12/20/23 12/20/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the scope of death and destruction in gaza has been unprecedented and unbearable to witness. amy: israel has killed at least 46 palestinians in the jabalia

refugee cap in gaza, but hope is growing for a new ceasefire. the head of hamas's political wing is in egypt for talks as the u.n. security council prepares to vote on a new gaza resolution. we will speak to columbia university professor rashid khalidi, author of "the hundred years' war on palestine." then we will look at how a group of palestinians christians are trapped in a holy family church in gaza where a mother and daughter, parishioners, were shot dead this weekend by an israeli sniper. >> the people in the church or civilians. they have nothing to do with hamas. they are a small christian community. as the pope has said and my family can confirm, it is untrue that hamas is operating there. amy: and then we will go to texas, where republican governor greg abbott has signed one of the nation's most extreme anti-immigrant bills. it empowers local officials to

arrest anyone they suspect to have entered into the united states without authorization. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. hamas leader ismail haniyeh is in egypt to discuss a possible new truce. "the wall street journal" reports hamas is also in discussion with palestinian rivals fatah about a possible joint scenario for ruling for gaza and the west bank after the war. on tuesday, israeli president isaac herzog said the country is open to a new temporary truce to secure the release of more hostages. for now, israel's bloody assault continues with a major attack reported just as we went to broadcast on rafah, near the kuwaiti hospital. on tuesday, more strikes in rafah killed at least 20 people.

a woman lost two of her grandchildren in the attack. >> at 2:30 in the morning, we woke up as the house was falling on our head. i did not wake up when the young men came to pull us out of the rubble. i have two grandchildren that were martyred. her name was not recorded most of she does not have a birth certificate. meaning her identity has been unknown since the day she was born. she does not have it, a birth certificate. her brother was two years old. amy: elsewhere, the health ministry says dozens we killed in the jabalia refugee camp in northern gaza. many others remain trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings. the foreign press association in jerusalem filed a petition with the israeli supreme court to request immediate access for foreign media to enter the gaza strip. the israeli military has restricted much of the territory to foreign outlets and required journalists embed with its forces and receive israeli

approval on their reporting. the committee to protect journalists says at least 68 media workers have been killed since october 7. meanwhile, a u.n. security council vote on a gaza resolution that would push to halt fighting was postponed for a second time and rescheduled for today. the delay comes amid reported disagreements within the biden administration, which has been blocking or trying to water down any u.n. statements. u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin announced a 10-nation coalition to protect trading interests in the red sea after a series of attacks by yemen's houthi rebels. the coalition includes bahrain, canada, france, italy, the u.k., and the seychelles. houthi officials have said their drone and missile attacks would continue as long as gaza suffers from israel's unrelenting assault. in washington, d.c., dozens of protesters were arrested inside the u.s. capitol tuesday in a peaceful action demanding an

immediate ceasefire in gaza and an end to u.s. military aid to israel. over 80 organizers -- made up of a coalition of jewish, muslim, palestinian, labor, racial justice and immigrant rights leaders -- gathered in the capitol rotunda chanting and holding white banners, including one that read, "the people choose life. ceasefire now." among those arrested tuesday's rally is palestinian have an american community organizer linda sarsour. in a historic decision, the colorado supreme court ruled donald trump does not qualify for the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot, citing his role in the january 6, 2021 capitol insurrection. in a 4-3 ruling, the colorado justices found section 3 of the 14th amendment to the u.s. constitution applies to trump, reversing a lower court's decision. last month, a judge agreed that trump had engaged in an insurrection but said presidents are not subject to the

constitution's insurrection clause, which was originally designed to prevent civil war confederates from returning to government. trump has vowed to appeal as he used the news to launch a fresh fundraising request. the case could end up at the u.s. supreme court and set a major precedent for all other states. in related news, a judge has ordered pennsylvania congressmember scott perry to turn over some 1700 cellphone records as part of the federal january 6 probe. the senate on tuesday confirmed nearly a dozen nominations for senior military positions, putting an end to alabama senator tommy tuberville's blockade of pentagon promotions. tuberville had unsuccessfully sought to force a change on the military's policy of paying for abortion-related travel for employees. the senate, however, decided it will not vote on a new funding package for ukraine until 2024.

congress has stalled on the issue in part over republican demands any aid be tied to harsh new immigration restrictions. new air attacks hit kyiv and other regions of ukraine overnight though no casualties were reported. meanwhile, the u.n. on tuesday condemned russian violations of international law and war crimes in occupied areas of ukraine, including 142 documented cases of civilian executions. this is u.n. human rights chief volker türk. >> unoccupied territory, we have documented widespread torture and ill-treatment of detainees, including sexual violence as well as large numbers of forced disappearances. in addition, there has been extensive failure by the russian federation to take adequate measures to protect civilians and civilian objects against the effects of their attacks. amy: sudan's rapid support forces have seized the city of wad madani, once a refuge for

hundreds of thousands of people escaping violence in the capital. thousands have fled their homes on buses and foot as fighting between the sudanese army and rsf intensified. the rsf's takeover of wad madani has marked a new turn in sudan's eight-month-old conflict that broke out in april. the u.n. has warned hunger in sudan's conflict zones is headed toward famine-like conditions, while nearly 7 million people have been internally displaced or forced to flee sudan. in the democratic republic of the congo, nationwide polls for president and local leaders have opened after a three-hour delay. in eastern drc, voters and observers complained of poorly organized election sites and missing names from voting rolls. >> there were quite a few people who did not end up on the list. people are wondering how they're going to vote if they can't find their way around. amy: ongoing violence in the

war-torn east has displaced millions and prevented an estimated 1.5 million people from registering to vote. incumbent president felix tshisekedi is seeking a second five-year term and is running in a packed field of nearly 20 hopefuls. other candidates include moïse katumbi, a former governor and mining magnate, former oil executive martin fayulu, and nobel peace prize-winner dr. denis mukwege. mukwege's panzi hospital has treated tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence from armed groups. the drc is home to massive reserves of natural resources, including cobalt, which is used to make lithium batteries for cellphones and other electronic devices. lithium is considered essential amid the transition away from fossil fuels. but congolese people have not benefited from the prized mineral. insecurity, poverty, corruption, and the management of resources are key issues in the election. in related news, the u.n. security council voted unanimously tuesday to gradually phase out its 14,000

peacekeeping troops in the drc. congolese authorities and local communities have called for their withdrawal, saying the international force failed to prevent escalating violence. bolivia has signed a multi-million-dollar deal with a russian firm to build a pilot lithium plant that would produce parts for electric vehicles. this is bolivian president luis arce. >> we want our bolivian lithium company to compete with foreign technology and companies that have come to bolivia to work with our lithium. we want that competition because we are the world's top lithium reserve. amy: bolivia has the largest lithium deposits in the world drawing interest from foreign powers. earlier this year, bolivia's state company ylb also signed an agreement with china. but many have opposed lithium exploitation of fears it could lead to displacement and impoverishment largely of indigenous communities in the andes.

there's also warning it places domains on freshwater. back in the u.s., new york governor kathy hochul signed a bill creating a commission to consider reparations for black new yorkers who have endured the ongoing legacy of slavery and racism. it's the third state to launch such a taskforce after california and illinois. among other things, the commission will investigate housing discrimination, policing and incarceration, and income inequality. a recent report by the new york city comptroller's office found white households in the state have a median net worth almost 15 times higher than black households. the commission could recommend monetary or other forms of compensation, though new york would not be compelled to abide by these. reverend al sharpton spoke at tuesday's signing ceremony. >> i do not know where the commission will go, but i know that history is made because there is a commission and there is a recognition. and sometimes even if you can't take away the pain and the scar,

we gain a lot by being recognized. amy: in germany, acclaimed russian-american writer masha gessen received the prestigious hannah arendt prize on saturday in an extremely scaled down ceremony. the event was supposed to take place last week in bremen's city hall, but award sponsors and the city of bremen withdrew after gessen compared gaza to the warsaw ghetto in a recent "new yorker" article. gessen, who is jewish, spoke earlier this week at another event hosted by the prize organizers. >> the biggest difference between gaza and the jewish ghettos in nazi occupied is gazans, many gazans, most gazans are still alive and the world still has an opportunity to do something about it. amy: you can see our recent interview with masha gessen at democracynow.org.

and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: the head of hamas's political wing ismail haniyeh has arrived in cairo, egypt for talks as hopes grow that a new ceasefire deal could be reached. israel's bombardment of gaza began 75 days ago on october 7, just hours after hamas' attack on israel. health authorities in gaza say at least 19,600 palestinians have been killed so far. thousands are feared to be still trapped under rubble. just before this broadcast, israel struck residential buildings in the southern city

of rafah near a hospital. a reporter from al jazeera was on the air when the attack occurred. >> are getting intel -- oh, my god. did you hear that? oh, my god! that is a hospital. that is the hospital! oh, my god! >> are you hearing that? >> yes, we are -- in ago "why?" he asks. al jazeera reports the israeli attack destroyed a large mosque in rafah as well as two residential homes.

israeli drones have been seen in the sky just before the strikes. earlier, in israeli attack on the jabalia killed 46 and wounded dozens. the united nations secure to counsel -- security council is expected to vote on a new gaza resolution today. the vote was postponed on tuesday after the united states voiced opposition to a draft. on december 8, the united states vetoed a u.n. security council resolution calling for ceasefire. this all comes as tension is growing in the red sea. u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin has announced the u.s. will lead a new military task force to protect ships in the red sea following a number of attacks by houthi forces from yemen. we are joined by rashid khalidi, the edward said professor of modern arab studies at columbia university. he's the author of several books, including his latest, "the hundred years' war on palestine."

his recent opinion piece for the los angeles times is headlined "how the u.s. has fueled israel's decades-long war on palestinians." professor, i am wondering if you can start off by just talking about the situation overall in gaza? your family is from the west bank. you also have family in gaza. i want to point out particularly named the journalist with al jazeera jany mamouhd because it is been so horrible to only name journalist after they have been killed and so many scores have died. hany's bravery is astounding as we watch him through the gaza strip and today in the midst of this attack. take it from there, professor. >> he is very fortunate he is

still alive. over 90 journalist have been killed in gaza. we are now in the 11th week of this war. 280 three health-care workers have been killed. 135 united nations workers have been killed. that is just the tip of the iceberg. you cited a number of 20,000 people earlier have apparently been killed. probably the number is much higher because there are so many buried under the rubble or are missing. we probably will not know the final death toll until many, many months from now. removing the ruins of the buildings that have been destroyed are completed. the devastation is unspeakable. what we hear from my -- i cannot describe it. it is beyond.

people are scrambling for basic necessities of life and are sometimes not finding them. fire to heat water and cook. enough water for everybody to have sufficient water to drink, let alone wash. i could go on. it is unspeakable. it is intolerable. the tragic thing about it is this is, clearly, intended. neither our government nor the israeli government recognize the fact what is happening there is causing this and is a ration of over 2 million people. -- ms. a ration of our two main people. it should be stopped. i can't understand how this country can allow this to continue. the idea that going after hamas entails the destruction of more than half the housing and gaza,

the idea going after hamas the killing of 20,000 -- it is income principal. -- income principal that our government can be so callous and determined . the basic nature of this war which is really directed against the people of gaza. over too many people have been forced to leave their homes. this is the largest displacement of palestinian history. the killing of 20,000 people, almost half of which are children. it is unprecedented. we're talking about traumatic events that are going to scar generations to come. this doesn't seem to be a matter of concern to our government, let alone the government of israel. amy: professor, we have seen massive unprecedented demonstrations in support of the

palestinians throughout the world. the majority of governments in the general assembly overwhelming majority of called for a cease-fire yet the security council continues to be a roadblock, especially the united states. can you talk about what this is doing to the legitimacy of the u.n. itself? >> i think it is harming the united nations but also the legitimacy of the united states. it is not the security council that is blocking action, it is the u.s. government. he spent the days trying to get a resolution which involves not a cease-fire but a humanitarian cause and the united states has been obstructing that. i think this is going to harm not just united nations because it is manifestly baseless in this catastrophe.

it is harming the united states. there is overwhelming support the world over for ending this. overwhelming support for the palestinians. there is -- i think polls show very strong support even in the united states for ending this war. at the very least, for stopping what is going on so humanitarian aid can get in. the administration is clearly impervious to all of this. i think the mainstream media are complicit in this. nobody knows four major trade unions have put out for a cease-fire. united auto workers, nurses, electricians, and the postal workers. "the new york times" has not mentioned that. that is a large chunk of labor. we're talking about a great deal of anger and opposition to the biden administration's policy.

they just continue on as if none of this mattered. i find it very hard to explain. juan: i wanted -- you there have been numerous media reports of attacks on u.s. troops in syria and iraq that are threatening to expand the conflict just beyond the occupied territories in gaza. what the heck are you is true still doing in those two countries? has congress authorized their presence there? to the governments of those countries even want them there? >> the government of syria, the dictatorship certainly doesn't. the pretext for them being in syria, against the islamic state. i don't think there's an authorization. the troops that are in iraq are supposedly engaged in training the army but there's a great chill of opposition in iraq.

there's a great deal of opposition in the parliament to the presence of u.s. forces. i think what we're seeing our attacks, whether from yemen on shipping or firing missiles at israel or attacks on u.s. troops in iraq or syria which are response to what israel's is doing in gaza. the same is true obviously of the fight between hezbollah and the israeli army. the fear is this will -- this could possibly expand. this could become a regional war . we are now in the 11th week of this war. so far, that fear or that possibility has been contained. but it is always there. it would lead to i think possibly terrible consequences were the war to expand beyond is already quite horrific level.

were that to spark a further increase in fighting in syria, iraq, yemen. amy: can you talk about also what is happening in the red sea? you have a dozen corporations who say they won't ship their goods through the red sea. you have u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin announcing a 10 nation coalition to protect trading interest there. houthi official say there attacks will continue as long as israel bombards gaza. >> there is enormous anger in the arab world about what is happening in gaza. things the americans don't see or don't see enough of, what is actually happening in gaza, are being watched all over the arab

world and across much of the world. the anger that people have and their frustration at the unwillingness of their governments to do more to try and stop this is probable. in saudi arabia, people can't demonstrate. you talk to anybody in any of these countries, and -- the passivity of arab governments in the face of this, their unwillingness to take action i think is contrast with hezbollah militias in iraq and syria and the houthis in yemen actually engaging militarily in doing something. i think it is time for countries to want to have to cease-fire, to begin to group together whether arab countries or european countries or countries in the global south, to group together and say there will be

x, y, z sanctions if this does not stop. at the very least, if sufficient humanitarian aid, sufficient field hospitals, if sufficient water and food and so forth are not allowed in gaza, this and this will be done to israel, which is responsible. i think there are countries that could do this, including arab countries. jordan has recalled its ambassador. that is not going to affect israel very much. stopping transportation of food from the gulf to israel would affect israel. doing things that threaten diplomatic relations would have an impact. that in and of itself is not enough, but i think a lot more has to be done. the united nations is paralyzed by the u.s. veto. 153-10, you can't have a more

lopsided vote than that. or needs to be done. this is an acceptable and unsustainable -- this is unacceptable and unsustainable. the regional conflict is always there. it is only part of the damage that is being done. whole generations are being brought up angry at the united states, enraged at israel. israel is going to have to deal with this for decades to come. the united states is going to have to deal with this for decades. we are seen as complicit. these are american artillery shells, american bombs, rockets, planes, helicopters that are being used in this war. 20,000 people have been killed, mainly with american weapons. people are not going to forget that, unfortunately. i don't see a sense of the impact of this in washington.

i really think they live in some kind of a bubble, some kind of a vacuum, some kind of space where they don't seem to understand the impact of all of this. what they're thinking and why they are thinking it is beyond me, as i've said. amy: i want to ask you, rashid khalidi, about the leader in egypt to discuss a possible new truce. "the wall street journal coastal reporting hamas is in discussions with palestinian rivals about a possible joint scenario of the ruling, the west bank and gaza afterwards, of course netanyahu is completely against this. if you could talk about the discussion of the hostage negotiations where we have seen reports of possibly more one barghouti and if you can explain his significance of a release

for a number of israeli soldiers release. talk about this that is going on right now so people can understand what is next. folks that is big. that is a large number. i think the first thing, the hostage issue. there has been a huge problem around the hostages because what hamas has been demanding up to now is essentially an offer all exchange. all of the prisoners and hostages -- some of the hostages are military and many are civilians. what they have been saying, apparently, what we can talk from press reports, is that if you want all of the hostages, gift to release all of the prisoners. -- you have to release all of the prisoners. i think that is unlikely. one of the prisoners who could therefore be released is a

senior leader who is convicted of multiple murders marwan barghouti and who might well be a kind of president food. win a majority -- who could win a majority. there are other issues. for example, the release of civilian hostages in exchange for certain number of prisoners. i have no idea where that negotiation is going. some israeli press reports indicate the israeli government is talking about progress where there hasn't been progress in order to decrease the pressure of hostage families you're demanding the release of palestinian prisoners in order to get their loved ones home. i think the broader question -- amy: especially after israel killed three of the hostages from israel. >> accidentally. yes. and many others apparent have been killed in the bombing.

released hostages have said, we were terrified for our lives because of the bombing going on. i read accounts from released hostages who talked about how the kind of danger they were in. not so much from their captors as the possibility that would be killed by the israeli bombardments. the other aspect is the political aspect. hamas has a position of palestinian politics that is not going to be eradicated no matter what israel does. if israel entirely defeats hamas , the structure, if it kills every single fighter -- these are probably unrealistic. even assuming they can do that, hamas continues to have support among palestinians. not a majority support, but a certain amount of support. if the palestinians managed to

put together a government -- everybody else is going to try to do it for them. the u.s. will try to impose its intentions on them. the israeli government will undoubtedly try to do the same. and the europeans will probably try to do it, telling them what is good for them and who they can have an not have in their government. when and if the palestinians can get their own act together and for some kind of, for example, reformed plo. there's no way to exclude hamas from that. this idea that hamas is completely excluded from palestinian governance is a fantasy. you do not negotiate with the people who have already agreed to your terms. you could not do that in ireland. he had to bring in the ira. you could not bring it -- you could not do it in nigeria. these are groups that had carried out horrific attacks

come in many cases come on civilians. these groups were described by the colonial powers of africa, ireland as terrorists or bandits . with the only people you really need to negotiate where the people -- until that fact it's through the thick schools of people in washington and paris and london, we are not going anywhere. they can select the palestinians who are acceptable to them, who meet whatever tests, get down on their knees and condemn hamas or whatever test is impose and those people represent nobody, have no credibility, no control over the situation. so you are looking, barring an acceptance yet eventually deal with your real enemies, you looking at a situation of unending israeli occupation of the gaza strip, direct or indirect. a situation which implies

unending resistance to that occupation. how many people can they kill? there eventually will be others. people who were still there. that means in imposed solution with israel continue to operate in the gaza strip, which it said it intends to do, will provoke continued resistance. so nothing will be solved. and the reconstruction and the end of the measure of the people of gaza can't take place until those kinds of changes from occupation to some kind of palestinian governance takes place. i don't see -- you read in "the washington post come cut the idea air countries are going to go in and do israel and the united states dirty work for them is offensive. it is not going to happen. there has to be palestinian governance of palestinian territories.

one way or another, that will have to involve all of the groups within the palestinian political spectrum. the palestinians have been divided, for reasons that have to do with their function, they have been divided by the invited rule of policies of the u.s., israel, and europeans. as long as i continues, this will continue and there will be violence. not only violence caused by hamas, by the horrors visited on the palestinians by 56 years of occupation, by 75 years of colonialism. the fact inevitably resist occupation. they have to come to terms sooner or later with -- in washington and israel with the fact palestinian government will be decided by palestinians. that is simply not in the mindset to read what comes out of washington or israel --

juan: we only have a couple of minutes but i wanted to ask you, you've said there is an unquestionable connection of judaism and the jewish people to the holy land and yet the israel i state is a settler colonial project step in your piece recently come you called it the assault on gaza: the last colonial war of the modern age. can you elaborate? >> sure. this goes back to the nature of zionism. zionism is a national project which distinguishes it from every other settler colonial movement, project. but at the same time, it was a self identified colonial project. the jewish colonization, agency come is the term that organization that existed until 1958 applied to itself. that was something that was accepted by early zionist

leaders. they argued they had a claim to the holy land, there is connection of the land of israel. all of this is true there is such an attachment and connection, but sign is as a european colonial project backed by prudish imperialism which intended -- british imperialism which intended to replace with jewish population. they said we want to transform palestine into the land of israel and that minute demographic transformation and that meant dispossession of the population and theft of their land. so israel is both a result of a national project, zionism, and the result of settler colonial project. you can walk and chew gum at the same time. it is unique in that it was not just an extension of a mother country's population, it had its own ambition.

it came under the protection britain, but it had it own separate, independent aims. it is unique phenomenon in the modern world. learned everything it did from the british. the israeli army's earliest leaders were trained by british colonial to shoot prisoners, to attack villages at night. this is reddish counterinsurgency -- british counterinsurgency. in order for them to help the british fighter palestinians. those are the founders of the israeli army. many of the leading figures in what became the israeli army have that training. israel is using the 1945 defense emergency regulations under which people are put in

detention, no indictment, no trial, no conviction, nothing. there just put in jail. british, 1940 five, emergency regulation. this is a colonial war fought in order to maintain the supremacy of this group which has taken the country over at the expense of the indigenous palestinian population. the connection of the jewish people to the land of israel in my view is incontrovertible, but that in and of itself does not justify the colonial methods that have been used in the establishment and maintenance of israel's supremacy over the entirety of palestine from the river to the sea. amy: rashid khalidi, the edward said professor of modern arab studies at columbia university. author of a never of books, including his latest, "the hundred years' war on palestine." we will link to your opinion piece in the l.a. times headlined "how the u.s. has fueled israel's decades-long war on palestinians."

coming up, we look at how a group of palestinian christians are trapped in the holy family church in gaza where a mother and daughter were shot dead this weekend by an israeli sniper. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: the folksinger passed away this year. the song was later quoted in speech by dr. martin luther king jr.. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. it is terrorism. those were the words of pope francis after an israeli sniper shot dead two christian women, an elderly woman and her adult daughter who tried to save her at a catholic church in gaza city on sunday. the shooting took place at the holy family latin parish were scores of palestinian christians have been trapped with little food were water. the pope condemned the shooting in remarks sunday. >> let us not forget our

brothers and sisters suffering from war in ukraine, palestine, other conflict zones. i continue to receive from gaza very serious and painful news. unarmed civilians are being bombed and shot at. this has even happened inside the holy family perish, because were families, children, sick people disabilities and nuns. a mother and her daughter were killed and others wounded by the snipers as they went to the bathroom. the house of mother teresa's nuns or damage. the generator hit. some say it is terrorism. it is war. yes, it is war. it is terrorism. that is why scripture says god stops fors. let us pray to the lord for peace.

amy: that was the pope. this is british parliamentarian layla moran, some of her relatives are trapped inside. >> i spoken before about my extended family who are in the holy family pairs church. the situation has been desperate for weeks. there are tanks outside the gates. there soldiers and snipers shooting anyone who ventures out. the convent was bombed. on saturday, two women were shot. they were simply trying to get to the toilet. there is no electricity, no clean water. the updates i had last night was they are down to their last can of corn. i am told that food has been delivered but they have not seen it. when this began a week ago, the idea soldiers order the civilians to evacuate against their will, can i government confirm it sees this as

unacceptable? the people in this church are civilians. they have nothing to do with hamas. they are nuns, orphans, disabled people. they are a small christian community and they know everyone . as the pope has said in my family can confirm, it is categorically untrue to say hamas are operating there. this situation has been condemned by many. will this government do so? amy: we're joined now by philip farah, co-founder of the palestinian christian alliance for peace. he has relatives sheltering in the church of saint porphyrius in gaza city, which has also come under attack. last month, one of us relatives, elham, was killed outside the holy family church where the mother and daughter were killed

on sunday by an israeli sniper. can you describe what is happening there right now? talk about this small palestinian christian community under siege. how is this happening? >> thank you, amy. thank you, democracy now! three of my grandparents are from rafah. i was raised in jerusalem but we had very strong connections to gaza. there were many palestinian christian families and gaza. it was a thriving community. it was a thriving community that lived in peace with their muslim neighbors and even their jewish

neighbors. back then, one of my grand uncles was a greens merchant and some of his best friends were jewish greens merchants as well. they were in the business of exporting barley to the united kingdom for upgrading beer in brewers in u.k. that has dwindled to a tiny minority over the years because of the horrible conditions that israel has imposed on gaza. back in 2013, the number was 3000. far, far smaller than it was at the turn-of-the-century. now it is only barely 1000 people. and they are all sheltering in orthodox church. that is the church where my

father, uncles and onset and members of -- and aunts and members of my extended family were baptized. i think some are still sheltering their. some of my relatives were killed there. elham was sheltering until the bombing that killed -- the israeli bombing that killed 18 christians in that church. then she moved to the holy cross, the holy family church. she was a delightful pleading four-year-old woman -- delightful 84-year-old woman. she was strong headed. against the advice of her fellows who were sheltering there, she wanted to go home. she simply wanted to go home. she proceeded to do that. a sniper shot her in the leg.

folks were trying to rescue her were all being shot at, so she bled to death. what could a woman like that, 84-year-old woman, have done to hurt the israelis? this is a continuing saga. now, the vast majority are sheltering in the church of the holy family. as you said, the snipers have shot two other elderly -- an elderly woman nahida and her daughter came to carry her and she was shot and killed. and several others were also injured. i have a relative -- i family originally -- he is the only

gazan of my people to reach your social media. he is sheltering there. i was worried about him and tried to reach him but communications was shut down. finally, i was able -- he told me he was ok but like you said, they have no food. as you know, israel has used water and food and electricity as part of its genocidal war. there is no other name for it. america we want to continue this conversation after the broadcast and we are going to post it online. philip farah this cofounder of the palestinian christian alliance for peace, has relatives sheltering in the church of saint porphyrius in gaza city. the church was bombed by the israeli military.

it is thought to be the third oldest church in the world. last month his family member elham was killed by an israeli sniper outside the holy family church where she been taking refuge. next up, texas republican governor greg abbott #one of the nation's most extreme anti-immigrant goals empowering local pe police -- ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. senate leaders say president bynum will have to wait until next or to negotiate a deal with republicans on immigration as part of an emergency funding package for ukrainian israel and taiwan and more. meanwhile, donald trump, the leading republican candidate in next years presidential race, doubled down on his hateful comments about immigrants at a campaign event tuesday in iowa when he paraphrased adolf hitler as he spoke between two christmas trees. pres. trump: it is crazy what is going on. they are ruining our country. it is true, there destroying the

blood of our country. they are destroying our country. they don't like it when i said that and i never read mein kampf. amy: hitler used the phrase "blood poisoning" in his "mein kampf" to argue german blood was being "poisoned" by jews. trump drew outrage for similar comments at a rally saturday in new hampshire. this comes as texas governor greg abbott approved a sweeping new law just signed into law that allows police to arrest anyone they have suspected to enter without authorization. we are joined by marisa limón garza, executive director of las americas immigrant advocacy center. part of a lawsuit to stop the new texas law from going into effect in march. her most recent op-ed for the messenger is titled "the senate shouldn't treat migrants as bargaining chips." welcome back to democracy now! let's start with the law the governor signed in the last few

days. the significance of what this means and why even local police chiefs are against this in texas. >> senegal 4 here in texas is part of legislation that the governor has been pushing since the regular session. this was just the end of the fourth special sessions specifically to push on school vouchers, public education, as well as this anti-immigrant racist policy. this is built off the knowledge of what happened with arizona, the show me the papers law there, and it is a little more slippery. it finds loopholes that are able to make it so any peace officer anywhere in the state of texas, and loosely defined with this peace officer has probable cause they can make the determination if a person has not cross into texas from mexico in an official u.s. port of entry, they can be detained, jailed, even to

ported. this is the jurisdiction of the federal government which is why we are calling on the department of justice to immediately get involved. our partners at the el paso county and the aclu are in litigation against sb 4 and its rollout. juan: you have written that your office had received a staggering number of calls, up to 7000 a day, from asylum-seekers. how do you see the situation now, especially those americans who say the situation at the border is completely out of control? >> i would like to paint a picture. the reality at the southern border is we have seen a small piece of what is global migration. the phenomenon 110 million people forcibly displaced across the globe for the month of

september. this is just one bit of that reality. and it is important to recognize the state of texas is a multiracial democracy. he just happens to be one that is severely oppressed. this attempt at erasure makes things a lot more complicated. we have to take that into context along with the reality that texas has very lacks gun laws, that texas does not really make it easy for people to vote, does not provide a quality education for the young people of this state for focused on banning books, eliminating diversity, equity, inclusion at universities. basically the silencing and erasure of a people. that cannot go uncontested. we know this global migration and specifically the people we are seeing along the u.s.-mexico border reflect global migration but also reflects u.s. involvement around the globe,

particularly in central and south america. whether it be destabilization during obama administration or further back, there are u.s. fingerprints all over the migrants we see at the southern border. our work is -- as folks reach out to us, we accompany people. it is important to recognize they're doing a phenomenal job of a new program where they are co-locating with us at the southern border to make sure migrants use the application this administration has put forward as the tool that should be used come if they come to the app and come to one of the shelters offering the service, they will be able to leave our community with a work authorization. that means when they get to

chicago, new york, l.a., wherever, they will rely much less and will begin to have a dignified life as they go through -- juan: could you talk about the response of the congressional hispanic caucus to the biden administration basically not even consulting them in terms of its decisions on negotiations for another $14 billion in border security money that the president has requested? >> yes. we have been involved in conversations with the biden administration since they were the transition team. i personally have hosted. they know our reality. they know these leaders of the congressional hispanic caucus

represent us and they are not being quiet. they're being quite loud. the fact they're not even being given the respect of the seated table is a further slap in the face of everything we are trying to accomplish. the representation we have, none of the senate negotiators are people of color. the one senator who is from a borderland state his from arizona. she does not live near the border. our two senators here in texas do not have offices in el paso. they have them everywhere else. it is very clear we are under attack. it is clear from the language of the previous president and from our governor who is interested in being his running mate that we have targets on our back. we know when you mix that kind of rhetoric with the laws and policies like sb4, it is very dangerous cocktail. amy: marisa limón garza, thank

you for being with us executive , director of las americas immigrant advocacy center. we will link to your piece in the messenger "the senate shouldn't treat migrants as bargaining chips." 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