12/14/23 12/14/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the biden administration keeps insisting they care about palestinian lives. if that was true, they were close this to get of lethal weapons to israel instead of circumventing us assist to rush them through. i think we need to end this charade this is just an israeli war and the u.s. is a hapless

observer israel. this is a u.s. israel-i joint operation and that's what we should call it. and because u.s. is becoming increasingly isolated as it poses calls for a gaza cease-fire while sending more munitions to israel. we will speak to investigative journalist jeremy scahill at the intercept. plus, we look at israel's war on journalists. >> investigating the killing of our colleague which determined an israeli tank inside israeli territory fired two israeli made shells at a group of clearly identified journalists and southern lebanon in an attack that international law says could constitute a war crime. amy: we will speak to the reuters bureau chief for lebanon who investigated the killing of her colleague issam abdallah. and we will go to the campus of haverford college to speak with

kinnan abdalhamid, one of the three palestinian students who was shot over thanksgiving weekend in burlington, vermont. we will also speak with the haverford student organizer who participated in a recent campus sit-in in support of a gaza ceasefire. she is the granddaughter of a holocaust survivor. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the palestinian ministry of health reports israeli attacks on gaza have killed 200 palestinians in the past 24 hours. among the dead are at least 20 people killed in overnight air raids on rafah near the southern border with egypt, where nearly half of gaza's population of 2.3 million is sheltering from israel's unrelenting bombardment. their misery was compounded wednesday as the area was hit with heavy rains and cold winds.

these are palestinians forced to live in a tent city in southern gaza, which israel designated as a so-called safe zone. >> children sleep in the tents and the adults have no choice but to sleep on the streets. there's no food or water. the situation is dire. no senator conditions or toilets. >> i have four children with gastrointestinal diseases. my youngest son has a cold but we don't have any medicine. i've never felt as helpless and miserable in my life as i do now. amy: the united nations warns gaza faces a public health disaster. the u.n. meditating coordinator for the territory. >> we have a textbook formula for epidemic and a public health disaster. this is in part because these shelters have long ago exceeded

their full capacity with people lining up for hours just to get to a toilet most of one toilet available for hundreds of people. you can imagine what the sanitation conditions are like as a result. amy: the world health organization says there have been 360,000 cases of infectious diseases recorded in gaza's shelters. that includes meningitis, jaundice, chicken pox, lice, scabies, upper respiratory tract infections, and diarrhea -- a leading cause of death for young children. the world food programme says 83% of households in southern gaza are going hungry. in the north, that figure is 97%. in the occupied west bank, israel's military has killed at least 11 palestinians since tuesday as it carries out its most intense raids since hamas's surprise attack on october 7. on wednesday, israeli soldiers raided the freedom theatre in jenin, a cultural center whose mission is to fight for palestinian justice, equality, and self-determination.

two of the theatre's producers, ahmed tobasi and mustafa sheta, were reportedly taken away by israeli troops. british foreign secretary david cameron says the united kingdom will deny visas to israeli settlers who've committed violence against palestinians in the occupied west bank. the u.s. recently announced similar visa restrictions. this comes as the biden administration delayed the planned sale of 27,000 u.s.-made m16 rifles to israel over concerns they could be used in attacks by west bank settlers. israel's far right national security minister itamar ben-gvir ordered police not to arrest israelis who commit violence in the west bank, where more than 280 palestinians have been killed since october 7. meanwhile, "the washington post" has confirmed that israel used u.s.-supplied white phosphorus in attacks on southern lebanon. white phosphorus poses a high

risk of excruciating burns and lifelong suffering and its use as an incendiary weapon in civilian areas is a war crime, which under u.s. law should have implications for future military aid to israel. "the washington post" investigation found white phosphorus attacks left at least four people hospitalized and forced the evacuation of the town of dheira in southern lebanon. in washington, d.c., state department spokesperson matthew miller addressed the reports. >> any time we provide items like white phosphorus or anything to another military we do so with the expectation will be used for legitimate purposes and in full keeping with international humanitarian law and law of armed conflict. we are looking for additional information. amy: vermont senator bernie sanders has urged president biden to end unconditional assistance to israel's military, saying the united states was complicit in a mass atrocity in gaza. in a letter to the white house,

sanders urged biden to slash his request for u.s. military aid to israel by more than $10 billion. he wrote -- "israel's military campaign will be remembered among some of the darkest chapters of our modern history. and it is being done with bombs and equipment produced and provided by the united states and heavily subsidized by american taxpayers." bernie sanders comments came as the senate wednesday approved a record $886 billion military spending bill with bipartisan support. the house is expected to pass the bill as soon as today. meanwhile, al jazeera has obtained a letter signed by 139 staffers at the homeland security department denouncing alejandro mayorkas and other top officials' response to israel's war on gaza. the letter, dated november 22, reads -- "dhs leadership has seemingly turned a blind eye to the bombing of refugee camps, hospitals, ambulances, and civilians."

russia launched a barrage of drone attacks on southern ukraine overnight, wounding at least 11 people, including three children, and damaging damaging port infrastructure in the odesa region, as well as the danube river close to the romanian border. the attacks came as russia's military said russian air defenses shot down nine ukrainian drones headed towards moscow just hours ahead of the start of an you're a news conference by vladimir putin. prime minister viktor orban has arrived at a european union summit in brussels where he has promised to block ukraine's bid to join the eu, as well as a deal to send an additional $54 billion worth of aid to ukraine. in the united states, the supreme court has agreed to hear a case on the abortion pill

mifepristone, the most widely used method of abortion in the united states. in august, the 5th circuit court sided with a right-wing texas judge who argued the fda improperly eased regulations on the pill to make it more accessible and that it should only be used up to seven weeks into a pregnancy and only issued in person. the biden administration said the ruling "threatens to undermine the fda's scientific independent judgment and would reimpose outdated restrictions on access to safe and effective abortion medication." for now, mifepristone remains available through telemedicine, mail delivery, and via pharmacies pending the supreme court's decision, which is expected by the end of june next year. the supreme court has agreed to hear a challenge to the felony obstruction statute that's been used by the justice department to charge over 300 people in connection with the january 6 capitol insurrection, including donald trump. the court's decision could invalidate convictions against those involved in the insurrection and hamper special counsel jack smith's case

against trump. separately, justices are considering the special counsel's request to expedite consideration of trump's claim of presidential immunity. in related news, cnn has published recordings of former trump attorney kenneth chesebro revealing trump was told about the fake electors scheme to keep him in office and informed by lawyer jim troupis that he had lost the state of wisconsin. the revelations come as part of interviews with michigan state prosecutors. >> personally told president there was zero hope in wisconsin. [indiscernible] there was a conscious effort to deflect from any possibility he could co-opt the election. amy: kenneth chesebro, who has been dubbed the architect of the false electors plot, is cooperating with investigations in michigan, wisconsin, arizona, and nevada. in october, he pleaded guilty in georgia's sweeping election

subversion case. house republicans approved a resolution authorizing an impeachment inquiry into president biden. republicans accuse biden of abusing his position to advance his family's business interests. a probe into the allegations has not returned any evidence. democratic congress member jamie raskin, ranking member of the house committee on oversight and accountability, said -- "everyone knows that the floundering biden impeachment probe is designed to give donald trump something to say when it's pointed out he has been twice impeached and is a proven fraudster, sexual assailant, and defamer of women who now faces 91 felony charges in federal and state court." this comes as hunter biden made rare public comments wednesday. the president's son defied a subpoena from house republicans and instead spoke to press in front of the capitol. >> first six years, i have been the target of the unrelenting trump attack machine shouting "where's hunter?"

here is my answer. i am here. let me state as clearly as i can , my father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member, not my partnership with the chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home nor abroad. and certainly not as an artist. amy: republicans said they would move to hold hunter biden in contempt for defying their summons. he says he will testify publicly but not privately. and tesla has recalled software from nearly all of its 2 million vehicles on u.s. roads after regulators found the electric car manufacturer failed to ensure that drivers remain attentive while using autopilot, a system that can drive autonomously. this follows a series of accidents involving self-driving teslas, some of them fatal. meanwhile, in sweden, garbage has begun piling up at tesla's workshops after a major transport workers' union said it would stop collecting waste in

support of swedish mechanics who've been on strike since october to protest the anti-union policies of tesla and its billionaire ceo elon musk. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. human rights watch and amnesty international are calling for israel to be investigated for committee war crimes for targeting journalists. the groups have both called for an official investigation into an october 13 israeli tank strike that killed reuters journalist issam abdallah while he was reporting in southern lebanon with a group of six other journalists. one of the journalists who survived the attack, christina assi of agence france press, had to have her leg amputated. she is to hospitalize. human rights watch said it "found no evidence of a military target near the journalists' location." reuters also conducted its own

investigation and concluded issam abdallah was killed by an israeli tank shell. this is an excerpt from a short video report produced by agency france press. it includes interviews with afp reporters christina assi and dylan collins. >> issam abdallah was killed on friday, october 13, when a shell hit him. >> six other journalists are wounded. among them, casino assi -- christina assi. >> i saw christina on the ground and i immediately ran to her and we were hit a second time.

>> there is no way they did not know we were press. amy: that was afp reporter christina assi, who lost her leg after being hit by an israeli tank shell on october 13 in the same attack that killed reuters journalist issam abdallah. and this is an excerpt from a video made by amnesty international documenting how it determined that issam abdallah was killed by an israeli tank shell. >> in many cases when we work and conflicts, the weapon can directly lead us to perpetrators. this is the key piece of evidence. my colleague, who is our weapons analyst, knew immediately what this weapon is. it was a 120 millimeter attack rounds, and that confirmed it was the israeli letter that

fired on the journalists because hezbollah and armed groups in south lebanon do not use those kind of weapons. one portly, we did identify this weapon before being used by the israeli forces in the context of different strikes of gaza. so this is at least the third time where we are able to link this type of weapon with the israeli forces. amy: an excerpt of a video by amnesty international. we are joined now by maya gebeily. she is the reuters bureau chief for lebanon. she co-wrote the new reuters special report "israeli tank fire killed reuters journalist issam abdallah in lebanon." maya, welcome to democracy now! our condolences to you and your colleagues on the loss of issam. if you can talk about what exactly you found? talk about that day as we just are these other reporters who survived the attack, one having lost her leg. >> thank you for having me.

the loss is when we feel every single day. that day, sadly, it was friday the 13th and issam have been covering israeli shelling for two days. he was a very seasoned journalist. as you have reported yourself, he did everything right, along with a colleague with whom he was on that table step they were wearing press helmets and vests. they were in an open area which they clearly be identified by the israeli committee around them. they could be identified as press. as the sun was setting, that

team of journalists, seven in total on the hilltop, were hit twice, 37 seconds apart. first by an israeli tank shell that hit issam and 37 seconds later by another tank shell that hit the vehicle that have been driven by the two al jazeera journalists that were also going live from that location. the experts we spoke to in our investigation after presenting them the evidence we gathered, noting there were two strikes in quick succession at a team of journalists that could be clearly identified that warrant calling this a violation of international humanitarian law and possibly a war crime. amy: talk about this. you have al jazeera, af the reuters. issam had set up like an hour before. people over the world were

watching. i spoke to another journalist who said he was watching and suddenly trying to figure out what had taken place. in a sense he filmed his own death, issam. >> yes, and i think that is the ultimate -- he was bearing witness to everything happening in southern lebanon. he himself is from southern lebanon. it is a testament to the power of his work and job that it was him and other journalists there in the air that provided such an important piece of evidence for us as we were investigating exactly what happened. in the immediate aftermath, we were gathering the footage from journalists who were there and what issam had filmed on his camera and phone and you document it such important evidence taking place that day.

amy: can you talk about the tank shell, the two tank shells that injured and killed the journalists and how you were able to identify that? we just heard clips from amnesty and afp. and how precise they were opposed to a dumb bomb that is being used for example in gaza in half the cases? >> what we did in the immediate aftermath -- the attack was on friday. by sunday, we were trying to gain access to the site where isssam was killed. there was ongoing shelling so it was difficult for us to go in and collect evidence but we were able to get to the site. essentially, just picking up what we thought could be shrapnel so it could be tested. later on, we obtained the biggest piece of evidence, a tail fin, and these were taken

to an lab in the hague get other analysts looking at them to identify the features of the shrapnel to tell us what it might be. the lab was able to tested from a chemical perspective. these independent analytical processes came to the same conclusion which is this is an israeli-made tank. made by an israeli weapons manufacturer. it was fired from weapons from the tank. that is the conclusive evidence. in addition to the geolocation of the exact firing location from where these shells were fired that could allow us to conclusively say this was an israeli tank using an israeli weapon system, fired from an israeli location. amy: what about the drones?

reporter say there wasn't gunfire, they were not caught in crossfire at that point. it was quiet. that there were drones -- they were all wearing their press gear. you could see p.r.e.s.s. talk about the level of israeli surveillance. >> it is an important point and not one that should be overlooked. these journalists did everything right. in the interviews that were conducted with their own teams -- a video journalist and photographer also wounded. they say they chose that location not just because we had a clear view of the border area, which we wanted to be filming, but because there were different positions along the border that had a clear view of us. so nobody could accuse us of doing something -- hiding behind

a line of trees or anything like that. we were clearly visible. that was one of the key reasons they chose that location. that is the kind of 360 on the ground. but in all of the footage reviewed and the eyewitness statements gathered from that day, everybody could mention and remember hearing the sound of israeli surveillance drones overhead. that sound has not left southern lebanon over the past two months. there have been brief respites but the residents are very accustomed to hearing that sound come hearing the sound of surveillance drones above. that tells us israel had such a clear view of the journalists from the air or different surveillance points they have along the border. it's a long distance they can see quite clearly through the scope, i believe up to nine kilometers.

those journalists were about 1.3 kilometers from the border, clearly in the visible range. amy: they had such a view of the area in three directions. this is a controversial question. do you think israel did not want them there? what have they said? right afterwards when there was tremendous outcry, they said they would look into it. they said they were sorry it happened. they did not take responsibility was to what about now that the reuters report is out? the amnesty report is out? the afp report is out? >> from the first mama, from october 13, we thought more details and more information from the israeli latour. reporters have gone back and asked them for more information about what happened that day. did you targeting? what were they suspected of doing? what was the reasoning?

we have gotten little information. they have told us they do not target journalists. we have gotten nowhere else beyond that. they repeatedly have said this is a conflict area, crossfire happens all the time, it is very dangerous. i think it is important to remember these journalists were not embedded with armed actors. they were very far away, as amnesty has meticulously laid out in its report, very far away from any crossfire. it is not like they were caught between two sides shooting at each other. it was a very quiet day and they were filming from a distance. it is important to note also after our investigation was published, a reuters editor escalated her calls to israel. not just to carry out an

investigation, but a criminal investigation and determine who was responsible for those two strikes. that goes to show there something criminal. amy: according to the committee to protect journalists, 63 journalists and media workers have been killed since october 7, including 56 palestinians, four israeli, three lebanese journalists. the death toll is put higher sing 86 palestinian media workers have been killed in gaza since october 7 hamas attack. the committee to protect journalists is no other war has taken so many journalist lives in such a short time span, this according to see pj data that is been gathered since 1992. your final comments? as we wrap up, you did not just to investigation of people you did not know, you knew issam abdallah well. this is a close-knit community. it goes beyond reuters.

journalists dealing with us all of the world, how many journalists are dying right now in gaza and southern lebanon. what do you want us to remember about issam? >> issam was someone who did everything with a lot of passion and integrity. as they were carrying out this investigation, i was trying to do it in the same way. to leave no stone unturned. to do this as right as we possibly could and go as far as possibly can. journalists were so moved learning about him and the way he did his job, the care with which he approached every subject. he treated everyone with such humanity and love. he was a model for us in the bureau. even people who have been journalists longer than him and

people just starting out. teach everyone who was in the office how to look for story, how to do a story justice. i think that is something -- we are all trying to carry that with this every single day as we pick up the pieces in the office and keep covering what continues to be an active and bloody conflict around the region. amy: i encourage people to go to our interview with a dear friend of issam in lebanon, works for vice news. maya gebeily, thank you for being with us reuters bureau , chief for lebanon. cowrote the reuters special report "israeli tank fire killed reuters journalist issam abdallah in lebanon." coming up, investigative journalist jeremy scahill of the intercept and what he describes as the joint-u.s.-israel military and we will speak with one of the three palestinian students. this one who attends haverford college, and talk about what is

happening on campus and that night, thanksgiving, when he and his two dear friends from ramallah were shot in vermont. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the united states is becoming increasingly isolated as it continues to pose calls for a gaza cease-fire will sending more munitions to israel. tuesday, the u.s. was one of just 10 nations to vote against a united nations general assembly resolution calling for a cease-fire. that boat came four days after the u.s. vetoed the u.n. security council resolution for a cease-fire. this comes as the biden administration has bypassed congress to approve the sale of 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition to israel come the sale valued at more than $106 million. we're joined now by investigative journalist jeremy scahill of the intercept. his new piece is this morning

headlined "joe biden keeps repeating his false claim he saw pictures of beheaded babies." we are going to begin with your piece before that headlined "this is not a war against hamas." you write the events of the past week should obliterate any doubt the war against the palestinians of gaza is a joint u.s.-israeli operation. take it from there. >> it is no secret for many decades the u.s. has showered israel not just military and intelligence support, but crucially political and i guess you could say moral cover for the amoral, immoral activities that israel engages in as it operates its apartheid state in the west bank and its repeated attacks against the people of gaza. when we want to talk about hamas and threats that israel faces, it says it faces from gaza, we

have to understand this did not begin on october 7. yes, the events on october 7 were horrifying and the facts that exist as we know them are bad enough. to have joe biden repeatedly making comments that are based on completely fictitious photos he claims to have saw of 40 babies being beheaded, that we understand this is part of a propaganda campaign aimed at dehumanizing the population of gaza and implying very strongly -- exit, joe biden has said israel is waging a war against animals. this is part of a dehumanization campaign. joe biden has elevated some of the most obscene lies that have been told not just about palestinian people in general but even about what hamas did october 7. what we know is true is already horrifying enough, i don't know

what his motivation is to continue to say this. but about being a joint military operation, for decades the u.s. has done this. but on october 9, had the defense secretary, defense minister of israel say there is going to be -- he had ordered a complete siege of the gaza strip . he said there will be no electricity. there will be no food, fuel. everything is close. we are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly. this is a genocidal phrase from the minister of defense of the israeli armed forces october 9. at that moment, the u.s. should have hit pause immediately on any support for israel and said we want to clarify this is not going to be a war waged against us of a population. not only did the biden administration not do that, they continue to offer political cover and rushing weapons there and giving support to the most pernicious lies that israel was

telling. what we saw in the past days, on the day the united states stands alone in the world and vetoes the extraordinary session of united nations security council calling for a humanitarian to cease-fire, antony blinken and forms the pentagon and congress that he was circumventing congressional review processes to rush through 13,000 additional tank rounds that are part of a package of 45,000 rounds the u.s. is slated to get israel. while he is doing that, he is in the middle of a pr tour around the world saying the united states cares about palestinian civilians, palestinian lives, wants to make sure innocent people are not being killed. you can take the words of the administration on the one hand where they portray themselves almost kind of like a friend trying to talk tough to another friend who's doing something really wrong, and on the other

hand you can look at their actions, which is full support for a scorched campaign that has killed more than 18,000 people, 7000 of whom are children. hospitals being targeted and bombed. children being massacred. sadistic videos emerging of idf soldiers not just killing and mutilating palestinian bodies, but also creating propaganda film like we saw with the strict down prisoners. one of the famous incidents that occurred here is the israeli forces gathered together dozens of men, stripped them to their underwear, and then bizarrely filmed them laying down -- these are almost completely naked men that somehow still have guns in their hands. they filmed them putting them down. the man who was the main person they filmed placing a rifle down has been identified as a civilian, not a member of hamas.

in the video, there are edits where in one cut he has a rifle in his right hand and the other cut it is in his left hand. what is clear is israel made a totally sick and twisted propaganda video where they forced palestinian men at gunpoint to be actors in this propaganda film playing armed hamas members. the biden administration is completely complicit in this. joe biden is cosigning pernicious lies about the people of gaza. he is distorting the already devastating and horrifying facts of october 7. he is keeping the spigot of military and intelligence support open for the israelis. by the way, the recent reporting's, and the author on, the ai-fueled assassination program in israel and sometimes will kill hundreds of palestinian civilians in pursuit

of one alleged hamas member, much of the intelligence being fed to the israelis is coming from united states to be used to wage this war. this is a joint u.s. operation militarily and politically. amy: i want to go teresa white house press briefing, national security council coordinator admiral john kirby claiming the united states was doing more than any other nation to alleviate suffering in gaza. >> name me any other nation doing as much as united states to alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of gaza. you can't. name another nation that is doing more to urge the israeli counterparts to be as cautious and deliberate as they can be in the prosecution of the military operations. you can't. amy: that is john kirby. your response? >> first of all, the united states has supplied an unending quantity of gasoline for israel

to pour on the fire that it has started in gaza. it is an absolute obscenity for john kirby to stand in front of the world and make such an audacious claim that the u.s. is doing more to help the palestinians of lanes than any other nation on earth. i will give you concrete list of some nationstates that are doing more than the u.s. ireland, which has opposed this from the beginning, has rightly termed what israel is doing. the government of spain. even belgium has spoken out more forcefully than the u.s. all of the nations that voted in the general assembly for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and the united states and only none other countries voted on israel's side, of the stations are doing more than the u.s. to try to help the palestinian people. you can send samantha power on a propaganda visit to bring 36,000 pounds of aid and have all the cameras around filming her talking about it while at the same time you're giving israel

to thousand pound bombs, giving them intelligence use for the scorched-earth campaign come circumventing processes to rush new tank rounds. this is obscene that john kirby should be entirely ashamed of himself for his conduct during this entire thing. john kirby has been one of the most vicious propagandist for the worst crimes in u.s.-backed truly scorched-earth campaign and gaza. amy: i would ask about it "new york times" expose. this comes as they publish and expose headlined "'buying quiet': inside the israeli plan that propped up hamas" about israel secretly sending billions of dollars to hamas over roughly a decade. the piece begins -- "just weeks before hamas launched the deadly october 7 attacks on israel, the head of

mossad arrived in doha, qatar, for a meeting with qatari officials. for years, the qatari government had been sending millions of dollars a month into the gaza strip, money that helped prop up the hamas government there. prime minister benjamin netanyahu of israel not only tolerated those payments, he had encouraged them." and when the officials asked david barney a come the head of mossad, should we stop this? he said no. jeremy scahill, your response? >> what we know is at least going back to 2012, netanyahu has embraced the strategy that hamas should be propped up in gaza. a probably does that before that. in 2019, there is a quote where netanyahu is addressing his comments in the likud party and said, "anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a palestinian state has to support bolstering hamas and

transferring money to hamas." what is going on here? benjamin netanyahu doesn't want an israeli state and was to make sure -- amy: palestinian state. >> well, he seems to be working very hard in that regard to because he is making it less safe in the world for jewish people by his actions and if you read the israeli press, there is an increasing amount of the schism that what netanyahu is doing is going to make the citizens of israel less safe. but what netanyahu wants to do is make sure no political forces rise in gaza or elsewhere in palestine that can garner more support from the world in pursuit of being recognized as human beings, being recognized as a fully independent nation. of course he wants to keep the money flowing to hamas. it is very good for his agenda and good for both the united states and the israeli war

agenda and war industries. when we talk about groups like hamas, the other documented fact of netanyahu supporting the flow of money in the grip on power of hamas, you also have the reality that for 75 years israel has operated a murderous campaign against the palestinian people aimed at making sure they will never get an independent homeland. and when you do things as occurred in 2018 and 2019 like gunning down repeatedly nonviolent protesters participated in the weekly friday marches on the great march of return and you had a haaretz expose were idf soldiers confessed they were in a competition to see how many kneecaps that could shoot of these nonviolent protesters, when you see how palestinians are treated when they do with the world or what others say they should do -- protest nonviolently, don't take up arms -- they are gunned down by

netanyahu's forces. why was there group like hamas, the irish republican army? why would people support vicious entities like hamas? well, because they have been stripped of every possible other means of resistance by their occupiers, by seller colonialist powers. hamas why is therehamas? part of it is people like netanyahu. the other part of it is 75 years of history of constantly massacring palestinians and showing them nonviolent protests also will not be tolerated. amy: we just have a minute but i want to go to your new piece out today headlined "joe biden keeps repeating his false claim that he saw pictures of beheaded babies." i would to go to four days after october 7 when hamas attacked israel when biden was speaking

to a group of jewish community leaders. pres. biden: i have been doing this a long time. i never really thought i would see, have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children. i never thought i would ever -- anyway. amy: so that is president biden. the white house was forced to walk this back somewhat. explain what he is talking about. >> in the immediate aftermath of the hamas-let attacks october 7 when journalists -- at first it was primarily israeli journalists, which of the scene of some of the kibbutzes with the massacres had taken place, they began to hear stories from israeli soldiers that were decapitated babies and babies who were burned alive. eye-24 news we believe was one

of the first report is that it was based on what israeli soldiers had told her. that starts to spread like wildfire. cn and picks up the report. cbs did a report promoting the claim there were beheaded babies. as much more attention starts getting drawn to it, people start asking the israeli government and netanyahu's spokesperson confirms this happened. a few hours later, joe biden saying he personally has seen photographs of it stop when you u.s. reporter started reporting on this, is buying thing there is independent evidence of this, they had to say, no, joe biden and no one in the administration has seen any photos, he was just referring to the media reporting about it. now the israeli government does not make this claim at all anymore. when netanyahu has appeared alongside u.s. officials or when tony blinken has shown photos by the israeli government of the

aftermath of the horrifying scene at the kibbutz is, he is never mentioned beheaded babies. netanyahu said beheaded soldiers. what is perplexing is the established facts we already understand are horrifying enough . why would the most powerful individual in the world find the need to repeatedly -- not just once, amy. he said it in october, november, and a few days ago. he keeps saying he has seen photos and his advisers have to walk it back. "the washington post" reported before he first said it in a meeting with the staffers come they warned him against including that in the speech because they said it is not verified. what you have -- this is the one of the most incendiary charges that has been made about those raids led by hamas on october 7, beheaded babies. if you look at the actual figures that have been released by israel -- i want to be precise because it is very important. if you look at the actual

figures -- this is published in mainstream israeli news outlets. they set approximately 1200 israelis were killed october 7. 270 four were soldiers, 764 civilians, 57 police, 38 local security guards. among the civilians killed, a nine-month-old baby -- the youngest -- shot as her mother carried her. her mother survived but her father and other relatives were killed. you had a nine-month-old baby killed, 12 children between one and nine years old, and 36 children between 10 and 19 years old. where does this story of 40 beheaded babies come from? well, israel has walked back. the reporters have retracted it. only joe biden is out there in the world continuing to insist he somehow has seen photos of beheaded babies would not even benjamin netanyahu, who

absolutely would be screaming every day if it were true, isn't going that far? amy: jeremy scahill, thank you for being with us, senior reporter and correspondent at the intercept. coming up, we go to the campus of haverford college to speak with kinnan abdalhamid, what of the three palestinian students shot over thanksgiving weekend in burlington. we will also speak with the granddaughter of the holocaust survivor from a student organizer calling for a cease-fire. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: "people have the power" by patti smith. she was taken to the hospital in italy. she has also called for a gaza cease-fire. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we look now at student protests calling for a ceasefire in gaza. in one and many actions nationwide, 41 students at brown university were arrested monday at a sit-in demanding the school divest its endowment from weapons manufacturers like raytheon. the school charged the students with willful trespass within school buildings. meanwhile, students at haverford college in it a peaceful sit in at the ministry of offices. -- administrative offices.

amy: some 100 haverford students now face the threat of disciplinary action. one of the students has just returned to campus. kinnan abdalhamid is a junior who was shot to ask ago along with his friends, by a white man in burlington, vermont. all three are of palestinian descent. hisham awartani was paralyzed from the chest down after a bullet lodged in his spinal cord. he is a student at brown university. the three grew up and went to school together in ramallah in the occupied west bank. we are joined by kinnan abdalhamid at haverford college and by his fellow student ellie baron haverford college junior , and organizer with students for peace. she is the granddaughter of a holocaust survivor. we welcome you both to democracy

now! kinnan, thank you for being with us. what you and your two went through. you grew up in ramallah, went to the friends school. visiting together at thanksgiving, hisham's grandmother and uncle. tell us what happened. thank goodness you are able to go back to school having been shot yourself. talk about what you're calling for. why were you just walking -- you were going to dinner at hisham's family's house? >> we were going to go to dinner but we decided to go on a walk first. only walk back -- on the walk back. amy: explain what happened to the three of you. >> he was standing on the porch

of the house and turned around and saw an immediate leave ran down the steps of the porch, pulled out a pistol and started shooting. i was able to run and he hit me while i was running. amy: what is the latest? we talked to hisham's mother, elizabeth price, who had flown into be with her son. at the time we talked, he looked like he would be paralyzed from the chest down. do you have any latest information? he is in rehab now. >> i'm not willing to speak on his condition now. that is for him and his family. amy: talk about you coming back to haverford and what that has meant and the level of activism. we see now at brown where hisham goes to school, 41 students have been arrested.

talk about what is happening in haverford. >> >> the student activism has been astounding. it is very heartwarming to see a collective body of students stand against genocide. and the humanity and that as well as there are different faculty members here that are -- when it comes to this case. it is overwhelming to see the humanity. i am very happy it happened. hopefully, people will call for a cease-fire. amy: i want to bring ellie baron into the cover station. you are a haverford junior, granddaughter of a holocaust survivor. talk about what you're demanding at haverford. you all just finished occupying the admin offices, threatened with arrest yesterday. is that right?

>> so we occupied founders hall, which is the main administrative building. if we did not lead by yesterday morning, we were threatened with a dean's panel, which could include expulsion. we have been called for this for use -- for a cease-fire for the president to release a statement. this has precedent at haverford college. in 1969 from the president wrote a letter to president nixon and galvanize the signatures of 79 other college presidents demanding that president nixon opposed the vietnam war. so we are demanding that president raymond follow in his footsteps in this tradition of activism and using leadership in order to create change in the world, which is very much in line with our quaker values and call for a cease-fire and for our elected officials to support peace in palestine. amy: can you talk about the

accusations that when you call for cease-fire now, when you hold the palestinian flag, when you wear a keffiyeh, that you are expressing anti-semitism? talk about your own family history and how you came to the views you have, ellie. >> absolutely. anti-semitism has been something that is weaponized. we have seen anti-semitism on our campus that has de-legitimatize palestinian organizing. i frankly find accusations of anti-semitism to be horrific considering what my family went through in the holocaust. there is real anti-semitism out there. there are real threats to jewish people. these threats have been experienced by my family, so many members of my family died in the holocaust. it is horrifying that claims of

anti-semitism are being attributed to criticism of israel. and that do legitimatize his anti-semitism -- sorry, do legitimatize his actual threats jewish people and actual anti-semitism in this world. amy: today a rally is being held as we speak at haverford? >> the rally was yesterday. we had the rally to conclude our sit-in in the administrative building. the calls for haverford college and so many other higher education institutions to take action and to leverage their power for change in the world. and in order to have a cease-fire have not ended. just because the sit-in has ended, hundreds of students yesterday call for haverford college to create change and to call for a cease-fire and

leverage their power. amy: kinnan, he started about how move you are by the haverford protest. what you want to see happen at haverford? you also just spoke at bryn mawr, another college nearby. >> yes, they are linked together. if there was a final message i would like to say, it is to dismantle the we know better mentality of a lot of people have interacted with. it is important for both sides to have an open mind and to engage with students and faculty . they are not misinformed, they know what they're talking about. palestinians in their own rights are experts about the history of

atrocities they have seen and endured in their lifetime and what has led up to the events of october 7. it is important to underscore that. a lot of people who were born and raised here, god bless them, simply don't know as much and should engage with an open mind and learn more before stifling this regarding the palestine conflict, especially palestinians who are out crying for a cease-fire were dealing with their people being exterminated. amy: i want to thank you so much for doing this interview with us. kinnan abdalhamid, shot thanksgiving we can with his two friends tasheen and hisham awartani with this point is paralyzed from the chest down. you can go to democracynow.org and see our interview with hisham's mother elizabeth price. i also want to thank ellie baron , a junior at haverford,

involved with calling for a cease-fire. that does it for our show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]