12/28/23 12/28/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> understanding today -- i am standing here today, refused to enlist. the criminal attack on gaza will solve the atrocious slaughter. violence will not solve violence. amy: as israel warns its war on

gaza will continue for many months, we will look at war resistance inside israel. earlier this week, an 18-year-old israeli was sentenced to 30 days in prison for refusing to enlist. we will speak to a palestinian member of the knesset who was suspended for criticizing israel's assault on gaza. then we will speak to the founder of the palestine children's relief fund. >> i just learned of two children who were killed this week with their families in the gaza strip. that makes six children we have brought pretreatment to the united states that have been killed. we are calling for an immediate cease-fire. amy: then to mexico where secretary of state tony blinken and homeland security chief alejandro mayorkas met with mexican president andrés manuel lópez obrador wednesday to discuss migration and the border. >> the visit of lincoln and

mayorkas is another sign the biden administration is caving to further criminalize and expel migrants and asylum-seekers. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. israel's military has launched its most intense raids of the occupied west bank since israel began its assault on the gaza strip following hamas's attack on october 7. overnight, israeli forces raided 10 cities, including ramallah, where at least one was shot dead and 15 others wounded during confrontations with israeli soldiers. the palestine monetary 30 said troops targeted at least six money exchange companies, see the -- seizing over $2 million worth of fun. disturbing details about an

israeli strike on a refugee camp that killed six palestinians. the head of the citic reports israeli soldiers stopped and boarded ambulances caring people injured in the bombing. one patient was reportedly stabbed in the neck while two others were removed and severely beaten. the world health organization warns tens of thousands of palestinians are fleeing israeli attacks as devastating airstrikes continue to kill civilians. palestinian health officials have the latest assaults have killed at least 50 people in areas and putting khan younis. among those killed are two more media workers. a tv journalist and his camera operator were killed when israel's military attacked residential square. the media office says they are the 104th and 105th journalists

killed in the gaza strip since october. the public health crisis continues to deepen with striving residents increasingly stopping aid shipments in search of drinkable water and. dozens have effectively been cut off from medical care. sean casey, emergency medical team coordinator for the world health organization, said gaza's health capacity is at about 20% of what it was in early october. >> almost all of the hospitals have stopped functioning either because the facilities themselves have been affected, because they have run out of power, or they have run out of medical supplies or the staff have not been able to access them. amy: the united nations warns some 300,000 people in sudan have been forced to flee the state of jazeera as paramilitaries with the feared rapid support forces have pressed further south from the

capital khartoum, expanding their war against sudan's army while pillaging supplies of food and valuables. on wednesday, the leader of the rsf, general mohamed hamdan dagalo, said he had met with uganda's president yoweri museveni in his first appearance outside sudan since he launched a campaign of violence aimed at the ouster of sudan's ruling military junta. the rsf has since been accused of carrying out a genocide in west darfur, 7 million people are displaced, and almost two thirds of sudan's population, or about 30 million people, are in need of humanitarian assistance. an associated press investigation has found russian occupation authorities vastly and deliberately undercounted the number of people killed by severe flooding that followed the catastrophic explosion last june at the nova kakhovka dam on the dnipro river, the southern kherson region. ukraine blames russian forces for blowing up the dam to counter ukraine's planned counter-offensive. russia claims 59 people died in the disaster, but an ap puts the

true number far higher with hundreds dead in the russian-occupied town of oleshky alone. on wednesday, the biden administration announced a military aid package to ukraine worth $250 million, including air defense systems, rockets for mobile launchers, anti-armor munitions, and millions of rounds of ammunition. it's the last aid package to ukraine the u.s. will provide unless congress approves the biden administration's request for billions of dollars in additional funding to ukraine. the world's 15 largest weapons manufacturers have seen revenues soar in the 2020's as governments placed new orders for heavy weaponry and record supplies of ammunition. that's according to the financial times, which found in a new analysis that such expenditures soared last year compared two years prior, as the u.s. and nato allies poured billions of dollars' worth of arms into ukraine.

a global benchmark for the weapons industry's share prices is up 25% over the past year, while a european arms and aerospace stock index is up by over 50% over the same period. here in new york, at least 26 people were arrested wednesday as they blocked an expressway leading to jfk airport in a nonviolent civil disobedience protest demanding a ceasefire in the gaza strip. protesters linked arms and held banners reading "right to return, right to remain" and "divest from genocide," snarling traffic to new york's busiest airport for about 20 minutes during the busiest travel week of the year. in los angeles, 36 people were arrested at a simultaneous protest that blocked traffic near los angeles international airport. argentina's far-right president javier milei said tuesday his government would not renew contracts for more than 5000 employees hired this year before

his inauguration earlier this month. the mass firings follow a presidential decree by milei last week that seeks to massively deregulate argentine businesses, privatize state-run industries, slash workers' wages while massively cracking down on civil liberties, including the right to hold protests. on wednesday, thousands defied the ban to again take to the -- take to the streets of buenos aires. this is eduardo belliboni, leader of the progressive workers' rights organization polo obrero. >> there's a violation of workers fundamental rights. they are attacking our wages. people are being denied rights. workers are suffering wage cuts by government that benefits the interest of the big business owners. amy: michigan's supreme court has ruled donald trump can remain on the michigan primary ballot. the court declined to hear a lawsuit arguing that the former president was constitutionally ineligible for public office after inciting the january 6 insurrection.

last, colorado supreme court disqualified trump citing the insurrection clause of the 14th amendment, which was written to prevent civil war confederates from returning to government. the republican party in colorado has appealed the ruling to the u.s. supreme court. ensuring that donald trump's name will remain on the colorado primary ballot since it has to be printed up in the next few weeks. a number of other states, including maine, are hearing similar cases. on wednesday, trump filed a request for the democratic secretary of state of maine to recuse herself from the case. meanwhile in colorado, the fbi and local police are investigating a slew of threats targeting judges who voted last week to disqualify trump from the 2024 ballot. in other trump news, special counsel jack smith has asked a federal court to bar the former president from sowing disinformation in his federal 2020 election interference case. in a filing, prosecutors wrote

-- "the court should not permit the defendant to turn the courtroom into a forum in which he propagates irrelevant disinformation, and should reject his attempt to inject politics into this proceeding." on the campaign trail, republican presidential hopeful nikki haley on wednesday did not cite slavery when asked what she believed caused the u.s. civil war. haley was fielding a question from a participant of a town hall meeting in berlin, new hampshire. >> need to have capitalism, economic freedom, make sure we do all things so individuals have the liberties so they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, read him to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way. >> [indiscernible] without mentioning the word slavery. >> what do you want me to say about slavery?

>> you answered my question. thank you. >> next question. amy: nikki haley was the former governor of south carolina. and the comedian and folk musician tom smothers has died at the age of 86. with his brother, he hosted "the smothers brothers," a pioneering tv show in the 1960's which made headlines for its fights over censorship with cbs for tackling topics like the civil rights movement and the vietnam war. in 1967, the smothers brothers convinced cbs to allow pete seeger to appear on the show even though he had been blacklisted from tv since the 1950's. while cbs finally said yes, the network refused to air the segment after pete seeger sang out against the vietnam war. in 2003, pete seeger appeared on democracy now! and talked about what happened. >> finally in october they said, ok, you can have him on.

i saying "waste deep in the big muddy." the tape was made in california, flown to new york and in new york they censored the song out. now the smothers brothers took the the print media and said cbs is censoring. they got some publicity. amy: you can see the whole interview at democracynow.org. cbs finally allowed pete seeger's performance to air months later thanks in part due to pressure from tom smothers. smothers died at the age of 86 on tuesday in santa rosa, california. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. we will be back after we hear pete seeger performing on "the smothers brothers." ♪ [music break]

amy: pete seeger performing

"waist deep in the big muddy" on "the smothers brothers." the show's co-host tom smothers has died at the age of 86. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. nermeen: and i'm nermeen shaikh. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. as israel is threatening to continue its assault on gaza for many months, we begin today's show looking at resistance to the war inside israel. on tuesday, an 18-year-old israeli teenager named tal mitnick was sentenced to 30 days in prison after he refused to enlist in the israeli army. he spoke out against israel's assault on gaza before his sentencing on tuesday. >> i am standing today in tel hashomer base and i am refusing to enlist. i believe that slaughter cannot solve slaughter. the criminal attack on gaza won't solve the atrocious slaughter that hamas executed. violence won't solve violence. and that is why i refuse. nermeen: last week tal mitnick

spoke to the media about why he decided to become a conscientious objector. >> the station that is not just a couple soldiers that are bad soldiers or inapt violent occupation on palestinians, but it is a whole system of violence , of pulling people into the army and making them work for the occupation and for oppressing palestinians. a lot of my friends are serving and right now are in military service. when i tell them my opinion, because i am their friend, they see the humanity in my position and ci only what for there to be good in this place. i want security and peace for everyone. when people get to know me and share this opinion, this opinion is very humanistic and very normal. this is what we are trying to do, trying to make more young

people hear this position that there is an alternative to the massacre that is happening right now in gaza and to the massacre that hamas committed october 7. there is an alternative of peace and nonviolence. amy: that was tal mitnick speaking to a british journalist. he has now been sentenced to 30 days in prison for refusing to enlist. israel is facing growing criticism for stifling anti-war voices. we are joined by aida touma-sliman. she is a palestinian member of the knesset from the leftwing -- progressive democratic front for peace and equality, known as the hadash party. she was suspended from the knesset last month for criticizing the israeli military assault on gaza. she joins us now from acre in northern israel. welcome to democracy now! if you can start off by talking about the significance of tal's

resistance but go want to talk about the situation in gaza today and why you worse is ended -- i mean, you are an elected leader of the knesset. who gets to suspend you? >> hi. thank you for hosting me. those who suspended me are the same people who are putting tal in prison because he refuses to enlist in the army. those who are ruling israel, this government, very extreme right-wing government who is refusing to hear any voice, antiwar voice, anybody who is opposing this bloody war.

there is massive pressure used by the government in order to silence the voices who refuse to believe that military actions and wars and killing innocent people might take us anywhere or can be a way to solve the problem. i think it has been already a month since i was suspended by the so-called ethics committee, parliamentarian ethics committee , who punished me for quoting somebody -- from the ship the ho -- from the shifa hospital. i have been punished and not allowed to speak in the knesset

or participate in the committees for two months. of course, this is not democratic stuff but when you see the same government, the same knesset is supporting a war that is killing more than 21,000 people, 70% of them children and women in gaza, you understand that it is ridiculous to speak about democracy in such situation. because launching such a war was an action to hamas's attack october 7, which also we don't -- i don't see it as in any way legitimization to kidnap civilians, including children.

but of course [indiscernible] this crazy war has been going on last more than two months. it has already -- more than 80 days. so you can understand when tal refused to enlist himself, he is a unique voice in the israeli society. for a young men to stand up against all the mainstream -- not only mainstream, but the situation in israel is a must 90% of society is in consensus of supporting the war. to stand up and say that will not take part in this war, he is

not willing to be part of this military forces that are attacking, bombing in gaza, it is a very brave position to take. it is not easy. i am sure he will not be tolerated inside the military prison. but we also have to remember he is the first one to do it during this war. we hopefully think that there are might be some young women and men who are finding other ways to avoid enlisting themselves. [indiscernible] turning it into a political issue.

but he is a unique voice and a mature voice. nermeen: if you could also talk about you have mentioned the fact 90% of israeli society is supporting the war, but there is a minority that is supposed to it and you have mentioned the number that is critical of the war has increased in recent weeks. if you could explain where that resistance is most prominent and what you think has led to an increase in the opposition? >> from day one we understood the forces that -- the democratic forces come antiwar, anti-occupational forces that existed before october 7 with no regard to the shock that happened october 7 would still

continue to believe that occupation should be ended and the war should be ended. in the beginning, as i mentioned, a lot of anger and fear of people that avoided having clear activities against this war. most of the activities were to put pressure, to release the kidnapped israelis in hamas, hamas in gaza. but more and more people started to understand, first of all, if the israeli government had convinced them this war was deeded to release the israelis.

telling how dangerous it was to stay under the shelling. so they understand this war, first of all, is rescuing the security of the hostages who are still -- 109 people are still in gaza. second, they started understand what released part of the hostages was the negotiation and diplomatic path and not the military path. more and more people are understanding this war is not bringing them anywhere. 20% of the population in israel -- the minority are against this

war but we need more from the jewish side to be against the war. we have managed to put together a big demonstration in tel aviv which was the first demonstration against the war that was challenging the silencing policy against the palestinians of israel. a crack down on -- not only on the citizens, the arab citizens, but also the leadership being silenced in the knesset, there were also the head of the committee that were arrested just because they were on their way to have a small protest against the war. many students were dismissed from school, university.

people were dismissed from their jobs only because they published something that expressed sympathy to what is happening to the people in gaza. today, for example, we challenge the silencing policy again and we had a protest in nazareth. despite the warnings of the police and the fact they wanted to avoid this protest, we insisted and we had this protest. tomorrow we will have a big eating of different -- a big meeting of different groups and organizations. we are going to establish a big coalition against this war. we are not intending to been for the silencing policy and terrorizing people who are against the war. we understand very clearly that crimes are committed and

civilians are killed. the amount of destruction is huge. if the international community chooses to be silent, that is their problem. we are not going to be silent. we want to stand up against this war. nermeen: there are places where you still see in israel criticism of the war, including ha'aretz and +972 magazine. in addition to the concerned about the hostages in israel, now over 150 israeli soldiers have been killed in gaza. if you could talk about the impact of that as people in israel see the cost to israeli lives as this war goes on, is there since of what it is that is being fought for?

>> as i mentioned before, gradually more and more people are understanding that the war is not going to bring any security or piece for both sides, including and mainly the israeli side. more and more people understand they cannot continue with this war because there are implications of war not only in the meaning of losing lives -- there are also injured soldiers. more than 5000 soldiers have been injured . some of them will stay handicapped for all of their lives. families are seeing how their sons, the soldiers, coming back from war traumatized and need psychological treatment.

there are implications on the economy. we are going to face -- just yesterday, there was the poverty report that shows there is a race in the percentages of people who are dropping down poverty line. we are expecting a very difficult economic year to come because of this war. and people are starting to ask the hard questions, why we need to continue this war if we're going to pay such a high price. and still not reach any security. you have to understand also that people in the north of israel your my house and in the south of israel are not living in

their homes because of this war. still, we are not saying this is the most difficult situation. of course the war is horrific and what is happening in gaza, but to make the israeli society stand up against the war only because of the suffering of the palestinians, as much as it is immoral, i am afraid it is not enough timid the people in israel, especially after october 7, it is not going to make them stand up against war. but what is happening in the israeli society, the fact that more than 150 soldiers have been killed, the fact the families are receiving their soldiers

injured and handicapped, it might be more -- sorry, convincing the people to go out against the war. amy: i want to ask about the power of the voices of the hostages or their loved was who are speaking out or them. this is a sister-in-law of a hostage in gaza. >> we just want them -- we will find a way to negotiate and to bring our people home. we want them home but no one is doing nothing right now except fighting. fighting is not the answer right now. we want our people your back home with us -- here back home with us. if we fight, we cannot see them

alive. if we don't want to get back -- we want them to get back alive. this is why we are here every day until we hear from the government that they are talking. amy: this is a powerful voice, the families of the hostages will stop on monday, they are screaming, shouting in the knesset as netanyahu was addressing the israeli parliament, demanding that the hostages be released. already it is clear a number of them, not just the three men killed by israeli soldiers, young hostages, but a number of others were killed in the israel i bombing in gaza. the significance of this voice and if it is being amplified by others, did you expect the hostages to play this kind of role? the hostage families? >> well, of course.

no one can imagine the suffering of the people who don't know what is happening with their family members. if i was in their place, i would also be not quiet and would do whatever i can in order to change -- to bring them back. so, yes, i think it is expected, although they are showing very high -- they are very effective in how they organize themselves and xavier becerra revocable and speaking -- and how they are very vocal and speaking out. this is also happening i think -- this israeli government is not giving this issue much attention as you compare it to

the other targets or goals that netanyahu put for this war. that is why they felt neglected. that is why they felt they don't have enough backup from the government that they need to organize themselves and be so vocal -- amy: we have less than a minute, but you are a palestinian journalist as well as in mk, member of the parliament. i wanted to get your response. it is believed over 100 journalists and media workers have been killed in gaza. the headlines today, tv journalist and cameraman also died in a bombing in gaza. your response to the demand by al jazeera for the international criminal court to take on the issue of the targeting of journalists? >> well, there are 105

journalists who have been killed since the beginning of this war. if you remember, is started by other journalists before who were killed, including shireen abu akleh who was targeted and killed from al jazeera. we have the killing -- journalists are targeted. forces were coming out from gaza and exposing the reality of what is happening. amy: journalists are not allowed in israel. >> of course there should be an investigation and it should be clear there is no possibility to continue to be quiet about this targeting. amy: aida touma-sliman, we want to thank you so much for being with us, member of the israeli

knesset, mk, member of the knesset, palestinian member, suspended last month for criticizing the israeli military assault on gaza. joining us from northern israel. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. nermeen: we continue to look at israel's war on gaza and turn to the impact on children. according to officials, the assault has killed more than 8200 children in gaza over the past 11 weeks. at least 8600 children have been injured. unicef says some 1000 palestinian children have had limbs amputated without anesthesia due to the lack of basic adequate resources. amy: we're joined now by steve sosebee, founder of the palestine children's relief fund, an organization that provides medical and humanitarian aid to palestinian children in gaza and the west bank. the fund was founded in 1991 and has helped build pediatric cancer center units, emergency departments, and icu's.

six palestinians that pcrf brought to the usa for free medical care have been killed in gaza since october 7. two of them were killed this week within a day of each other. izzeddin nawasra was killed on christmas day with his entire family. and mohammed al-ajouri was killed the day after christmas with his wife and baby. steve sosebee, our deepest condolences. if you can talk about these people who were brought to the united states -- you brought them to get them medical care and now they were killed in the israeli attacks in gaza. >> both of them were amputees, both had been shot by snipers during a great return march as of 2018. they were teenagers who were participating in a peaceful protest at the borders of gaza.

they were born into refugee camps in the gaza strip. their families were dissidents of refugees from 1948 when the state of israel was created. as all refugees, they were demanding the right to return to their villages, their homes, their town with it israel. both had suffered below knee amputations. our organization identify these kids who can't get care locally. care of before october 7 was underdeveloped and in need of improvement. these kids were brought outside for treatment. izzeddin nawasra was brought to savannah where he was taught to walk again and mohammed al-ajour was brought to ohio. both were given prosthetics for free, treated at excellent facilities, and by our communities who took care of them as host families.

they became integrated, part of the communities where people want to be involved in helping children. of of them had rate experiences during their treatment. they flourished being outside of gaza for the first time in their lives. when we sent them back home come as we do with all of the injured kids, they started to have a new hope in life for the first time since injuries. they were able to go back to school, became independent. we hired izzeddin nawasra to become a field worker for our organization. one of the air as he was interested in was photography. we gave him the opportunity to train and become part of our communications team. he was flourishing. it was a dream for him to help his own people. i had been in touch with both of them during the war, izzeddin nawasra in particular i was quite close with because i had taken him back home after his treatment.

he mentioned he was still alive because that is the communication you have with people and gaza these days, the very basic, "are you still alive?" he was always responding, yes, i'm fine, how are you? recently was asking how can i do more to help my people? looking for ways to be part if you meditate work on the ground. -- part of humanitarian work on the ground. this way you had lost his leg, disabled for the rest of his life in a certain sense, was looking for ways to help people during this terrible crisis. both are two of six kids we brought to the united states that have been killed. nermeen: you mentioned even before october 7, the care for amputees and gaza was very, very

poor. if you could talk about what you're hearing from your colleagues and gaza now where there are so many children who are in need of prosthetic limbs, what is the situation now especially since, as we reported, there isn't even anesthesia available for operations for children who are so much in need? >> it is hard to convey the idea in this world today children are having limbs amputated as a result of traumatic injury without anesthesia. there's plenty at the border of egypt waiting to enter the gaza. there's plenty of food at the border ready to enter gaza. people are starting in gaza. it is not as if there's a natural disaster preventing anesthesia medicine to be utilized to treat injured children.

this is unimaginable this is happening in this modern world. everybody sees it and nothing is changing. the fact there are 1000 new amputees -- that number will grow. let's keep in mind only were they amputated without anesthesia, but many in a quick fashion. god bless the doctors and nurses in the health sector. they are the true heroes if there are any -- and there are, of course, the ones who are a and night exhausted as their own families are living under bombs, trying to help their own patient s. they are doing these amputations quickly out of need. kids will have to have further invitations because they're not getting adequate care. they will need revision surgery. we are identifying these kids,

get them the treatment they need first and ensuring that have adequate surgical services, then fitting them with prosthetics. there are no services in gaza at all for amputees. the hundreds of kids we have treated over the years like mohammed al-ajour and izzeddin nawasra, their lives are being destroyed, they need to be adjusted, repaired. these kids are going without limbs. you can imagine under the circumstances being dependent on others to carry you around or being on wretches while your neighborhoods are being bombed or your refugee camps are being bombed is in unimaginable situation. there is no services available for them right now. nermeen: on november 25, during the seven-day truce, defense for children palestine filmed an interview with 12-year-old dunia who lost her leg in an israeli airstrike that killed her whole

family. dunia was then killed on december 17 after an israeli tank-fired shell hit her while she was recovering in naser hospital in khan younis. this is part of her interview with defense for children palestine, which we're playing posthumously. >> when they shelled us with the second missile, i woke up and was surrounded by rubble. i realized my leg had been cut off because there was blood and i had no leg. i tried to move it but it would not move. i father and mother were martyred. my brother and sister, too. i want someone to take me abroad , to any country, to install a prosthetic leg to be able to walk like other people. so that i can move and go out and play with my siblings.

i want to become a doctor like those who treat us so i can treat other children. i only want one thing, for the war to end. amy: that was 12-year-old dunia who was killed december 17. steve, if you could talk more about the crisis in medical facilities generally, i mean, even the most basic care that is no longer available to people in gaza who need it more than they ever have, and talk also specifically about the cancer hospitals that you built there. >> prior to october 7, we were on the ground in gaza identifying needs and the various specialties in the health sector in developing programs to support the improvement of patient care and reducing the need for patients to leave the gaza strip for

care. we were bringing in doctors and medical support and teams from all over the world and providing hands-on training and support in various specialties that don't exist in gaza. specialties that we were identifying that had a need on the ground and bringing in teams to address the need. we were identifying significant gaps like the lack of pediatric cancer treatment for children in which prior to opening of the only cancer department and gaza in 2019, every single child in gaza with cancer had to travel outside pretreatment. in many cases they were dying. the health sector has been almost completely destroyed. there only a couple of hospitals functioning. there are three main hospitals in the center and south of gaza strip that are operating but they're basically just triage

centers. this is what needs to be pointed out. amy mentioned the statistics of over 8000 children in gaza have been killed. they have been killed by bombing, traumatic injury. what about those that have heart disease any medical care? neurological disorders? answer? in many cases, injuries or diseases they otherwise would get through our medical teams coming in or to the health system being available to do elective surgery now no longer have access to treat and. kids with diabetes, dialysis. all of these children no longer have medical care and are dying or suffering. what about kids in internally displaced areas like these u.n. schools where they are sharing a toilet was 700 people? all of these diseases being spread of internally displaced people. they don't have access to primary care.

add to that the significant number of children in gaza suffering from hunger and starvation. all of these factors in addition to the over 8000 children that have been killed through bombing of their homes and schools and mosques and churches and hospitals, you add those numbers together and it is a humanitarian catastrophe far what anyone can articulate properly in words. our cancer department that we opened in february 2019 was the first shining symbol of hope in gaza we can do something. it was built by our community, not government. it was built by thousands of people coming together and saying children with cancer and gaza should not have to go without treatment. that is the either those we believe strongly in that you bring the services to them, develop the services and children get the best care possible. that is destroyed. that hospital has been closed since november 7.

when you hear the words of dunia, god rest her soul, and she wants to be a doctor, this is the hope of all of the children. what we're going to do, what i am going to do is every one of these children needs not only a new lead to walk again and have bodies repaired but they need long-term healing, to develop themselves into doctors. we have to give them that opportunity. their lives are destroyed. they want hope for a better future. as a community, we have to come together with love and serve these children for the long term. develop programs for kids like dunia, a 12-year-old without a leg, have a better chance at a future. we are going to take that responsibility. that is the only way we can bring peace and healing to the children of gaza during this nightmare of suffering and death they are enduring today. amy: steve sosebee, thank you

for being with us. again, our condolences. founder of the palestine children's relief fund, an organization that provides medical and humanitarian aid to palestinian children in gaza. speaking to us today from washington, d.c. coming up, look at secretary of state tony blinken and the homeland security chiefs reading with the mexican president. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: secretary of state antony blinken met with mexican president andrés manuel lópez obrador wednesday in mexico city along with u.s. homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas to address the record number of people being arrested at the southern u.s. border -- as many as 10,000 a day. officials announced a new joint working group but there were no specifics. biden eased sanctions on that will and gas industries in october. amy: as high level talks took place, the associated press reports mexico ordered workers in matamoros to use bulldozers and machetes to clear a border encampment that included

families with children who say they were given little notice before their tents were destroyed. meanwhile, a caravan of some 6000 migrants from venezuela, honduras, el salvador, and haiti left southern mexico on monday. for more, we are joined in mexico city bv laura carlsen, with the mexico-city based think tank mira: feminisms and democracies. it is interesting we have so little information about what came out of the talks yesterday between the mexican president and the secretary of state and secretary of homeland security. we understand they were going to be asking for visas to we withdrawn from people heading north to the border, railways being more regulated, bringing people up from southern mexico. talk about what you understand at this and why you think we know so little after the meeting. >> it is somewhat surprising so

little specific information has come out because they promised a joint tickler ration would be made after the meeting and we still have not seen that. the meeting really represents the way in which the biden administration has adopted the republican framework of immigration as a threat to national security, of migrants as a threat, a border chaos in this period. that is the tragic meaning of this meeting. it is a delicate issue for both countries because on the one hand, the democrats are losing any distinction between their own positions and the republican positions. we know reports are out, the negotiations for the funding for ukraine and israeli wars is being premised on accepting republican demands for reducing any humanitarian visas in the united states, increasing

deportations, and also denying asylum and due process in many ways for a greater number of people who are requesting asylum in the united states. all these measures require cooperation from mexico. mexico would have to receive the people who are being rejected and as a sovereign nation and has no particular obligation to receive people being thrown out of another country. it would have to facilitate the deportation flights. so for president andrés manuel lópez obrador, there's the issue of national sovereignty. he does not wanted to look like sukkot is also caving to a republican model to stop immigration without looking at the root causes, without looking at the human rights issues that are at the root of so much of this immigration, forced immigration and at the root of the violations taking place on the border.

so he does not want to say it. the u.s. government does not want to do that either. they are saying this is going to be this regional working group. this includes guatemala, south american countries. the factor was a dial is a plus for mexico because in other cases, oftentimes, it has to accept unilateral measures from the united states. in many ways, it still does. the border closures that happened right before this meeting were a bully move on the part of the united states that has tremendous impact on trade, not just a mexico but also in the u.s., and reminds the mexican government of its dependency on the u.s. economy. so now present lópez obrador is requesting an in person meeting with joe biden. that is the case that they did not concede everything that this

delegation from the united states wanted and that they're going to push on somewhat of mexico wants to get if it is forced, and it will be coming to do the dirty work of the united states under this model. nermeen: could you talk about some of the root causes that you referred to in the fact that mexico's president has said the sanctions, or sections against venezuela and cuba are in part responsible for the increased number of migrants attempting to come to the u.s.? if you could explain, what do you see as the root causes and what accounts for an increase in the number of migrants attempting to come to the u.s.? >> it is so important that mexico has placed the issue of sanctions on the table in this whole debate, especially now as republicans are turning it into this xenophobic and really racist rhetoric that we are

hearing and will continue to hear up to the elections. what we know is for the first time ever, venezuelans surpassed seconds in apprehensions at the border last month. there is no doubt whatsoever in their deep economic studies that show this that the reason is of these blanket economic sanctions on venezuela. they're punishing people who can no longer feed their families. there's a huge spike in child malnutrition. no parents are going to sit and watch their children starve. some people are forced to migrate. this is the classic case of forced migration and a directive u.s. -- direct result of u.s. policy. we can see it in mexico looking at the caravans and the flow of migrants coming from cuba. the sanctions since the trump administration that did not undergo major changes during the biden administration are causing

increased human suffering and that increased human suffering is leading to increased immigration. you see u.s. policies at loggerhead where they are causing the migration they then try to contain these measures that are whipping up racism and also feeding into republican campaign. the other reasons are also oftentimes related to longtime u.s. policies including the violence in central american countries, here in mexico, a direct result of the drug war model, the kingpin strategy of fighting violence with violence through militarized forces in these countries. and maintaining probation in the united states. they also include neoliberal policies. amy: laura carlsen, we're going to ask you to stay and we will do a post-show interview with

you in spanish and post it at democracynow.org. laura carlsen, director of the mexico city-based think tank mira: feminisms and democracies. that does it for today's show. on monday, new year's day, we will bring you a special on julian assange, the imprisoned wikileaks founder. the high court of justice in london will hear what may be assange's final appeal