12/29/23 12/29/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i think israel has come out clear it is after everyone of us not only in palestine but it wents to commit its atrocities in the darkness. like this demonstration is

saying, you commit your war crimes against humanity but not in the darkness. we shall pursue every war criminal and everyone should be served with justice. amy: israel continues to attack refugee camps and other areas across the gaza strip as health officials say the assault has killed more than 21,500 palestinians over the past 12 weeks. unwra says the besieged territory is "grappling with catastrophic hunger." we will speak with husam zomlot, palestinian ambassador to the united kingdom. as israel admits collateral damage, new united nations report condemns the rapid deterioration of human rights in the west bank where it says at least 300 palestinians have been killed since october 7 by israeli soldiers and settlers. >> the dehumanization characterizes many of the

actions and must cease immediately. amy: we'll speak with francesca albanese, the united nations special rapporteur on the occupied palestinian territory. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. another 187 palestinian have been killed in gaza over the past 24 hours as israel continues to attack refugee camps and other areas across the gaza strip. gaza health officials say the israeli assault has killed more than 21,500 palestinians over the past 12 weeks. in central gaza, israeli attacks killed at least 35 palestinians in the nuseirat and maghazi refugee camps. at least 20 more palestinians died when israel attacked a

residential building near the kuwaiti hospital in rafah, the southern gaza city overflowing with displaced palestinians. one 13-year-old palestinian girl named nadeen abdulatif who -- said israel bombed the shelter where she and her family were staying, where their home was blown up and one of her brothers was killed. >> 26 people were killed her. i am scared. the thought of me being killed or my other brother being killed is -- i already lost my older brother. i can't lose my younger brother. i have no one left. no one to look up to. you can clearly see the houses are together so when they target one house, there targeting a whole block.

it is unfair. why can't we live normally? why can't we live a normal life? we are children and we are people. children were killed here. imagine, children. babies. amy: in more news from gaza, israeli military officials have admitted it carried out a deadly strike on the maghazi refugee camp on christmas eve that killed at least palestinians. 70the idf says "it regrets the harm caused to civilians and claimed that israeli troops had used the wrong type of bomb." an israeli official said -- "the type of munition did not match the nature of the attack, causing extensive collateral damage which could have been avoided." despite the admission, israel continues to attack the maghazi refugee camp. on thursday, at least five people were killed when israel bobbed a u.n.-run girls school

housing displaced palestinians. according to unrwa, the u.n. relief and works agency for palestinian refugees, another 1100 have been injured. the united nations is warning increasing israeli military and settler attacks in the occupied west bank. according to the u.n., at least 300 palestinians, including 79 children, have been killed and the west bank since october 7. on thursday, the u.n. high commissioner decried settler violence targeting callista needs. >> the dehumanization of palestinians that characterizes many of the settler actions is disturbing and must cease medially. i call on israel to take immediate clear and effective step to put an end settler violence, to investigate all

incidents. amy: and tel aviv, hundreds of people took part in israel's largest peace rally since israel began attacking gaza after the october 7 hamas attack. protesters called for an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages still held in gaza. this is alon-lee green of the jewish-arab peace coalition standing together. >> we are here to say the war and the way of wars has achieved nothing. one war after another, only using military power to achieve changes have only achieved instruction and death and killing of innocent people. so we are here sounding a voice, a protest of equality and freedom. amy: in other news from israel,

authorities have determined that an israeli woman who was thought to have been taken hostage on october 7 was actually killed during the hamas attack. the 70-year-old judith weinstein haggai was a mother of four and grandmother of seven. she held canadian and u.s. citizenship. she lived in kibbutz nir oz with her husband gadi haggai, who death was confirmed last week. he was a dual u.s.-israeli national. benjamin netanyahu canceled a war cabinet meeting to discuss israel's plan for gaza after the war ends over disagreements with the finance minister, who opposes proposals for the palestinian authority to help run gaza. here in the united states, in maine, the state has joined colorado in barring donald trump from the republican primary ballot over his role in the january 6 insurrection. on thursday, maine's secretary

of state shenna bellows issued a written decision saying the insurrection clause in the 14th amendment makes the former president ineligible to run for public office again. in her ruling, bellows wrote -- "i am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on section 3 of the 14th amendment. i am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection." trump's campaign has vowed to appeal the ruling. a campaign spokesperson described bellows' decision as "partisan election interference efforts" that were "a hostile assault on american democracy." the u.s. supreme court will likely have the final say on trump's ballot eligibility. last week colorado's supreme court barred trump from

colorado's primary ballot, but michigan's supreme court has ruled he can stay on the michigan ballot. at least 16 people have been killed in ukraine after russia launched a massive wave of missile and drone attacks targeting the capital kyiv and other cities, including lviv in the west, odesa and zaporizhzhia in the south, and dnipro and kharkiv in the east. the ukrainian military said it has "never seen so many locations targeted simultaneously." the attacks come days after ukraine struck a russian warship in occupied crimea. meanwhile, "the new york times" is reporting that russian president vladimir putin has been signaling for months through intermediaries for months that he is open to a ceasefire deal that would allow russia to keep ukrainian land it has seized during the war. the u.s. justice department is threatening to sue the state of

texas if it begins enforcing a new law empowering police to arrest anyone they suspect to have entered the united states without authorization. the law was signed last week by texas governor greg abbott. meanwhile, cbs is reporting border patrol has taken into custody more than 225,000 migrants who attempted to cross the southern border outside of an official crossing. that is the highest monthly total in the agency's history. earlier this week, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken met with mexican president andrés manuel lópez obrador in mexico city as the biden administration looks to further limit the number of asylum-seekers arriving at the southern border. and one of argentina's most powerful labor unions have called for a national strike next month to protest the shock therapy economic policies of argentina's new president javier

milei. the general confederation of labor called for the strike to take place on january 24. >> on january 24, we're going to hold a strike and will mobilize to congress to thwart those congressman -- if they give all the public power to president for two years and he can renew it for another two years, we will be facing a situation where a president is going to have during his entire mandate a sum of public power and the institutions will not be respected and nothing will be respected. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. another 187 palestinians have been killed in gaza over the past 24 hours as israel continues to attack refugee

camps and other areas across the gaza strip. gaza health officials say the israeli assault has killed more than 21,005 hundred palestinians over the past 12 weeks. in central gaza, israeli attacks killed at least 35 palestinians in a refugee -- in two refugee camps. residential building was attacked near the kuwaiti hospital. and more news from gaza, israeli military officials have admitted it carried out a deadly strike on the maghazi refugee camp that killed at least 86 palestinians. the idf said it regrets the harm caused to civilians and claimed israeli troops had used the wrong type of bomb. an israeli official said "the type of munition did not match the nature of the attack, causing extensive collateral damage which could have been avoided."

despite the admission, israel continues to attack the maghazi refugee camp. on thursday, at least five people were killed when a girls school was bombed. unwra has renewed its call for a cease-fire in gaza saying the besieged territory is grappling with catastrophic hunger. for more we go to london where we are joined by husam zomlot, the palestinian ambassador to the united kingdom. welcome to democracy now! if you can just respond to this latest news, israel's admission that they were apologizing for causing necessary collateral damage, what this means, and overall if you can talk about what is happening in gaza -- in fact, the place where you come from. >> hello, amy.

killing these palestinians and children is not collateral damage. mostly 70% are women and children. we have a thousand unaccounted for under the rubble so the numbers are going to be much higher. with israel is doing is the first ever genocide. this is not just about how many they are killing, primarily families and civilians, it is turning gaza unlivable. you have the targeting of infrastructure, be it hospitals or schools or universities. the weaponizing food and water, starving 2.3 million people and displacing almost 2 million,

most of them in rafah while still bombarding the very area they claim to be safe is a classic design of genocide and ethnic cleansing. i think israel has been engaged since its establishment in one idea, it wants all of the land without the people. a land without the people, people without the land. this explains much of the israel i actions. otherwise, nothing justifies what has been happening over the last 12 weeks. the problem is really not israel. israel is committing the crimes against humanity and will have to be held accountable, it's generals and politicians will have to be behind bars and justice will have to be served. we palestinians must think about our pride of self-defense. this is the number one priority. our priority is a comprehensive cease-fire. we cannot even assist the

situation unless the mass killing by israel ends. we want to see humanitarian assistance immediately from all sides. the level of catastrophe is unprecedented in human history. we have to prevent israel of pushing people out of gaza and assure israel does not take any part of gaza. we must revisit all that has happened, including the u.s. the u.s. has been losing his credibility, it's standing over years and decades. this type is different. many lawyers are looking into the u.s. material participation, contribution to genocide. but we leave that to the lawyers. i definitely, the u.s. could have prevented these atrocities.

really shocked humanity all over. it didn't use the veto power of enforcing law and order. the biden administration will be remembered by this. we will not forget. the biden administration is complicit. it has enabled israel to do so, to drag the whole region into this instability, enabled israel to drag -- look at what is happening to the international world order. when we also never again, the u.s. was they're going out of his way to shield netanyahu and netanyahu and the most fanatical supremacist government in the history of mankind upon israel and then the u.s. is there to shield this government? the u.s. knows this is netanyahu 's war of choice.

netanyahu is doing this to save his political -- he is not doing this for any prospects of his people but because he knows the moment the guns, his guns would stop, the political guns will turn against him and he might end up in court and in jail. in the u.s., they failed to be -- and the u.s. fails to be a grown-up. every member of the biden administration. amy: what do you think president biden should be doing right now? >> to stop the carnage, first and foremost. the president of the united states of america, given the constitution, the making of the u.s., the bill of rights of the u.s., your history -- a president sitting there seeing all of these children, hearing the u.n. secretary-general talking about the children and

allowing this, enabling this, giving israel the political, legal, material covered to do this? every bomb israel is dropping on children is american-made. these 2000 pounds bombs they have been dropping and you just quoted the spokespeople saying, oops, these bombs killed many people when we intended more collateral damage. these are american bombs. who is responsible? and america would stop this now they stopped providing israel with weapons, with bombs, with these lethal weapons that and up in the bodies of our children. it is responsible. it must stop sending weapons to israel immediately and stop vetoing our efforts at the security council to stop this carnage. it is madness. this madness is not going to stop only on the borders of israel. you are already seeing the

region and more than six arenas are engaged and israel is bombing lebanon, syria, yemen, and god knows what is going to happen next. it also the effect of this on humanity. on liberal democracies. look at what is happening in u.s. come in the u.k., everywhere. some politicians are going out of their where to -- going out of their way to shield israel. your country, in the u.s., many states have used the power of the law legislating so people would have to in a one sign a contract if they're going to deal with a federal government or any public body that they will never boycott anything to do with israel. in the u.k., they're using the power of the law to make sure people here will not divest from the illegal colonial settlement. so this is a moment when everybody -- by the way, up to

the hundreds of thousands of people here in london a couple of weeks ago and you would see many of them because these millions of people here and worldwide have discovered israel is not just oppressing the palestinians. israel is oppressing every one of them. israel is dragging the entire world into this immoral war and suppression of an entire people. the process, the world is losing its own international system. the united nations, the security council. what is the international law? it is that war should not be the first option. that is the number one rule. that is why we have the security council. should wars be an option, there are rules. the geneva convention, don't target civilians and you must protect civilians. number three, accountability

should war crimes have been committed. the u.s. has completely destroyed, enabled israel to destroy all of these rules of the international order. amy, if you allow me, this is for the biden administration to think about seriously come to think about the impact that israel has normalized the mass murder of children, the mass murder of families and civilians, the mass destruction of hospitals, schools, universities. it is going to have severe consequences on our community, on how the world will function. not even about the u.s. role. i believe the u.s. has lost this -- the u.s. will not have standing in the south. will not have standing in the east anymore. the u.s. has made this all about israel for reasons beyond our discussion.

for many people in the south and the east, it is a cultural war waged by the u.s. and israel, that alliance unbreakable, trump's our laws and humidity and security and our children, everything. it is a moment to pose -- amy: i wanted to ask you about britain, the tens of thousands of people who have protested, about the prime minister rishi sunak firing suella braverman, coming a month after she called palestinian solidarity marches "hate marches." this is what the prime minister said. >> we have seen now tens of thousands of people take to the streets following the massacre of jewish -- amy: this is suella braverman. chanting for the erasure of israel from the map. to my mind, there's only one way

to describe the marches, they are hate marches. amy: and in she was out. the significance of this? >> very significant. the main message is that people of this country come the british people will not put up with such discourse. the people have delivered a verdict. i have participated and i have seen firsthand every color, every background, the christians and the muslims and the jewish brothers and sisters have been with us for a long time. i have seen a moment of unity, cease-fire now, not in our name, we have to end this once and for all. must admit,,, the position of the u.k. government is very concerning, very regrettable.

lagging behind the people, the energy of the people is inspiring. i must stay hopeful because if we go back in history, it is the people including the apartheid regime of south africa -- the anti-apartheid movement emanated from it. the europeans, africans, asians that came together now global movement and suffocated the apartheid regime, sucked oxygen out of the apartheid regime and we saw the end of the regime and the release of nesson mandella. as much as we despise governments, western governments position that will be remembered in history, they will be judged through history as much as we are appalled by that, we are so inspired, empowered, and certain about the power of the people in the u.k. in the u.s. and everywhere. this is different. this is a moment of confliction.

i believe this is a movement in the making. amy: let's talk about what they call the day after. the plan for afterwards. you have netanyahu canceling the war cabinet meeting. i was reading an article in "the times of israel" that says in 2019, a former deputy head of the israeli intelligence agency who was running for knesset with a centrist blue-and-white party told a political gathering that he was a jewish terrace to plan to blow up cars on a major highway during the gaza disengagement. he claimed he had personally interrogated smotrich who denied any connection to any plan to destroy or commit offenses. a senior agent claimed earlier this month in an interview with channel 12 news is really

authorities decided not to prosecute smotrich and his alleged collaborators because they did not want to expose their sources. i bring this up because apparently the finance minister, the far right settler smotrich is the one who prevented the war cabinet meeting from going or at least that netanyahu caved to, afraid he would lose his coalition which means you good no longer be prime minister which means he could be going to joe for his own corruption case. but if you can talk about the cancellation of this war cabinet meeting and what you want to see happen afterwards? >> the cancellation of the war meeting, whatever it is, just another expression of how fanatical, how extreme, how dangerous these people are. not only smotrich. you can read this online that a few years ago he calls for ethnic cleansing of

palestinians. he gives us three options. either we stay a slaves in our own homeland or we leave en ma ss, or we are killed by the army. he published this. he pays for settlements, pays for the army. sitting convicted terrorist in the israeli cabinet including the so-called national minister. one of the declared aims of war for netanyahu is tode-radicalize the people. ben-gvir was convicted as a terrorist, as a racist. this is a moment when we don't -- we should not discuss the day after. the day after is going to be up to the palestinian people. we have our structures, legitimacy, and we will make

sure the day after would be in united people like united land. you need day after will have to include jerusalem in one unit. we will not accept israel's daydreaming that gaza would be carved out as they have been trying to do for many years now. israel is a beloved part of our -- the thing we need to discuss is the day before. everybody is wanting to discuss the day after. now, the day before. the day before the seventh october 7, the supremacy, the murders, the provocation in jerusalem, the arresting of our children without trial, charge, without access to their parents are lawyers. this is what to be discussed. the long suppression evident termination. the desire, the basic denial --

the so of basic rights. the whole idea israel could keep a permanent occupation, permanent colonization, permanent denial of refugees to go back to their homes with the help of the u.s. administration and the rest of the west to really bypass the palestinian issue. that is what we are going to discuss soon because for the last so many years, the west has enabled israel to be convinced again bypass us. that -- the trump administration. i was the ambassador in washington during the trump administration. amy: explain what happened. >> the trump administration has simply, completely gave israel a stamp of approval to undermine any prospect of a two state solution and keep believing they could keep the occupation permanent.

but then comes the biden administration promising to do otherwise but failed miserably. they did not reverse any of the trump administration's very lethal policies. they double down on the psychology and the mindset of bypassing the palestinian issue. they pushed for mobilization between israel and the non-conflicting parties. even saudi arabia. the fact is, the biden administration knows israel's issue is with us. there are two agendas here. a nonsolution agenda, as basic as that. and there was the palestinian and international agenda which was the so-called two state solution. the biden administration did nothing whatsoever in the last three years or so to actually go

in that direction. everything they did was in the opposite direction. and now they are in this mood of trend occurred israel but -- trying to curb israel but they will not be able to use -- to tell israel we will stop arming you, stop funding you. israel is not listening. amy: i want to get your response to a tweet posted thursday by secretary of state tony blinken. he said -- he wasn't talking specifically about what has happened to gaza. i would like you to address this. you addressed a rally recently where you talked about the astounding number of journalists who have been killed in gaza.

the numbers are believed to be up to something like 105. and the significance of journalists being killed. >> it is part of israel's deliberate targeting of journalists. the case of shireen abu akleh. she is a palestinian and american citizen. amy: the al jazeera reporter. >> yes. al jazeera but a palestinian icon, beloved palestinian voice of the palestinian people. most prominent journalist, killed by an israeli soldier as she was covering live events in

jenin and the u.s. was involved, the fbi was involved, mr. blinken was involved. israel is the exception. every u.s. administration has simply looked the other way when israel of its crimes. israel has been made in the above every law, human value. back to your question, this is part of the suicide -- i'm sorry, the socio-site. if you kill the doctors and professors and the sectors, media is in a jewel part of society, that society will be unable to survive. more than 100 journalists have been killed. the count is still going on. this is part of making our society simply lifeless, unable to survive, and let me say this,

maybe it will sound of it emotional, but it is not going to happen because we have a very special society, very rooted, very traditional, and knows how to come together in these moments and survive. we have learned how to survive since the nakba of 1948. israel can break these laws and the very basic human values but he cannot break us. you are following what is happening. israel is just exposing the savagery, the barbarism this whole entity is about an hour need end to end the idea you can control things -- you can't control things -- you can only control things when you end the occupation. amy: ambassador husam zomlot, thank you for joining us palestinian ambassador to the , united kingdom. coming up, francesca albanese.

stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: "in the depth" by ruba shamshoum. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we continue to look at israel's assault on gaza, we are

joined by francesca albanese, the united nations special rapporteur on the occupied palestinian territory. earlier this week, she denounced reports is really prime minister netanyahu is endorsed expelling all palestinians from gaza. israeli news outlets report netanyahu told a group of israeli lawmakers monday regarding voluntary immigration, this is the direction we are going in, he said. palestinian leaders denounced netanyahu for embracing what they describe as ethnic cleansing. earlier this week, francesca albanese tweeted -- welcome back to democracy now! thank you for joining us. talk about what has been reported as netanyahu's plan.

>> good morning. the plan becomes clearer and clearer. we have heard statements made by israeli politicians, military commanders referring to the need for the palestinians from gaza to move south first and then more and more south. at the same time, we have seen soldiers entering the gaza strip saying "to destroy this place." the more the time passes, the more becomes clear there is a plan in certain corners of the government to repossess gaza and to convert it into an israeli

area. this is pure madness. it is illegal. it is not new. forced displacement is the main trait that characterizes israeli occupation in the gaza strip, the west bank, and east jerusalem. it has gone through 56 years, not to mention what has happened before. but now -- it is cynical to call it voluntary migration and to evoke the possibility for the palestinians in gaza to survive to move somewhere else come to sinai or somewhere else in the arab region sing the palestinians -- this is like saint italians can go anywhere because they are european citizens. it is a crime against humanity. it should be stopped. [indiscernible]

unfathomable ideas. amy: in a post earlier this week, you compare the israeli assault on gaza to the genocidal massacres in rwanda. can you explain? >> i did not necessarily compare the two, i'm saying the international community has been silent and unable to prevent the genocide in rwanda, to prevent the genocide -- in the same would looking idle at what is happening in the gaza strip. but it is worse. the ambassador zumlot was saying before, if people had not realized what the nakba is, this is been going on under our eyes but the genocidal is more clear. it is not just about displacing

people, pushing them out, the number of killings in the gaza strip which has been turned into an assassination factory come to use an expression by journalists in +972 magazine, but also look at what is going on in the west bank where there is no military presence and still 500 palestinians have been killed. the reason the mass killing of palestinians on going accompanied by genocidal incitement. this must be stopped. this triggers obligation to prevent genocide among member states. but no one seems very preoccupied in the international community other than human rights actors and those concerned -- amy: francesca albanese, you are

the u.n. special rapporteur. israel has announced it is going to stop automatically granting visas to employees of the united nations after it accused the u.n. of being complicit partners with hamas. your response? >> baseless, baseless accusations. i am appalled at how these attacks against the u.n. continue to escalate. on one hand, have two big failures here. one is in the news and the other is inevitable. the induced what is the political fear of the u.n. because it paralyzed -- sorry come of the u.s. security council. the other failure which is inevitable, humanitarian machinery of the u.s. system

which is also under attack. the u.n. should be strengthened. the multilateral system strike is out and establish a modicum of order here. but look, what israel is doing is raising the attacks against the u.n. because the u.n. [indiscernible] the threatening u.n. staff of withdrawing visas is not new. those in my position, not about me particularly, but the three special rapporteurs who preceded we have not been able to enter the palestinian territory because of the israeli decision not to cooperate with the mandate, which is a violation of u.n. member states obligation to comply with the u.n., including

its investigative mechanisms. israel behaves the same will with various commissions, including the current inquiry on israel-palestine. israel has basically kicked out three years ago the office of the high commissioner for human rights -- this has gone completely silent -- withdrawing visas to those operating now [indiscernible] the u.n. has also accepted israel's hubris to become fatter and fatter. this is the reality today, have an israeli ambassadors and leaders, everyone, theu secretary-general, everyone. where shall we draw the line? amy: let me ask you about information new at this morning. unwra posted on x this has been

the deadliest year. this is the whole year. it was already the deadliest year before october 7 when hamas attacked israel. now more than 300 since october 7, palestinians and the west bank have been killed by either israeli soldiers or settlers. >> yes, primarily soldiers. this is probably the only issue in an otherwise great report by the u.n. human rights office. it pointed to the disproportionate use of force through military means, which have resulted, yes, in the killing of 500 people, 500 palestinians this year, mostly by israeli soldiers.

the emphasis on settler violence, though, while it is true, should not distract from the fact the settlers are there as part of an enterprise, the israeli enterprise to colonize and annex gaza. israel as a state should be held responsible for the actions of the settlers, which are never prosecuted, by the way. again, we have to think that this has been the deadliest year since 2005 when the u.n. started collecting the data outside of conflict and east gaza. but in gaza, 4000 people, including many children, have been killed in 16 years during five wars a blockade. this is just for those who believed everything started on october 7. it did not.

we have a special rapporteur, including israeli and palestinian human rights organizations and many scholars, who call for the end of the repression and annexation and collimation of the occupied territory because this was the only way to guarantee the security, safety, well-being of palestinians and israelis and we have gone unheard. amy: the role of the united states? and resolution after resolution, they vetoed any call for a cease-fire. the last one they did not veto it, but they abstained once they got the un security council not to include cease-fire in the language. where do you see the u.n. going and the role of the united states in this? how powerful, how important is the united states? >> the united states is very important, very powerful, very influential.

the only single state that can really change the dynamics between israel and the occupied palestinian territories not only because the united states provides a lot of means and military aid to israel, but also shelters israel from its responsibilities -- political responsibilities. the last resolution, the u.s. managed to water it down to a point that makes no sense. the only thing that is needed now, and it is already late, is a cease-fire. the fact the u.s. is still not considering this as an option because it continues to engage with israel as business as usual, shows profound disrespect toward the palestinian people. again, this is a level of dehumanization i have never seen -- it is not new from israel,

but it is new at this level with this magnitude, endorsed also in the u.s. but also in europe. yeah. there is huge responsibilities and the u.s. is laileading. amy: how do you see this ending in this last-minute, francesca albanese, u.n. special rapporteur? as i was just discussing with the ambassador, netanyahu just canceled his war cabinet meeting under pressure from the even more far right finance ministers 's matric. where is this headed? >> it is headed toward further madness. unless and until it is stopped and it is going to be a very heavy loaded, dark, grim future

for both palestinians and israelis so there should be a huge -- restore international law. basic respect, equality, human rights for both israelis and the palestinians. it starts with the protective presence that could provide -- this is the moment to end occupation. it cannot happen without protective presence that guarantees safety and security for everyone. amy: francesca albanese is the united nations special rapporteur on the occupied palestinian territory. coming up, the state of maine has become the second state joining colorado to bar donald trump from the republican primary ballot over his role in the january 6 insurrection. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman. on thursday, the state of maine joined colorado and barring donald trump from the republican primary ballot over his role in the january 6 insurrection. the secretary of state issued a written decision saying the

insurrection clause in the 14th amendment makes the former president ineligible to run for public office again. trump's campaign has vowed to appeal the ruling. a campaign spokesperson described the decision as "hostile assault on american democracy." the u.s. supreme court will likely have the final say on trump's eligibility. last week colorado supreme court barred trump from the primary ballot but michigan's supreme court ruled he can stay on the michigan ballot. just last night california secretary of state declined to remove donald trump from the presidential primary ballot despite a call for her to do so from the state's lieutenant governnor. gavin newsom said we defeat candidates at the polls. for more we're joined by john bonifaz, president of free speech for people.

can you respond to what has happened in maine and then talk about, john, about those who are opposed to this, republican and democrats alike who say this should be decided by the people at polls not by courts, whether donald trump can run for president again? >> thank you for having me. this is a highly significant decision the main secretary of state has issued barring donald trump from the ballot in the state of maine because he disqualified under section three of the 14th amendment. that critical provision makes clear anyone who takes an oath of office and then engages in insurrection is forever barred from public office again. secretary bellows had a duty to enforce the mandate of section three of the 14th mm and against donald trump and she carried out that duty and we thank her for that. all across the country they must follow her courage and carry out their duty to bar donald trump

from their state ballots. the colorado supreme court as well had a duty to follow the constitution and they did. for those who say this needs to be decided at the ballot box, that is ignoring the very purpose of section three of the 14th amendment. we have in our constitution basic qualifications for serving as president of the united states. have to be 35 years of age by the time of inauguration, a natural born citizen, and have to have not taken the oath of office and engaged in insurrection. these are qualifications for serving the office of president. if we are going to a door this critical constitutional provision, we do it with the risk of setting a dangerous precedent going forward that elected officials can incite an insurrection, mobilize and facilitate an insurrection threatening our republic, and then move on to serve in public office again. it is contrary with the framers

intended and exactly why we will be continuing to file challenges to donald trump's eligibility and other key states. amy: talk about where article three of the 14th amendment came about, its roots in the confederacy. >> this critical provision of the 14th amendment was part of that amendment enacted after the civil war, after the first insurrection in our nation's history. it was designed to address ex- confederates in positions of power or who sought to attain positions of power previously had taken an oath to defend the constitution. the framers of the 14th amendment were clear if you took that prior oh to defend the constitution and engaged in leading the first insurrection in our nation, the civil war, then you are barred from holding public office again. these ex-confederates who

engaged in the insurrection were seen as threats to the republic. it is important to note that framers debated and decided the 14th amendment section three would not solely apply to the ex-confederates but any future insurrection. they were perspective. they recognized the need to be this safeguard to our democracy. for people who say this is antidemocratic, they're getting it wrong. this is about defending our democracy, defending our constitution. you cannot allow people who take that oath of office to defend the constitution and turn around and insight in insurrection as donald trump did and say they're going to serve and public office again. especially not the highest office of the land. amy: what states might do this next? a decision expected soon in oregon were the same group that filed the michigan lawsuit, your group, john, free speech for

people, seeking to have the state supreme court remove donald trump from that presidential primary ballot. and what about this going to the u.s. supreme court? what do you expect from this? donald trump has appointed three of the court justices. >> first in oregon, we represented a group of voters challenging donald trump's eligibility to serve on the presidential primary and general election ballot. we filed an action before the state supreme court meaning we want the oregon supreme court to take it up immediately. the secretary of state of oregon , her filings before the supreme court, agreed the matter should be taken up immediately by the state supreme court. this is a matter of critical importance for the state and for the nation. we are waiting on the state supreme court to take the next action, with respect to those filings, and we expect that to happen soon.

as far as the u.s. supreme court, people to highlight three of those appointees were donald trump appointees. it is worth noting after the 2020 election, donald trump filed more than 60 court cases all across the country trying to overturn the 2020 election. based on the big lie come the lie there was massive fraud in the election with no evidence whatsoever. he lost every single one of those cases. every time he tried to get one of those cases to the supreme court, he lost that as well. the supreme court never agreed with his claims. they never even agreed to take any of his cases. amy: 10 seconds. >> we have to see what the supreme court will do but they ought to file the mandate of section three of the 14th amendment in the constitution. amy: john bonifaz, president of free speech for people. that does it for our show. a huge congratulations to our

producer john hamilton and his wonderful wife on the birth of their son this morning. congratulations to his sister as well. on monday, new year's day, we will bring you a special on julian assange, the imprisoned wikileaks founder.