>> hello, and welcome to this news hour, we have the top news stories. president obama said he's ready to order airstrikes in syria to destroy the islamic state group. an aljazeera exclusive, missing the chance to have israel investigated for war crimes. oscar pistorius, weeks in court as the judge rules that he's not guilty of murder. but the final verdict has not been handed down.

and emergency teams get vital aid across south asia. thousands are still not rescued. the u.s. president has set out his plan for taking on the islamic state group in iraq and syria. barack obama's strategy includes airstrikes in both countries. plus sending more troops to iraq to advise iraqi forces. >> the counter terrorism strategy. >> it's approached toward either target from yemen to

afghanistan and pakistan, obama promised to irradicates is through airstrikes and proxy wars in iraq and syria. >> we will not allow american combat troops fighting on american soil. this counter terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist through our air power, and forces on the ground. >> but it's a strategy that analysts say is unclear at best. >> eliminating it them a terrorism organize, there's the syrian part of the equation, and the iraqi part of the equation, and it's not entirely clear how the u.s. administration seeks to proceed in syria. barack obama mentioned syrian rebels, who those syrian rebels will be remains to be seen. >> while obama promised to deploy 1500 troops to iraq to

get regional fighters to leave the front line battle, criticism has been directed at the president for failing to outline a solution. >> i was very disappointed that the war politically doesn't show up at all. and the president's speech regarding iraq, he speaks about bombing the extremist group, isis, and the president speaks about creating more proxy groups to send ground combat forces, but he doesn't speak about any political solution to extremism. >> . >> soing to irradicates t it remains that the president and

his forces have killed more than 130,000 civilians, and yet no military action has been taken against them, many believe that the only sluice solution lies in the war as a whole. >> first, let's june amin, joining us live from beirut. and what are we hearing from the syrian government regarding black's plan? >> well, this afternoon we heard from the syrian foreign ministry, they were very clear, any u.s. action on syrian land will be considered an aggression if it is not coordinated, if it does not have the consent of damascus, and this is the position that they had before. but the president is adamant that they aren't going to talk to them before they launch the

airstrikes, and the other problem, what can the syrian government to do if they want to? in the past couple of months, hundreds of the syrian army soldiers have been killed at the hands of the is. so it seams that the government in damascus needs to use the chance that the west needs to fight the isis group to get political gain, they want the west to knock at their doors for help. >> thank you very much for bringing syria's reaction, and let's go live to baghdad. it's not being well receive bid damascus, and how is the iraqi government reacting to obama's plan?

they have long been asking for u.s. help. and this stopped boots on the ground. and that's good for iraqis, that was always a red line, and the air support and the creation of the national guard units is also key. they're going to defend the cities and the towns from the isis threat. and also what is key, the advisers they're sending, 475, bringing the total to 1600. they're advising in terms of intelligence gathering and tactics and training. all of this is being received very well. and what wasn't, the iraqis with much tougher language on syria. there was nothing in obama's strategy that would be able to pinpoint when any airstrikes might happen in isis, and thank you can't deal with iraq without dealing with them in

syria as well. so a little disappointing for syria, but positive. and the islamic state, however, are defined through use of the social media, they said we haven't declared war on the u.s., and the beheads were a strategy that the u.s. should have headed. >> live from baghdad, thank you very much for the update. now, there's an investigative unit, delivered and he chose not to have israel investigated during the gaza war. the pa called on the icc to investigate israeli war crimes, and our investigation has found that they nearly d but the last hurdle, they chose not to sign o mike is standing by for us in ramallah, and the first in his special report.

>> more than 2,100 palestinians, most of them women and children, were killed. more than 70 israelis, 70 of them, also perished. following attacks on u.n. shelters, the secretary general condemned israel's actions. >> these were outrageous, unacceptable and unjustified firing. >> in the midst of the punishing israeli assault on gaza, appeals were made to the palestinian authority to once and for all exercise it's legal and non-violent rights, and with a stroke of the pen, join the international critical court or the icc. such a move could have triggered an investigation into both party's committed war crimes in the 50-day conflict. this court filing, submitted by

a french law firm, was to the justice minister what appeared to put israel in the dark. >> we must do everything in our power to enable the international criminal court to bring to justice those responsible for committing war crimes. >> for this confidential august 14th letter, obtained exclusively by aljazeera, it tells a very different story. it was sent by top prosecutors here in the foreign minister's visit, with a crucial question to ask before he can open the investigation. it's necessary to trigger an investigation, it requires a written approval by either head of state or the foreign minister, so the top prosecutor

asked maliki t. did the recent submission give the icc jurisdiction have the government's approval? and then the prime minister wrote, i didn't receive a confirmation, and there's no reason to start an investigation. >> the palestinian authority either never authorized the original referral when it was brought on the 25th of july by the minister of justice and prosecutor, or the decision has changed, or their decision has been changed from under pressure from someone else. the decision to do nothing clearly emerges as a consequence of the prime minister. >> it's obvious now, the palestinian authority are playing games, and telling the world one thing and doing something in private which is completely different. what has really happened is that habas doesn't want to sign.

and the question you would ask yourself is why? >> that's a question many in gaza and around the world will now the answered. >> now joined live, the big question, why pa might not pursue this investigation, and are there any indications as to what might have happened? >> well, the palestinian authority will say that they want to protect some of the factions from prosecution, but that doesn't wash. we know that the palestinian authority in 2009 asked to join the icc behind me. they submitted their membership and it was turned away from the icc in 2012 because you can't join if you're not a state. but that changed in november of 2012 when theue. n general assembly recognize palestine as a state. what was involved in icc membership, at the same time, they weren't concerned them

whether jihad or other factions would be interested prosecuted. so what would be a more likely explanation, in 2011, they published the palestine papers, where the palestinian authority agreed not to pursue israel in forum so long as there were negotiation. the united states putting incredible pressure on the palestinian authority not to move the gold stone to the human rights commission for a vote, which would push israel to prosecution, and habas backed down then, the pressure that palestine receives money from the united states, and it keeps the aid going if they keep the americans happy. so the palestinian authority has to answer why, and they're shielding all of these groups. you have many uphangings in gaza, not just islamic jihad

and habas. >> should they choose to pursue this case, how strong is it? >> well, its weaker now by the simple fact, evidentiary, it's good, and it's moving forward to investigation, and that problem issomed. but this dithering, israel has announced that it's going to investigate itself. and the icc won't investigate a country if it's already seized with its own internal investigation. so at most, they're going to ensure that the israeli investigation is legitimate. but it's like a take-home exam. and there's nothing that the israelis can show that the investigation is legitimate. and meantime, the crucial time can't be lost because the icc can't get started on its own.

years can pass while this takes place, and it appears now that the golden opportunity was mixed when the foreign minister declined. >> thanks for joining us from there, and this goes over to mike hanna, and he joins us from ramallah. with reactions from the palestinians. >> well, laura, the reaction from independents is one of two scenarios. either the palestinians were unsure about the procedures to be a meck of the icc, or there was a conscience decision taken at the highest level not to do so. now, the first scenario, clearly debatable. for five years, the palestinians have attempted to be members of the icc. and they should be aware of the procedures, and the state, whether the justice minister or the foreign minister approaching the icc for the palestinian state to be a

member and accept the jurisdiction of the icc. the second scenario, that there was a conscience decision not to, and that's what's underdebate at present. i'm joined by the secretary general of the palestinian initiative, and do you think there was a conscience decision not to join the icc at this stage, and why? >> i think there's no decision yet. and there has been a lot of pressure from all political parties in palestine. we all signed a petition, demanding that the head of the plo would sign so we could be members of the national critical court. so we can carry cases against israel and center investigations about war crimes, and crimes against humanity that conflict with gaza. it's a matter of timing, and i think that the more we wait. and the more dangerous things become, and that's why this

issue is coming up in every meeting, and it's a public pressure also demanding that the joining of the icc. and my worry is that i think israel is now trying to build a team to change the international rule. >> i was going to ask you something about that. because our correspondent just mentioned that the fact that israel has now launched it's own examination or investigation actually makes problems should the palestinians now sign the document with the icc because the icc has to let that israeli investigation go ahead. >> we will come in investigation, and we know that israel is the one that committed war crimes. we are not worried about the palestinians doing so. we know we're right on our side. and the problem is that the head of the plo should sign these papers, and as a state, since we have become a state, we can do that.

and [ audio difficulties ] [ audio difficulties ] and the u.n. security council are linked. there was the argument that going to the security council first, and if that fails, then go to the icc. >> i think this is useless, waiting is useless, and even if people wanted to wait, they

waited and americans responded. they said they're not coming with the initiative, and they're not allowing the security council to take a pox, so there are no excuses anymore. i think it's time to sign their own statute and it's time to join the icc and hold israel accountable. this is a palestinian public demand. and a demand from a all people who support the palestinian cause, and i hope that we will soon join the icc and the public demand will be met. >> thank you very much indeed. the public demand for membership of the icc is there, but clearly no response, according to this report from, the palestinian leadership. >> mike hannah, reporting from ramallah, thank you very much, mike. u.n. peace keepers captured by a syrian rebel group in august have been released.

all 45 of the soldiers are safe. they were captured last month in the syrian controlled site. aljazeera continues to demand the release of its three journalists egypt has deigned for 207 days. it had been a key demand from the u.s. >> under intense pressure from the american, threatening to withdraw support for the peshmerga and fighting the islamic state fighters, the government was signed up for at least the first three months. it appears the conditions have been met, to get a budget, be a centralized power to spend it as they see fit, to get part of the oil and gas revenue. the new government is more

sympathetic to the kurdish demands. they want peshmerga to be given more weapons, support and fighters paid a salary. at the moment, kyrgystan is a part of this great new government, but comes with a deadline. >> we could learn by the end of the week who killed or murdered those two american journalists. there are a number of reports out a that say officials are close to identifying the man that killed james foley and steven sotloff. >> another rebel group maybe making gains in carving out an islamic state in nigeria. there are reports that the group in iraq and syria is advising boko haram in northern nigeria. coming up, we'll speak with they say there are hundreds of thousands of people potentially trapped still here in their homes.

but most people here are happy with the army's help, but they're saying that much more needs to be done. many people here have lost their voices, trying to rescue people, and they say that it will take days, not weeks, before they know the full extent of the damage here. >> engineers are putting up flood dikes to reduce water pressure and preventing larger cities from being flooded. it's the worst ever in central. >> many people are stuck, and hundreds of villages are submerged. and the people are seeking refuge on high ground. the only way to get to them is by helicopter, and the military

is using boats to evacuate people from the danger zone. now, the important thing is that the government has decided to blow away some of the dikes and the embankments in order to relieve pressure down south. and that of course means that most of the farmlands and the villages are underwater. but the military is trying to save the largest cities, such as the historic city, and a record amount of water is supposed to be passing within the next 24 hours. the military is helping with relief efforts. >> now, scotland's referendum is only a week away. excusing the british government, following three banks saying that they would relocate to england if the scott's voted to leave the union. the royal bank of scotland has their headquarter in

eddinborough. well, as scotland prepares to vote on independence, people in cat loania in northeast spain are watching closely. the elections are being held in barcelona about termination, and the spanish government is firmly opposed. live for us in embarrass loania, give us some-the things that you're seeing there. >> absolutely enormous crowds here, and what you see behind me is a sliver of huge numbers that have turned out in support of catalonia holding an independence referendum. there are hordes of people along the two arteries here.

they are wearing the red and yellow, the national colors of cat loania the clearest signal yet of the spirit that's existing here in catalonia. and the cataloniaens continue to experience the referendum, it would be seen as an illegal move, something against the constitution of spain. but people behind me, but people here are very much keeping a close eye on the outcome of the independent vote in scotland as a model of what could potentially play out here. so attention is really being paid on the results there.

of course next week. that of course is a long way off for these people, and it's somewhat of a symbolic push, a install from madrid that these people want to be heard and taken under k.. >> thank you very much, there in barcelona, spain. now, the european union will impose sanctions on russia on friday. moscow's involvement in the eastern ukraine. live for us in berlin, the big question is, what do these additional sanctions mean? >> they mean it's going to be a lot harder for russia, amongst other things, to finance the extremely costly oil and gas exploration that it needs for its economy to continue to grow in the decades to come.

because the sanctions include a ban on the financing of transnext time, the oil maker ad they will not be able to go to europe and raising the billions of dollars to search, and as well as, there's a ban on technology, much of which is needed precisely to explore in the arctic. a ban on financing of the military industry, and finally, a ban on what is called dual use technology, that could have been a civilian application, and it could also have a military application. so the ban really is on four different things. the most important of course is a ban on financing russia's state-owned oil companies. >> it's going to hit russia at

these sanctions, as they have, and russia has promised retaliation, hasn't it? >> well, it has, and there are already reports from the news agencies on the ban of imports of used cars from europe, and a ban as well on the import of some industrial equipment. and there has been much talk in moscow on the ban of the overflight rights. let's remember that russia is the world's biggest country, and a lot of air flights are most easily flown over the arctic circle and russia, and however, russia would lose a lot of money because the airlines pay $300 million to the russian treasury and a lot of it goes to the state owned carriere, arrow forgot. but that's something that's in the air and hasn't been passed by the government. but the latest and the

equipment has been used on eu foodstuffs. >> still ahead on aljazeera, five months since hundreds of nigerian girls were abducted by boko haram. we'll meet one of the girls who escaped. plus, learning the lessons of dna, a discovery that revolutionized the fight against crime. and later, fleets arrive for the asian games in south korea. rolled my window down and got out. >> two people died in the

>> on the stream, >> sovereign citizens

the movement has been named america's number one domestic security threat. so who are they? and what do they want? >> the stream, on al jazeera america >> to hear al baghdadi hear it, he's head of state. the status that merges religious and governmental leadership. who al baghdadi, how he got where he is, and the caliphate are all on "inside story."