Hello that i am. James pays the desk told in the gauze of war, continues to rise as israel pounds, palestinians with its intensive bombing of densely populated areas. Since israel was founded in 1948, the United States has been its stories that lie sentiments expressed by the us president of to home ass gunk, been killed. Hundreds of israelis on saturday by commitment visual security. The safety of the 2 is people is unshakable. United states has israels back and were going to be working on this all through the day and beyond. The u. K. Is another of israel, strongest, political and military back isnt his place to continue with. Its intelligence and security support. We already have a very long standing relationship with israel, with one of the strongest allies weve provided in the past, the top kinds of equipment that theyve used to defend themselves over the past couple of days. And as i said to the Prime Minister, we will continue to provide whether thats diplomatic intelligence, social security, support, as they need shortly off to sensitize attack you Commission President , us up on the line was quick to support israel and a tweak she said i spoke to my friend president isaac hood scroll and conveyed to him my full support to israel in the face of todays terrorist attack by him ass reset wreath, right . The israel has the right to self defense. The humans, the victims of the sense this attacks and stands by israel today. And in the next week the u. S. And the u haul, so provided financial and humanitarian support, the palestinians, but thats coming under pressure and increased course. Nice since the events last, we tend to, by the ministrations provided about half a 1000000000. 00 and funding since most was frozen by the previous president. Donald trump was off to the attack by how mass, your pain commissioner declared bowden. 700000000. 00 worth of a to publish thing is will be caught. But the e. U has since clarified, but funding will continue for now. So that last spring, you know, a puddle of gas to discuss it, old and go ha, ive deal out already on the associated professor of history at Georgetown University in castle. Hes a specialist on Us Middle East policy in rome. Is maria luisa on top of your head of middle east and Africa Program for the a tally and think Times Institute to a faulty international holler. And in dublin is Richard Boyd Barrett, a member of the irish pub in the parliament, with the people before profit policy, a warm welcome to you, o. Like i would like to start with you. I feel if i can, right to the beginning of the basics, perhaps no surprise the tool israel is still actually being backed by the us to. Yeah, i mean, as you say, there is no surprise really in this policy, this is something that has been part and parcel of us Foreign Policy in this region for quite some time. But i would like to focus on weight. Maybe what some of the differences are, i think what were seeing really over the course of the past decade or so has been a complete abandonment, even of any pretense of becoming a so called honest broker. We know that us never effectively managed to offer you know, with the palestinians, of course being, you know, complete leads, you know, denied their own liberation, their own state. There was a thoughts in the 1990s that the United States could sponsor a process that the so called oslo accords as a means of providing them with state hood. But from the very beginning, i mean really going back to the mid ninetys, it was very clear that israel had no intention of actually delivering on this 2 state solution. And instead you use that opportunity of pass if any, from the palestinian side to double and triple the number of settlements and sort expansion across all of the palestinian territories. And then of course, later on, once we get into the mid, early to mid to thousands, we see this blockade of guys are beginning. And the kind of in circle meant in besiege meant of what is now over 2000000 people population. And so i think whats really distinct about the last decade in particular, you know, going back maybe to the late obama period. So then of course, under donald trump, who everyone saw as being a kind of very exceptional president , as, as one who sort of says out loud, what most us policymakers would never dare to speak is that he cared nothing whatsoever for the plight or palestinians. He completely circumvented and bypassed any demands and kept them basically in the exact same situation that they continued to be in. And instead, focused on this idea of normalization between is real and a number of arab states, all of whom, of course, found mutual benefits. And that arrangement under a kind of us Regional Security umbrella. And along with that, of course, all of the Major Economic benefits. And so in the meantime, the palestinian question was no longer even on the back burner. Assembly didnt exist. There has been no discussion whatsoever. And then we get to the vine in administration, and they simply inherited the trunk Foreign Policy to the middle east. Weve seen no distinction between what trump was doing. You know, the by that administration endorsed the move of the us embassy to jerusalem, which was an incredibly volatile move. And ive been a very daring moving away in terms of upsetting what had been seen at that point as be something over no go because of the fact that jerusalem continues to be considered occupied territory by the us and by international law. And then of course we see this push to double down on the normalization agreements between israel and now the saudi arabia, which is kind of the big fish and all of this. So i think there is something to be said about the fact that us policy has gotten even more staunchly, you know, and oppositions have any notion that there should be anything of a settlement for on palestinians who continued to be stainless and, and very much on stock in this kind of apartheid situation, maria, let me just ask you, you could say what were seeing on our screens is what weve seen play out many times before in garza. But there are big differences to the scale of these. Randy casualty is the largest loss of life and an attack in the countrys history, the tactics that we used by him, us. And also how important do you think is the fact that this time there are captives inside guns . No, definitely. I mean this is uh something uh that is uh, quite to um, president and then the uh into so like the level of the infiltration suite in like the, these rated territory. And i think the assistant expands uh its, uh, its been something thats a camel. So as a shock to the western and European Public opinion, and this is why also there has been such a sort of skipped. The frantic responses also from the human institutions was served an extended because the level of the violence of being so shocking at the public that then this has created a very emotional response to assertive distance and expand and long. Um, definitely uh the new uh as being the whole was uh like supporting the idea of the state solution by seeing that the problem has been that the 1st, the 1st responses were actually much more inclined towards showing it. So they directed towards either ends, which is normal, but however, i think that it has been in his management team. The communication also because of this has created some confusion on what actually on where they use best to be that view of this conflict. So a lot of emotions the and the little attention, i think for the what as being the strategy towards this concept for, for many of them so that you approach a new responses in the early days of this conflict. Richard, you are also in a b u capital like maria. I wanna come back to the you. If i may, does that in motion the maria talks about . Does that explain the fact that the, the white house statements seem to lack any of the usual cause cools for proportionate response . So exercise of restraint. Yes, i think that is the case and at i mean, jake, for example, are minister of Foreign Affairs yesterday where he was being interviewed as i was on the radio. And he felt able to say this. Israel was acting in self defense as a, when he was questioned about is rails traps to back star does that. And all of his population of, or of energy of food. He could use terminology like self defense. And obviously i, you know, i challenge that very, very strongly and sad disaster. It is, was not self defense and the trash to collectively punish 2200000 people to a, you know, bombard with mass of artillery strikes. And the most densely populated residential area in the world, world war crimes. And if they, if you, like, we did, those you were speaking on behalf of palestinians were being post on the defensive. And so i think theres in the United States, israel bailey, those items to be able to act with granger impunity that they might on the wise at feel. And that were seeing that as you know, with the extraordinary explosives and brazen traps by israel to come, is on. And indeed they started to commit is more crimes. And in front of the eyes of the world and say explicitly that what theyre going to do, which is by any definition is a war crime that theyre just going to do it any way in the United States stands firmly behind them. And many, if not, most of the European Union leaders equally sort of giving legit, tennessee giovannis rileys doing so. Its really a shocking when of course, the truth of the matter is thats what happens. And its, you know, the, the loss of life is terrible and everybody is, is appalled by this escalation of violence. But certainly, i think, i feel that many people would feel none of what happened to get caught up. Happen were not for a 17 year long sage on guys that the extraordinary sort of escalation of the war and the palestinians by d as riley, as is particularly vicious, is right, the government, and as in yahoo smock origin. But it gave her a bodys bodies. The real context is the, is the ongoing crimes against your miles. Youve been committed against the public stadiums, or there is no damage that that is around sales and bones at the moment as do its major backers. So richard has just laid out the narrative as he sees it in the context of the low. But just tell us a bit about how this is seen in the us because you study the us and its policy towards the middle east. I mean, i watch us media as well. In fact i, i, i live most of the time in new york, although im currently in though 22 us citizens killed. 17 missing and may be held prisoner. Do you think the prison, the cost of it and the would hostage is the one thats being used in the us media . Do you think that perhaps explain some of the reporting and then some of the actions by the administration . Well, certainly i think, you know, part of it is the media coverage. I think theres a narrative that immediately takes hold. The moment events like this, you know, happened. And that narrative tends to be in a kind of a very one dimensional way. It will pay 1. 00 side as an aggressor paint one side is victim, and then erase all history, all context, all even recent events as if you know, everything just sort of occurs in this bubble in this vacuum on the day of, of, you know, these, these horrific events, and so i think somebody else 2 of the apartment with what can i ask you to the Historical Context of, of hostage crisis. Im going a long way back to 1979, but in fact, you know, President Biden was one of the closest supporters a president call to do you think that historical echo may perhaps explain why why the occupants of the west wing is pursuing the policy is i dont know that that that would necessarily be the connection. I mean, i think in general theres been seen as just massive support for israel in particular because lets not forget, there are palestinian americans that are constantly being victimized that are concept being oppressed that are being killed by israel, right . We, we know the case of your colleagues should be in a box that was a palace city, an american journalist. And if you look at all of the attends by the family to go and seek any kind of investigation on the part of the us into her killing by israel last year. There was almost no response, right . Them us, secretary of state was not flying to israel. It to have conversations about the safety and return of is rarely americans could never do the same for palestinian americans. I think thats a, its, theres a fair question there. As far as why is this always been the case . Why is there a double standard wire, some american citizen lives, you know, worth less than others . I think this is, this is certainly something that comes out of a much deeper affinity that the us has always had with the state of israel irrespective of its actions. Irrespective of, as we see there is an our growing International Consensus about the fact that theres an apartheid system thats in place about the fact that we see in violence of this scale on multiple other occasions. Although now certainly its been ramped up even further, and its been in large part because of us offering a kind of a green light that weve never really seen up to this point. And even in terms of the, the violence that were seeing, its not just and guys of even going into the west bank with some of the shooting sprays that were hearing about in terms of, of, you know, palestinians for essentially escaping some of these kinds of revenge. Attacks that we see. So i think that theres a, theres a bigger, deeper context here that seems to be ignored. We dont care about most of this in the us media and Public Opinion and sympathies have certainly aligned in a very particular kind of way that is very much in keeping with the longer standing narrative, the diesel monetization of palestinians. The idea that you can have officials both in the us and an israel make, you know, an incredibly deep human as in racist genocidal remarks. And it goes completely on by and responded to right. Or the media does not make any kind of an attempt to challenge any of those narratives. What let me bring that up with richard. Im in some of the things you probably heard from across the atlantic power. Those with 911 senator lindsey graham, were in a religious war on a, on a public drastically stand with israel, a News Conference in recent. Hows the us secretary state and these really Prime Minister saying how mouse is the same as the actual . Oh i so whatever you call it, what do you make people of is that sort of language . Yeah, well i, i, i, i think i feel is absolutely right. I mean, i think Public Opinion over the last number of years has increasingly become aware of the the a part dies nature of d as riley regime. All the, its, its, you know, ongoing campaigns of ethnic cleansing. Its dysfunctional and sort of a abnormal territory has been highlighted by the Amnesty International reports on Human Rights Watch reports and other reports ive added the apartheid nature of that stage. And so on. The one that is right has been de legitimized in the minds of millions of people, but now uh israel and his bikers feel they have an opportunity to push back against all of that. And again, is dollars said its like they start the clock of the story. What happened over the weekend as if there is no other context. And they rely on, you know, the lack of knowledge or information or awareness of the background and history to all of this uh, all of significant sections of the public in the United States and in europe to kind of it mean, you know, a normal about history so wed all just stars and not the weekends. Now i think, you know, we own. Oh, thats not true. And if i got, yeah, i will give credit to the irish president , mary robinson, the former irish president. And she was being interviewed on the radio. Just about an hour ago i was listening to her and she was managing the point does a during the summer she warned that if the siege of guys that was lifted, if the n g o z, a israel was joining in terms of the ethnic crimes and the legal settlements, the ongoing, a brutal lock your patients if these matters were not going to be addressed by the International Community that she feared. And this was during the summer that we were phasing into a terrifying escalation of items, an uncontrollable, i think, escalation of bylaws and she was out. So the, the rice and that is the context. But of course, is around the United States that rockers in europe want to pretend that there was no history to all of this. And it all began with the events of the weekends and they are trying to use that then to justify. I need a more savage, a escalation of the war on guys and on the palestinian generally there, id like to put to the point that i made the wrong. This is a complete indictment of the bite and strategy on the is riley palestinian conflict, which seems to be nosy, set the continuation of the trump strategy. And it basically wants to ignore the policies to go around the palestinians. Try and get an economic piece with arab countries. Whats your view of how that strategy has played out . I think that theyve been laid out in a tragic uh way in the sense that the, despite the definitely the causes of his com fee that is locked in his own going from 7 and the kids. However, there is, there is no conflicts the in reach this of thought to please. And there is a lot of conflicts that is one of which for several weeks and for several months is that is being in our most pressure exits is by the by washington. No, on the on so the read yeah. And uh on the golf. Engender though, so theyve been particular to obviously the go ahead with this minimization view. So um which is between Southern India and israel. So is this more money additions deal um, which include them, have been that again. So theyve read the rescinding it since in the amount of nearly 3 uh, uh, military uh, infrastructure. If this deal was, doesnt happen. Obviously the problem as being an issue with the being uh, i think go boost raisins completely from