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tv   The Bottom Line  Al Jazeera  March 1, 2024 4:30am-5:01am AST

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but also for the largest political establishment. this is the 1st election at a time when parliament, the judiciary, and the governments are all controlled by conservatives. the conservative candidates dominate the ballots and they are expected to continue their control of the parliament. with little challenge from the reforms, count, well, voter turnout will be seen as yet. and now the tests for those in power at a critical time in their aunt's history door such as lori l. g 0 tapper on the cuban now where in an unprecedented move the ruling communist party has asked the you in world food program for supplies of milk for children. the move comes as the country reels from massive shortages provoked in part by us sanctions at augusta and reports from havana. the savings of being a custom to standing in line to basic goods for decades, but off to full use of deep economic crisis. scottsdale in the island has become even more acute right now and have on a long lines of cos, snake outside petro stations, because there's nothing a few. meanwhile,
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agriculture production on the island has plummeted in recent years because there's no longer enough money to import fertilizer. not all of these things end up reducing cubans access to food, which is running into major disorders. now for the 1st time in history, the cuban government which trumpet screwed security as one of the main achievements of the revolution. as i'll see you on well food program to help it get milk. c i miss own so the children is supposed to get 3 kilograms of milk models, but now they are only given 1.5 kilograms, and then then the okay, so that a milk i can't remember the last time i drink mill. it's very expensive. only people died, although we have difficulties and we're still alive, like we cuban. se thomas. see when i'm looking for these as far as milk is concerned, cuban children are very privileged compared to other children in the world, including the month before they used to get to phone 3 kiddos of rice per person per month. now they give nearly half a kilo of rice per person per month,
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and that's when it's available. humans that lived on the top of us sanctions for whatever half a century. and yet, ever since 1962, the cuban states has ensure that every child in this land has access to milk. today, every showed up to the edge of 7 is supposed to receive 3 kilograms of powdered milk every month. now that's one of the reasons why unicef a little over a decade ago. the glad the cuba was the only country, lots in america to have eliminated severe child mom, nutrition bus and recent years amongst the population at large, long attrition has increased was hung up as were sent at augusta. and i was just there about a cube. all right, that's it for me. how much them do you want me to find much more in our website? i'll just do it. i of com. the bottom line is up next. thanks for watching the on march. the 2nd us president joe biden delivers his state of the union address
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with issues such as economic recovery, emigration, and america's response to global conflicts on his agenda. 10 by to reaffirm his leadership credentials in this crucial election year. special coverage from washington dc. a. hi, i'm steve clements and i have a question. hospital by hospital. israel has been a nile eating causes entire medical system. but what happens when it's all gone? let's get to the bottom line. it's probably more accurate to come. busy at a health care apocalypse and a health care crisis. a few months ago, it was shocking to hear that palestinian doctors had to perform operations without anesthesia. because israel was walking supplies or the watches, so many thousands of people were being killed and injured every week. and patients were flooding floors in the hallways across causes hospital, thousands of people such sheltering your hospitals because they're supposed to be safe. even in wartime. right. well think again,
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why don't hospital after another has been surrounded by is really tanks bombed, rated, destroyed. nowadays, the entire health care system in the gaza strip is on the verge of collapse. and more than 600 doctors and health care workers had been killed by israel in the last 5 months. and mal nutrition and disease are spreading due to the choke, hold on, just about anything getting in. and the word shows no signs of stopping soon with hundreds more palestinians killed and wounded daily. so what's gonna happen when causes health care system totally collapses? today we're talking with dr. fire off my global health director for the department of emergency medicine advocate christ medical center in chicago, and also in chicago. dr. moore, i am getting a human apologist oncologist who co founded the palestinian american medical association. thank you both for joining us. this is a complicated, a sobering topic. doctor ok menu, just as i understand it, spent 3 weeks in nasir hospital in con eunice. and i'd like is best you can,
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you've written about this in the chicago tribune, but i'd like you to give a feel for what is happening there. that is often not seen on tv, not disgusting, shows like this, but what is the real life situation of god since right now in hospitals, in, in, under attack? yeah, thank you for having us, steve. this is an important topics i do want to mention, especially with what's going on most of hospital now that people need to be aware that most of hospital was the last remaining trauma hospital in the gaza strip. it was a hospital that prior to the war was, could accommodate around 350 patients. and after the war it had well over a 100 patients. and with that in mind, there are over 10000 people that were sheltering in and around the hospital. so when you walk through the emergency department and you are moving through the different parts of the hospital, you see people everywhere, you see children and their families that are sheltering in the hospital in every corner in the hallways. and so it really is an overwhelming scene on top of that
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can units for the last 6 weeks. so culminating in the reading of, uh, of, and most of hospital was the center of his ran the military operations. and so there was an incredible amount of destruction and death that was taking place in san eunice that was already overwhelming the hospital system prior to it being surrounded prior to it being rated prior to over 70 members of its staff being abducted. and many of them being injured in the process, i will share this with you. i mean, we would see so many different injuries, shrapnel injuries, people who are stuck beneath the rubble after their home had been bombed or who are victims of drone attacks. but this really kind of solidifies what we're talking about when we feel like the health care system is under attack. there is a surgeon, his name is dr. charlotte, he's the last remaining surgeon at north of hospital. he still, they are now despite the hospital being rendered inoperable. you have to realize that the military does ran. the military is cut off the electricity to the hospital . there is no water in the us, but it's functionally just
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a building. it's no longer a hospital, but doctor found it shared with us that over the last week while the hospital was surround it and people are being told that they need to leave. and despite being told that they should leave being shot in the process as they were trying to leave the hospital perimeter. he said in the 4th floor where the operating operating room and theater is. one of his nurses was shot in the chest and he had to perform the surgery on that nurse. you know, a health care provider can easily become a patient or the victim of this war, but they're really kind of solidified it, i think. so people can truly understand what's taking place here. i think people in guys meet the false assumption that hospitals would be the sanctuary place that they would could be protected and be safe there in time and time again. they've been proven wrong and these places have come up to the to well let me ask you a question. you know, what's, what's been floated in a lot of the media in press. is that the infrastructure, the civil infrastructure in gaza is essentially has been infiltrated, controlled tunnels, built beneath by homos. that homos is inter go in integrated into those healthcare
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facilities when you were there and you were operating in those 3 weeks. is as a doctor performing. did you have any sense at all that how mosse was weaving in and out of that final last hospital in gaza? is there accuracy to those claims? it's uh, in fact i noticed the opposite. i saw tons of women and children. i saw pregnant women. i saw kids playing rings around the rosy in the pediatric division of and us at hospital. nothing that i saw suggested anything like that. in fact, we saw horrible stories of families losing loved ones in their homes being destroyed. and i'm looking for tense in an already crowded area and thinking about having to go further south that off. and i know uh dr. moore, i used to, i know very well has been took as that as well. and i'm sure that he can tell you the same thing that there is a decent amount of people in the guys who are looking for help or rely on help. and you know this, this sort of narrative. i think it's, uh, i think it, it's not something that spells out you don't really necessarily see it accurately
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on the ground. that's the case. and at the you are the founder. you help run the palestinian american medical association. tell us about the medical association and supplies and how you're trying to essentially envelope this crisis with aiden support for the people. you know, 1st of all, thank you for having us both set that and myself. we're happy to be here and you know what the posting in american medical association was founded in 2013. and we've been operating in regards to that in the west bank for the last 10 years. with mainly focusing on rebuilding the health care system in the west bank and the guys including, you know, providing medical supplies. and we just actually built an intervention to rebuild unit, to serve the whole population on the issue for hospitals that just became functional in july of last year. it took a little bit of difficulty and challenges even before the october 7th started. and that's important. you know,
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to ship the light on when we talk about the health care system and that's it for 17 years old blockage because it has been under extreme conditions. and people have been suffering of lack of resources by all means. you know, you talk about, you know, the bottom line of, you know, what's happening is that the, you know, 1st of all, we know that the majority of cost because have been destroyed out of maybe 35 hospitals. that service value over 31 have been destroyed, suited clinics, and in terms of outpatient clinics and outpatient services. that being destroyed, you're talking about hundreds of thousands of chronic condition patients who are unable to get medical care. we're talking about, you know, the thousands of women who are, who are pregnant and able to get the kid until the end and so forth. and i mean, you know, that of course understands, are there, you know, having said that, we have also, you know, as mission scheduled to go to in march. and we're bringing time to bring more and more people of critically needed supplies and critically needed. specialties. we
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have over 1500 volunteered healthcare professionals in the united states. what is the who's are signed up with the posting and american medical association and ready to go? hopefully, we can bring them as fast as we can. and as much as we can do to, to bring healing and hope to the promising and people. the other thing that i think is important to mention, i think, uh, you know, the doctor might have knows this very well. we're both a part of organizations trying to bring people in. we've been trying to get people in since the end since the started. and it wasn't until january, we were able to start getting these delegations, and i mean, we wanted people to be able to get in, get on the ground, see what's taking place and come back and be able to share what's happening. because as i'm sure you're aware of steve, i mean nobody's getting into to the gaza strip, but i was gonna, i was gonna ask you, i mean, i just simply wanted to ask you how you got in. how did you get in? how did you get in? how did you get out what, what does that process like? and just one other question, you know, it's so impressive to hear about the number of people who want to go in support.
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but what are the ethics of that as well? i mean, this is a war zone. so many people over 600 healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, and others have been killed. i mean, i'm just interested in that dynamic, which obviously has to be stressful for you and, and for them. yeah, i mean, you know, the w h o i think uh you, when you talk about how the security situation is so unstable, the w h o is forming these emergency medical teens and they're looking at n g o is like met global and pama to provide the volunteers because you can't just send somebody to, to a guys that you because you're not going to be able to sit, to ensure their safety or their security. you just mentioned how many people have been killed from the health care world. but everything, i mean journalist, we're talking about un agency workers. i mean all of these people are at risk. nobody is safe and gaza and everybody acknowledges this. so the w h o decided that they would take on volunteers and they would help coordinate the entry for people to get into the gaza strip and get out of it as a strip. and i'll tell you what you will be getting in through the w h o. it was
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great. it's a, it's, it's nice to have a big you, an agency being able to help you get through that border. but it is absolutely a difficult situation on the ground. i remember being at northside hospital and feeling like the f 35 was going to land on top of the hospital. every bomb that was striking in the parts of can units the hospital building would shake. we had the emergency department window break while it was there from the shrapnel that was flying through. so you know, no one is spirit and no area is safe. but i think and i, i think you know, uh dr. moore, you can definitely talk about this. but the reason you get so many volunteers is because people have been watching these events unfold for the last 4 and a half months. they have felt like they want to do something. they felt like the entire world has let the people have guys a down and it was time for us to work with our hands and get in there. and i think, you know, i think dr. might, can definitely speak to how people are feeling here to the diet, in terms of the palestinian diaspora. why let me ask you a question? i don't ask this slightly. it's a, it's one of those questions that i, i, uh,
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i hesitate to ask honestly, but you know, is real, this really miller, teresa is it is at war with, from us. do you feel that is real? is it work with just how much is israel at war with something larger? is the number to speak the tools, you know when you talk about the hosp, because the number of hospitals that are being destroyed. and like i said, 30 or 31 in hospice of 35 primary candle, outpatient facility, 125 healthcare facilities targeted and damaged 124 ambulance is 340 medical personnel is between, you know, those who are killed, those who have been detained by his radio thursdays and it's hard to believe that this is only targeted, you know, against a specific uh, a group of people and palestine. i mean, in addition, we all know the number of children that have been killed and the number of women that have been also okay. then we also know the suffering of all those patients
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with the chronic conditions. so it's very hard to believe that this is, you know, award against a specific group of people in palestine and you know, the suffering the, extends beyond a specific group. and we know it's touching the life of liberty, palestinian, both in the west bank and gaza. from our standpoint, it has people in the american period. what we try to do is try to focus on the humanitarian aspect of this and provide the object they needed medical supplies that human being, deserves with these conditions and beyond who is stopping a getting in. what is the geo political reality that that is stopping the aid from getting in from your perspective, both having been on the ground, but also someone organizing externally significant support resources and, and, and human personnel to get in. doctor keeps on it, you know, in the united states here, from the beginning of the crisis, we started the medical supply campaign. we have a warehouse here in chicago,
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and we weren't able to collect, you know, 2 containers worth of equipment. maybe the worth of hundreds of thousands of dollars, medical supplies mostly dispose of the medical supplies. and we also had another warehouse in kansas. we weren't able to ship one can seen or so far as what we have here. and again, it's all because of the extreme complexity of the logistics of lot who is that receiving and where are the supplies going to go? and it doesn't look like you said, it is what it does, not peasy. that's again talking about what we can bring from the united states to the people who needed the most and goods that to the hospitals. now, speaking also in egypt, we wouldn't be able through, you know, collaboration with other organizations to bring some, you know, basic food supplies or tends to host the people who are displays. right? and again, the flow is very limited and the procedure is very complex through bringing stuff through the border. so i think the part of intake, which is that i thought border,
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you know, 1st of all the 1st of all it is control you know, by, in gibson government. and 2nd of all, it is controlled by that. how much or how, what is the capacity of the border that can bring in? and that, of course, you have to go through with the procedure of inspecting and making sure you know what is being brought right? is, you know, mean, so it is a very complex process and the same thing applies actually to bringing you medical teams. it's a pretty complex process the day before as a lot of work and preparation. when we did a show recently, we had a show recently with folks who are very knowledge about and right and under a situation providing support and that that roster area of the population as well as from 300000 people to one and a half 1000000. now, so that the scale of need in volume, but dr. off, but i would like to get your sense of what you think from your experience is impeding the delivery of the supplies that so many say they're trying to give bond . this is that like who's getting in the way?
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yeah, i mean look before october 7th, we know 500 trucks of 8 or is getting into the guys a strip every single day after october 7th, we know that number went down to 0 and now we're at a plateau, a between 80 and a 100 trucks entering every single day, why are we not at 500? where's the bottom mac? and if you ask the people that are all involved in this process, they're all blaming each other. and my conclusion is that everybody is to blame the chips and government to the israeli government, the united states government, there needs to be the will to bring in more aid. and if you talk to the heads of these n g o's underground, they're saying we need around a 1000 trucks a day. keep in mind, since october 7th, not a no fuel has entered into the gaza strip. and i can tell you that why that's a public health disaster, we need the fuel, the power, the generators to keep the light finding the hospital. so what's happening at the junction border and buffer is no short of people, not having the motivation to increase the abs entering into the gaza strip. why?
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that's the case. i don't have an answer because we're dealing with the worst humanitarian crisis since world war 2. and i'll tell you something as well just because there are trucks getting in, there are still severe restrictions. i'll give you one example. when i was that and most of hospital there was a young man who's john had been shattered after he was hit by a drone, his job had been shattered. it's very simple to fix this. actually, you just need a metal plate. you put it in the job, he'll, he'll, he'll do bit, he'll do fine. he had to sit there with his shadow job, unable to drink any water, any food, because no metal medical parts are allowed to enter through this border. now is that reality doesn't change. you can bring in a 1000 trucks, but if you're still restricting the items on those trucks, we're still going to be dealing with a very desperate situation. that truck one. what would you tell doctors who wants to volunteer or nurses, or other health care professionals who want to go to god? so what council would you give them? i mean, i think it's important to talk to our colleagues on the ground there and figure out what they need. that's hard because telecommunications,
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it's so often blacked out while i was there, there was a telecommunications back out of 8 days. so physicians going to communicate with each other, hospitals couldn't communicate with each other. so it was a major issue. but it's important to figure out how we can support the local health care workers who have been working nonstop since the beginning of this war, who are not being paid while working. 24 hour shift. what do they need? they are incredible conditions. i'm telling you, steve, these are some of the best doctors i've ever been around. i mean, they are just so amazing. they don't, they're doing a lot with a little. how can we help them? what can we do? and then when you come back, if you're able to make it out of guys, okay. once you come back, your job doesn't stop. that's when it becomes even more important. you need to start advocating for their relief for their protection, for humanitarian aid entry. and most importantly, we need a ceasefire now, i mean, it doesn't matter how much age you're bringing in. if they're still f $35.00, spying over the skies of the gaza strip. we're still going to be in trouble. we're not going to be able to stop the bleeding. why? when you see hospitals, when you see doctors without borders targeted,
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it's just what does it say. you need a game. it sees that the risk of, of going or being and look as a is a huge and it says that no one is safe. and what does that this bruton war is not paid in any life, no matter who you are. and no matter what you do, even if you are a doctor, even if you are charged, even if you are american, no matter who you are and what you are doing and guys that you are a potential target and that is there. everything said that, you know, we have a, an extensive process for the physicians who volunteer in terms of, you know, making sure they understand the risks involved. we also have these aster training courses that they have to take before they go. we have to make sure they get the vaccines that they need and they understand the complexity of the situation there. and we have to check on them on a daily basis. you know, having said that, i have to tell you from my private experience, visit being and because in 2022 and from what i hear from the people who go there,
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you know, the people in the hospital, the doctors, even the, you know, the, the, the regular people who are stationed at the hospital, they wouldn't do the best they can do to protect the doctors and to protect the physician. so we'll go there, they would put their life because they understand and appreciate that what, what is being done for somebody to volunteer and to decide to go to guys a doing this condition. it always speaks of there's some flexibility that is appreciated by the people of guys a, an ever human, the darian organization in the world. and we won't continue to do this for as much as we can. well, let me just ask you about the echo the point, sorry, i just wanted to say like the, when you go there and you're speaking to these physicians and you're letting them know you came from the states. it's also a signal that despite whatever the policies may be, that there are people who aren't standing in solidarity, you will understand and they want you to support you in whatever way you can. so the one thing that i want to bring up a point that you brought up is in regards to the military is claiming they are at war with somebody or whatever it's taking place. and i think doctor might have made
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a strong point that the numbers speak for themselves. i mean, when you talk about 70 percent of the civilian infrastructure is destroyed, more than half of the hospitals are totally non functional. they've been damaged. the universities have been destroyed. the only medical school campus has been destroyed. you can say you're at war with anybody that you want to say. but when you look at the fact that the ground doing a good job at what your objective is, it's not working out very well. and there's an incredible amount of human suffering and loss that's taking place. and so, you know, i think that, you know, making that point about, just look at the data of the numbers, the facts on the ground. it speaks volumes. and it's really concerning right now gentlemen. i ask you both, we're either at a cross roads where there is no end in sight. and what we see the horde of keeps going on for for a very long time. or maybe there's a deal, a short term deal or mid term deal. there's a ceasefire, there's some ability to get to a different equilibrium. i don't know at the time of our talking right now, which of these past will be on the question i have for both of you is,
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are you prepared in your own contribution? and we're thinking about this, how, how far will you go, how long do you see this going and your commitment to what's evolving there entity reply to provide relief and support to the people of god at dr. hoffman. i mean, we're going to stop at nothing to try to provide the support for the people of guy . so because they didn't, they deserve our support in the situation that they've been placed. and it's horrendous. i mean, right now we're going to be advocating, day and night for a cease fire immediately, as well as humanitarian aid entering as well as hostages being released. we want people to stop suffering, we want the bleeding to stop. we want to be able to start rebuilding this a very devastated and desert and destroyed small strip of land called the gaza strip. and so, you know, this idea of there may be this operation that's going to take place in dropbox and you mentioned how many people are crammed into the office right now. more than a 1000000 and a half. this idea that of this work and continues of 2025. it's unacceptable. and we're not going to stand for and we're going to work 24 hours around the clock to
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make sure that the children. and because the, especially the north of guys are who are sorting through animal feed to eat right now, that we can get them some proper meals, some proper care, some of the attrition. we want to make sure that the pregnant women who are being kicked out of hospitals for hours after having a c section can actually have a proper space on prenatal and postnatal care. so this is of paramount importance and we're not going to accept this continuing any longer. dr. keith and i last word or yeah, the, you know, i think it again the bottom line of all of this and what's, what's gonna stop or where are we gonna stop? i don't think we're gonna stop as an organization, as uplifting an organization would have been committed to supporting in the health care in poster. and we're not going to stop for any reason. and what we need really isn't immediate unconditioned in a humanitarian ceasefire. and to allow unconditional medical supplies and human opinion, a doing starting to visit. and we also need to immediately start doing efforts to rebuild the health care system because that, and save the southern and go innocent women and children. and that's,
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that's the bottom line of, of, of what we're doing and what we will continue to do. dr. fire off model, recent volunteer at nasa hospital in con eunice and dr. and why i keep that co founder of the palace. they need an american medical association. thank you so much for sharing your perspectives with us. thank you. thank you for having us. so what's the bottom line in the gaza strip? it seems of us really are working along 2 tracks. the fast track is the bombing and drone attacks, which have killed and maimed, a 100000 palestinians in the past 5 months with no end in sight. but there's another track, the slower track to make gaza unlivable. so that means destroying schools. home is mosque. bakeries, power and water supplies, roads just about everything. and it means blocking food in medicine to the entire population of 2300000 people. if israel gets his way, disease and starvation will do what armies can't on a massive scale for now, as long as the work goes on, it feels like we're all stuck here watching
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a horror movie with a big difference that most people have shelter, medicine, food, and water within reach, while the people have gaza, just don't. and that's the bottom line, the, the latest news as it breaks. and i think it's very blue case. the used to be able to face up to 37 kilometers out to the scene, but not anymore. from the hall. so the story, this is how this experience is waiting for the 3 of your patients, paula to tax the legal supplements and then grab with detailed coverage. the 1st situation in the global group is worsening. at least half of the population already starving. the because of the war and you praise, run deep, but the devastation of the country's precious eco systems may take the longest to hear people and power documents,
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the environmental impacts of the fight to and follows ukrainian war prize investigators as they collect evidence of what they described as eco site, ukraine, ground 0 on the jersey to diverse nature color and meaning with these really made it to your patient front and center. nothing about this. exemption is traditional or permanent or dis, work place next to younger artists. it's a reminder that there is one unders way the bombardment i think that's something they refuse to die and substantive it. it seems like quite an opening submission only to be closed after the war. and as it drags on menu on these paintings, maybe the survival of causes are the
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the
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israeli forces gone down, palestinians waiting in line for desperately needed aid supplies. over a 100 people are killed. this outrageous, you know, a massive is a testimony to the fact that as long as the security concept is better lies from vito's, cost is then it is costing the palestinian people deadlines. the world reacts to the massacre, the palestinian and bassett, or asks with un security council to finally call for.

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