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hello and welcome to press tv. light, i'm marcy hashimi, thanks so much for being with us. well, as 2023 comes to an end, this year will be forever remembered as the one which exposed the absolute hypocrisy of the rules-based system and all the organizations created under, it's umbrella, from women's rights to children's rights to free speech, all of these rights that many thought existed in the world, we've seen that they are null and void, when it comes to the collective west regarding the east and global south, this is especially true as we enter new year, and the zionist genocide continues to take place against palestinians, almost three months after it started and is being met by collective silence and our in action from the west to stop it. we're going to take a look

at these uh last two and a half months on the spotlight. i'd like to welcome my guests to the program. richard falk, former un special reporter. on palestine human rights out of santa barbara, california, and shabir is the political analys out of london. well, thank you both for being with us. i like to start this off with richard fall, well, you are a former un special raporteur on palestine human rights. did you ever think that you would be witnessing what you have been uh these last two and a half months, this type? of genocide and basically nothing being done to stop it, my imag darkest form of imagination could not reach the horror show that we've been witnessing for almost three

months, as you say, it's the most transparent spectacle of genocide that the people of the world have ever been exposed to, "and the complicity of the global west, particularly the us and uk, shocks even a critic like myself, because it exposes, not only the hypocrisy of the rules based world, which was always a very suspect, it was geopolitical rules for the powerful and..." kind of accountability to international law for the week, and and now it has become something that is indulgent of genocide, when it's

committed by friends and critical of human rights of any sort, if they are attributable to adversaries or enemies. so we're a very dark place in uh human history, i fear. yes, indeed. well, shabir, i mean, can you believe that you're still witnessing this genocide that started on october 7th, and we're about to start a new year and it still hasn't stopped. hello, good evening, thanks for the invitation. firstly, condolences to the families of the martters and also... our sort of heartfelt pain for those who are suffering uh the um amputations and all kinds of other uh sort of bloodleting which is being inflicted on the palestinians both in gaza

and the west bank as i keep pointing out that it's not just in gaza that is taking place obviously the numbers are horrendus but as our friend from the usa. we are a dark place, not only a dark place, but just to quote william shakespeare, when he said, "i'm sick when i do look at d, he was really talking, dimitris was speaking to helena," and night dream at that time, so it's really the, we feel the sickness when we look at our politicians, our media pundit in the legacy media in the west, and also all the chattering classes that they really have not only abandoned, but actually the sort of the words that they used to use of human rights and of sort of freedom of speech and all

kinds of flowery words, the veil has been removed or vails have been removed from from them very clearly, and i think people... in the south and the east part of the world are realizing that these were not just hypocritical words, but there were words to hoodwink us into... thinking that the west has some moral and ethical thinking behind it, but the reality is that now that we are seeing this happening a daily basis, minute by minute, hour by hour, people are realizing that how inhuman the politicians are, they really have no heart at all um thinking about it, you people keep on talking about that israel has a right to defend it. said, yes, israel has a right to kill babies, israel has a right to uh murder over 100 journalists,

israel has a right to um kill what 21 2200 people, israel has a right to kill pregnant mothers, israel has a right to do all the henous crimes that one could list, and in a the list would be very long, but the reality is that israel is... being allowed to get away, but i think they are only going to get away for a limited period of time. i think come 2024, the support that the palestinians are getting globally from the ordinary people, not from the politicians or the elite or the chattering classes, as i said, but really the ordinary people are feeling that this cannot go on in the manner that it is, and again the whole sort of..." of hysterical hisbora which is now being proven to be completely false and lies upon lies, that

again that veil which has been sort of given to the world for the last 75 years has come off in the last you know less than 75 days, so people are realizing that it is just that you know zionism is equal racism, zionism is equal colonialism, ism is equal to imperialism, zionism is really the you, dare i say the problem in west asia, it's not the palestinians, palestinians are the indigenous people of that land, and again it's not a jewish or muslim sort of war, it really is a war against an occupier, userper, and nation, which is built on people who are not part of that land, okay, and this is because stay

with me, shab, let me get richard back in on this, richard, how did we get here, or were we always here, um, just that we can see clear the reality, because if we look at the rules-based system that was set up after world world war to, and we see the veto power that the un security council members, have always had, were we always here, um, but there was enough of the facade in place that people didn't understand it, or or what's your assessment of this, this difference between we see reactions, what happened uh, for example when russia invaded ukraine, as opposed to the reaction uh towards the zionist regime and what this genocide they're committing against the palestinians. well, you're posing a really important series of questions. "and there's no simple answer, i

think in one sense the logic of the zionist project always had an end game that is very destructive of the palestinian people, it wanted a jewish supremacy state that" corresponded with vision of biblical times, kind of mythic, promised land, and in a post-colonial era to try to dispossess the indigenous people is really itself major crime, it's a and israel has recently with justification been called the last settler

colonial undertaking, so that's that's a background, and then in the foreground is the capture of the zionist project by the most extremist elements in it, which couldn't complete the project without this kind of gen onslot, and there's every reason to suspect that the hamas attack of october 7. was allowed to happen and even facilitated in its execution by the non arrival of the israeli forces, they the settler mentality that has captured the zionist movement and has made

its way to the pinnacles of power in israel, was seeking a pretext for what one might call a second kbah a second wave of disposession and creating a final phase in the israel effort to take over the west bank which is the primary goal. and to perhaps reoccupy or at least depopulate gaza, it now has some importance economically and strategically in relation to the sues canal, in relation to the offshore oil and gas, so there are

economic reasons and settlers on the west bank are really... real real estate operators are promising coastline villas to jewish resettlers and new wave of settlement, so we don't know what the how the outcome will be phased, and then the hardest question and the most important one in a sense is the... explanation of the complicity crimes committed by the western countries. i think the whole relationship to the region was changed by two events: one was the iranian revolution in 78-79, and the second was the

1967 war in which israel for the first time... emerged not as a strategic burden, which it had been in relation to the oil producers and to the islamic world generally, but suddenly it became a strategic asset, and with iran, the prior allied special friend under the shah's rule, no longer present there. it it's joined these forces of uh support that had built up after the holocaust for a jewish sanctuary, kind of liberal guilt in the west, okay, okay, i just want to say one, finish this one, it because it fused

that liberal guilt. with strategic military interests in the region and created a new kind of commitment by the us to uh israel and going along with whatever israel did even to this extent. what should when we look at what has happened uh since october 7th and the increase? in pro-palestinian activism in these western countries and a greater awareness of israeli crimes and not only awareness of israeli crimes, but the complicity of their own country's involvement. your assessment of where this will possibly go in 2024? that's a very interesting question, because obviously, as

we have been observing uh since day one, if you like, after 7th of october. "there have been huge demonstrations in major european cities and in north america, australia and new zealand, so it's becoming very clear that the ordinary masses are not in tune with the ruling elite in the respective countries, so there's a huge, if you like democratic gap that has sort of been created." secondly, what is happening is that the, as i said earlier, the effective, the historical hisborrah was for the last 75. years letting people know that you know israel is sort of a land for the jews, because they were persecuted in europe, and really i find it

quite extraordinary that if they were persecuted in europe, perhaps piece of land should have been found for them in europe rather than in west asia, which wasn't there to give, and you now just like the the the former..." zionist ambassador the un holding the bible saying that this is our title deed to the land and also uh hannahfi famously said that you know she didn't know that god was a real state salesman so the reality is that you know they feel that when god needs to be brought into the conversation then they will say that you know they got so chosen people. in this land belongs to them, however, most of the zionists are not believers in god, the founders of the zionist entity did not believe in god, and famously

the christmas sort of sermon which was presented by pastor ishak really quite eloquently put it that the bible has been weaponized, so all these things that have happened were really clouding the... the ordinary people over the last 75 years, but it has become very clear that these were all lies which were put forward by the spokespersons from the zionist entity and their supporters in the media and the politicians giving diplomatic and political cover to the zianist entity, so all this has really been undone, and there was an article in the jerusalem post not long ago, which was really saying that we worked hard for the last 75 years to tell the people one story, but within 75 days, the world is not

believing what we were telling them, so this is this is quite an important aspect, which i think is is is a great remorse for the zionist entity and their supporters, right indeed, well richard falk, do you think the year 2024 will be one where the whole rules-based system will continue to be exposed and even start to disintegrate? well, i think it started to disintegrate before, it started with with the new initiatives taken in the global south such as the formation of the bricks, the rise of china, the effort... the us to maintain the geopolitical dominance it had in the aftermath of the cold war, the

implosion of the soviet union, i think that all those factors were underway, it was it was a process of challenging this post cold war world that was underway, but now... with the events in the middle east that challenge is going to be intensified in 2024, and the outcome is not of course clear, the us relies only these days, not on rule-based principles, but its supposed military superiority, and that's pr. the disaster through ever since vietnam, in afghanistan, yemen, iraq, several other places, so we're

facing very critical moment, and i fear that in 2024, if israel gets backed into a corner and can't find its way out of this gaza trap that it's made for itself, it will try to... expand the war and draw these geopolitical actors into a much larger framework of conflict. okay, 30 seconds, shabir, i just, i'm so sorry, richard, i got to give 30 seconds to shabir, shabir, where do you see this going as far as the palestinian resistance? we have seen how successful they have been overall and the overall resistance 2024. well, 2024, i believe is going to be a positive out. come for the resistance, and of course, if israel is you put into corner, they may react in a sort of a mad dog way.

but i think the positive sign would be that already half million israelies have left the zionist entity and i think if the security situation becomes even more difficult, lot more people will voluntarily leave the zionist and on that note, i'm so sorry, hopefully we can talk again, but we're out of time tonight. richard falk, former un special reporter in palestine human rights of sant barber california shabir is the political analysts out of london. thank you both for being with us, thank you viewers. for being with us on another spotlight, hope to see you next time, goodbye. as the us israel genocidal war in gaza enters its third month and the deathl continues to rise, israel's economy is also paying heavy price. the labor shortage in high-tech is

especially worrying since that sector... accounts for nearly 20% of israel's gross domestic product (gdp) 20% of the israeli workers are partled the reserve army and they are not functioning. in this edition of economic divide we have special guests ales rothchild author of broken promises and broken dreams and member of the jewish voice for peace who says the bigger problem needs to be solved. so the root causes of this crisis are the ongoing occupation of the occupied. territories and the siege of gaza,

one year watching here from. at least 150 palestinans. were killed in israel's latest strikes on gaza, the palestinian dead tool is approaching 22,000. yemen vows that the us will pay the price for its deadly attack its boats, saying that such acts cannot prevent it from supporting palestinians and iran's leader hels the role of marsan sulaimani as vital reviving the strength.