy of power and the power that is physical that is destructive weapons, we have human power. We are a people with a cause and with justice on our side. And that we must continue insisting on for the rest of the world to see. That it is moving and shifting, beginning to see through all the clouds of misconception and lies and smearing campaign. But the leaders will be held accountable for not only swallowing these lies and repeating them, but for being party to them and complicit in them. It makes a difference. It makes a difference the u. S. Used its veto did not prevent any kind of justice. And ceasefire, for heaven sake, stopping the killing of innocents, the slaughter of people and a genocide that is unfolding before the eyes of the whole world and they stand up and say, no ceasefire. It is unconscionable. Nermeen dr. Ashrawi, apart from the fact the u. S. Is holding back on endorsing a ceasefire, netanyahu spoke last night on wednesday and continued to talk about a Ground Invasion. As lethal and devastating as the present assault is on gaza, what do you fear might happen with the Ground Invasion . Actually, this is being used as part of psychological warfare. And biden once a Ground Invasion or doesnt he come does netanyahu . What is the military say . Look, Ground Invasion, yes, can be lethal and also can be a continuation of the massacre. I think you cannot invade such a high density population, an area that is already under siege, that has also and expected to be a picnic for them. I know they can kill more people. They have been killing people every day, so how much worse can it be . If you kill 8000 and there are others and more and more, what do you want to do with the Ground Invasion . But let me say frankly, they had hoped at the beginning they started bombing and was killing as many people as possible in the north and sending them south, then bombing them on the way and bombing them when they get to the south, that they had hoped it would carry out ethnic cleansing of the north and clear the way either for a Ground Invasion or the occupation of the north. At first they hoped all palestinians could be expelled and kicked out and go to egypt or jordan or whatever, which is part of the history of the nakba that was created by a series of massacres against the palestinians, razing to the ground 500 villages or more, booting people and expelling them, turning the Palestinian People into refugees. They thought this could be done now but it cannot be done now. Now theyre talking about Ground Invasions and leaking news they might flood the tunnels, for example, or they might use gas against him in the tunnels, or prevent any kind of fuel from getting to gaza so that the air in the tunnels will no longer be there and everybody will be killed. Which is something that i think people should understand. It is not just the palestinians, there hostages there. Hamas offered to release noncombatants, to release International People and release people who are not involved in this war, and they dont even want to talk about it in israel but they are to sacrifice all of them through such a Massive Campaign of slaughter. Anyway, whatever they want, it clearly does not have a clear policy of what to do because it is based not on justice, not on understanding what the real forces are and therefore what the solutions are, but on inflicting more pain, killing more people, continuing with a genocide, and pursuing not about politics this doesnt not produce any kind of piece for stability for anyone. Amy i want to play two clips of President Biden speaking yesterday. Pres. Biden we also have to remember hamas does not represent the vast majority of the Palestinian People in the gaza strip or anywhere else. Hamas is hiding behind Palestinian Civilians and it is despicable and cowardly. This also puts an added burden on israel while they go after hamas. But that does not lessen the need to operate in a line with the walls of war. In a combined also reported the death toll in gaza. Pres. Biden im sure innocents have been killed and it is the price of waging a war. I think we should be incredibly careful. I think the israelis should be incredibly careful to be sure theyre focusing on going after the folks that are propagating this war. Amy two questions, he is saying you cant trust the casualty figures that gaza is putting out and that hamas does not have the support of the Palestinian People though he says that, hes does not push for a ceasefire of the killing of civilians. Exactly not because he stopped listening. I say it openly, these are making weapons, American Funding , billions of dollars being poured into the area. What are they doing and our part of the world . Why do we want these to defend americans . Why . Anyway, let me go back to the issue. Again, it is a way of demonizing a whole segment of the Palestinian People. It is disingenuous to think hamas is a separate group or to continue with this slander that hamas is isis or this has to do with the israelis being jewish or whatever. It has nothing to do with that. Hamas is not isis. I am not a hamas supporter. There are 30 at least of the population. They were part of the legislative council. They have a military wing and a political wing and social services and institutions and womens organizations and childrens organizations and provide services in gaza. So why do you insist on just labeling hamas as a terrorist organization . I am not understanding the logic. You cannot kill hamas. You insisted on having democracy and elections. In israel, that people who are more extreme, more racist than any Political Party in palestine. The real difference is we are under occupation. The real difference is there is a predisposition by biden and others to malign the palestinians and to believe everything the israelis say. They have to walk back the issue of women being raped or children being beheaded. What about the hospital . David leigh said, we they immediately said, we bombed ourselves. They said that when shireen was killed. Immediately the israelis said she was killed by palestinian fire. It is amazing the church they immediately set everything biden hears he parrots. The israelis have a spin machine and theyre good at it because they spend billions on it. And we just have people who are people of conscience, people who know what is happening, were standing cap now and exposing all these lies. How come the u. N. Has the same numbers . How come the u. S. Used the same numbers . Now you say, i dont believe them because you dont want to believe any israel is guilty of slaughter, of massacre, ethnic cleansing come of genocide. These are the reality that is happening before your eyes, mr. Biden. I would like you to see our children as human beings, the women as people under the rubble, who died under the rubble because we dont have the machines to get them out. Because the First Responders have been killed because ambulances have been destroyed, because there are no roads to get to them, and because people are digging them out with their hands and they can hear them but cant get to them. I am a grandmother. A grandmother was embracing the body of her daughter and granddaughter. This is what youre doing, mr. Biden. This is what the west is doing. The death machine that is destroying everything we stand for that started with the establishment of israel as a colonial outpost yes, we might not be white anglosaxon many of us are christian, but you cannot use the division at the north deserves protection and can get away with anything, literally with murder, while the south and the brown people or whatever color do not deserve it. Stop this colonial mentality. It hast to be dealt with honestly. You have to look at the facts and look at the truth and look yourself in the mirror, look at your eyes and tell me this is right. Can get away with the murder of thousands. Amy dr. Hanan ashrawi, thank you for being with us. Sorry, i am getting a bit emotional. Amy you dont have to apologize. Amy dr. Hanan ashrawi, palestinian diplomat and scholar. Formally an executive Committee Member of the palestine liberation organization. When we come back, uc berkeley philosopher, professor Judith Butler who signed on to a letter of jewish writers calling for a ceasefire. Back in 20 seconds. [music break] amy the group canceled the final show last week say in solidarity with the global call to strike by our palestinian brothers and sisters who are in the midst of a genocidal assault. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. Nermeen we are continuing our conversation on the bombardment of israel on gaza. We are joined by the philosopher and gender studies scholar Judith Butler, who is one of dozens of jewish writers and artists who signed an open letter to President Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire. Judith butler is the author of numerous books, including the force of nonviolence an ethicopolitical bind and parting ways jewishness and the critique of zionism. Their recent piece for the london review of books is headlined the compass of mourning. Judith butler joins us today from paris. Welcome to democracy now if you could respond, we were just speaking to dr. Ashrawi who said the palestinians have been refused the recognition of our own humanity and rights. You have written extensively on the way in which different lives are valued differently. Yes, well, let me simply say that everyone on this show who you have interviewed in palestine has used the word genocide. I think we need to take this word quite seriously because it does describe the situation in which a population is targeted, not just the military part but the civilian part, bombarded, dislocated forcibly, and plans are being made for relocation or the absolute razing of gazas. As you know, there are legal groups like the center for Constitutional Rights that have published a 40 page study on why it is correct to call what is happening to palestinians now genocide. And other groups are studying International Law and showing genocide is it doesnt always look like the nazi regime, but it can be the systematic undercutting of the livelihood, the health, the wellbeing, and the capacity to persist. This is exactly what is happening. Why it is the u. S. Media for the most part and the u. S. Government has decided to be complicit with genocidal crimes, a major question is an alarming fact and hanan ashrawis right to say it is not just they are giving ideological support or spin doctors to say that israeli genocidal violence is justified. They are actually giving weapons and support and counsel in order to defect this genocidal set of policies. So as far as i am concerned, the palestinians have been labeled as ungrievable. That is to say they are not considered to have value, lives of lurching in this world. If theyre lost, it is not considered to be a true loss because they are not just less than human but a threat to what the idea of the human is that is being defended by zionist politics shared by israel and the u. S. And many western powers. So i think once we see these characters taking hold caricatures taking hold and public discourse, all palestinians are hamas or hamas s terrorist rather than saying i resistance struggle armed resistance struggle, or israeli violence is orally justified and palestinian violence is barbaric, well, why wouldnt it be right describe the bombardment of people in their homes and hospitals and in their schools or as they are fleeing, according to israeli directives why is that barbaric . What were seeing is not just the killing of palestinian civilian lives as casualty of war, a kind of byproduct, these civilians are targeted so the targeting of civilians who belong to a particular group, ethnic, racially defined, that is a genocidal practice. That is what we are seeing and we should all be standing up and objecting and calling for an end to genocide. It is true, i signed several petitions, one of which calls for an immediate ceasefire. That is the minimum. But the fact is, the violence we are seeing belongs to a longstanding violence, 75yearold violence, that has been characterized by systematic dislocation of killing, imprisonment, detention, stolen land, damaged lives. We actually need a much fuller political solution to the situation until palestine is free and people in palestine are able to live as citizens or political actors in a world they helped craft they have become selfgoverning we will continue to see this structural violence producing this kind of resistance. Amy Judith Butler, let me ask you, the israeli politician call for a dresden on gaza, refer to the world war ii firebombing, killing some 25,000 people. A storm a storm fire on all of gaza. Naftali bennett, when asked about the killing of israeli civilians, more than 1400 people on october 7, responded to the sky anchors us income are you serious late talking about Palestinian Civilians . We just have 45 seconds, but your response . I think that one of the problems is that Palestinian Civilians are not recognized as such. In other words, when you have accomplished rhetorically and through the media the identification of palestine with terrorism and all palestinians with terrorism, barbarism, then there are no civilians in the imaginary of those who are doing violence to them. Amy we want to thank and it has to be opposed. Amy were going to continue with part two of our discussion and post it at democracynow. Org. Judith butler is a philosopher, political commentator, and gender studies scholar. Distinguished professor in the graduate school at the university of california, berkeley, and the Hannah Arendt chair at the european graduate school. On the Advisory Board of jewish voice for peace. That does it for our show. indistinct man speaking over radio . Uh, thats the appropriate direction, 45 degrees from zenith, towards the port