and defamation charges and campaign are. also remains imprisoned amnesty international says at least 10 women's rights activists were rounded up for advocating an end to male guardianship and a ban on women driving it says they endure torture sexual abuse and other forms of ill treatment while in prison saudi arabia is working to reset its relationship with the united states and others concerned about its human rights record over forms have been enacted by crown prince behind been salmond critics say they're largely cosmetic and many hope that more meaningful changes like those championed by activists will be achieved and are schapelle al-jazeera. this is out there at the zion top stories yes democrats have wrapped up the 2nd and final day of laying out their case in donald trump's impeachment trial at. times hiring evidence to the former president of being responsible for the capitol hill

riots in january 6th and which 5 people killed tom's defense team takes the floor on friday and a vote on whether to convict him will follow i challenge you all to think about it if you think this is not impeachable what is what would be president trump's lawyers endorse his breathtaking assertion that his conduct in inciting these events was totally appropriate. and the senate acquits donald trump than any president could incite and provoke insurrectionary violence against us again if you don't find this a high crime and misdemeanor today you have set a new terrible standard for presidential misconduct in the united states of america . united states has imposed sanctions on myanmar as military leaders and several others involved in the it's also targets and companies in the jade and gems sector which generate significant revenue and the u.s.

international development agency is redirecting more than $42000000.00 of aid away from me and most government washington is warning feather punishments could be on their way u.s. president joe biden says the united states doesn't have as many vaccines as his administration initially thought the government to sign contracts to buy another 200000000 doses but will miss its target inoculated all americans by the end of summer south africa's president cyril ramaphosa says his country will receive 9000000 doses of the johnson and johnson vaccine after suspending use of the one develops by astra zeneca studies have suggested it has a limited effectiveness against a variant identified. the african union says astra zeneca should be used in countries where the mutation isn't present. things the headlights news continues here on out there.

rival palestinian factions agree on terms to hold the elections so will the 1st presidential and legislative votes in 15 years and finally go ahead how will the stinney of reconciliation affect attempts to find peace with israel this is the inside story. hello welcome to the program i'm convinced 14 palestinian factions appear to have put aside some of their differences open the way for elections to be held the agreement includes the main rivals for thought and hamas has been reached the talks

in egypt's capital cairo the 2 sides have been fighting since hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 and held power in the gaza strip a year off to there's been repeated attempts to hold elections in the past few years and if these go ahead will be the 1st in 15 years the parliamentary and presidential votes and else that take place in may and july respectively it read reports from ramallah in the occupied west bank. this could be the 1st benefit for palestinians following talks between fatah hand harassing cairo egypt indefinitely opening its border crossing with the gaza strip the crossing is the only passage to the outside world for gaza that is not controlled by israel the egyptian authorities closed it in 2014 citing security concerns and have sometimes reopened it mainly for humanitarian reasons despite the decision palestinians say

it's not easy to make the crossing and i haven't seen my family or my 2 daughters in 2 years i thought this could lead to an opportunity to visit them but we haven't seen relaxed measures the number of people allowed in is very low hundreds of palestinians crossed into egypt on wednesday and thousands more are waiting for their turn while many feel relieved they're still worried a journey that usually takes several hours has been taking days because of egyptian checkpoints the palestinian factions meeting in cairo say their daughter reconciliation has been made shorter masse won the 2006 parliamentary elections and formed a national unity government with fattah but they clashed over power in 2007 creating the deepest palestinian division this time they've agreed to all the elections as a path towards ending their divisions of the future split isabella.

is going to continue. for there is in the west bank and there is a. bug having this is this is the is the 1st step of a future. several unity agreements have been signed in the past decade but and did a 14 year division many palestinians are skeptical. many people fear the scenarios previous elections will be repeated they fear the results will be respected and power won't be shared people we spoke to here fear that the elections that they've been waiting so long for will only keep the sea people in power and that by avoiding resolving their mean differences 50 ping them a life. the occupied west bank. in a joint statement at the end of the 2 day summit in cairo palestinian factions

pledged to abide by the timetable for the long delayed vote and accept the results and election court will be set up to monitor the process and resolve any disputes it will include judges from the west bank gaza and east jerusalem uniformed palestinian police offices will guard voting sites in the west bank and gaza the 2 groups also agreed to allow unrestricted campaigning and to release political detainees held in the west bank and gaza. let's now bring in our guests and ramallah we have mostafa a palestinian politician and secretary general of the palestinian national initiative. is knesset member representing the movement and in chicago. is co-founder of the intifada and author of the battle for justice in palestine a very warm welcome to you all thanks for joining us here on. inside story i'd like

to begin with you ali abunimah this is not the 1st time that we've been told that palestinian elections are going ahead it all sounds great everything i just read out there sounds great everything that's been agreed to do you think these elections that are being planned out now will actually go ahead. i don't know if they'll go ahead there's plenty of reasons to think they might not go ahead but even if they do i wouldn't argue that they are necessarily a great thing as your report noted there were elections held in 2006 which the how massive fairly a to do list run the problem was that mahmoud abbas and fatah did not recognize there is result and they 'd aligned with israel the united states and various arab regimes to overturn the result and to isolate how mess

and created in fact the disastrous split that we're living in now so i don't know why have mass would trust the same people the same measurement a bias in the same fattah and the same so-called international community to respect an election result now the bigger question though is is what do elections mean for a people under occupation it's a fiction that they're electing a government palestinians don't have a state they don't have a government the so-called palestinian authority is not free to do anything. the only thing it exists to do is to collaborate with israel and so-called security coordination and that's why we see the europeans and others being excited about the prospect of elections because for them they think it's a way to renew the legitimacy of the palestinian authority which exists for the purpose of maintaining israeli occupation and control really just the

palestinian bad to stand so ok nothing has been resolved since the 2006 code by map would to a bias against the previous election result ok i've no idea why have most would think it can be trusted it makes a lot of good points we're going to get on to the p.a. and the role of the p.l.o. and then later i'd like to bring you in my stuff about beauty that was a very dire assessment we just had you were actually part of this meeting in cairo which got us to this point you must be baffled pretty confident that these elections are going to go ahead and that they're very good thing. well i wish i was 200 percent confident about the i would say of the damage an obstacle has been removed from conducting the elections and learning i do agree that the palestinian authority in the list event and in gaza really exist and that is are you keeping sion and this so tight trying to be controlled by the so-called or slow agreements

which we demanded in the garrido that it was not to be a difference for the elections but regardless of all of that this authority is going to bring people like who it is the competitive predicting the fact that the problem for palestinian 90 percent of the palestinian budget is the palestinian taxes that the conservative political people believe that is what in the. and this government decides how must go to work for help who get the vaccine it is now how does that help the importance of the new year so it is that going for on certain things that really like. so and change the democratic tune in this the god is very much important without without for a good thing that the number of people in the parish and. ok but i'm not back on my original question coming back to my original question when heard before that palestinian elections were going to go ahead with head before talk of reconsideration what is different this time. well it will be different if what we

decided in cairo will be implemented and we spoke about 3 major issues one is that elections should not be a substitute to resolving the internment palestinian division so there were decisions made to go forward with the interim government division including forming a national unity government after the elections we would have to have it before of course the 2nd issue was the issue of freedoms because the freedoms are so much control and the minute there was a major official of the dissolution of both freedom of expression freedom of political activity in the any form of political including that a certain people based on their electronic. social media crimes and so on which was used to get to suppress the the expression that has been in those men under for suppression happened these guys saw the terms would be that

our resolution that was the can and go would be implemented by the person who put it in the us and them ok so i learned out what it's all about international the original i want to come back to me about him and i want to come back to you in a moment 1st i need to go to offer class if. how do you think israel will be viewing these developments. look i think that my view is a kind of a combination between the views that they had to do gentlemen they presented before all. i think that the signs but not mold and that the doubt of science of democracy in those 'd elections assuming that we will be taking place now i mean signs 'd it because it still signs but or but just signs not moved and dots all over any day over the palestinian people i as

a supporter will be on the scene of some pretty over the all of the palestinian occupied territories i think that they on the one hand there's a good feeling and i welcome the elections because all they said signs of sovereignty d.m. democracy but as we only know democracies not only have we'll see job of elections the mocha see is also substantial the idea is to shunt substantial collectivists of people so when any now unfortunately the palestinian people are looks over and dusted under these lately okupe a shift in ducks and. i agree with them instead of witty here there is a huge problem israel is still the occupier israel is the corner and it is a steel doesn't allow the palestinian people to consume its own soffit and independent lives so what is not even a daoism is nothing at all had fully what it would israel and now and actions to go

ahead funny. by definition or by definition no because there is an occupation so if there is an occupation it's clear and that we know of course that people don't vote for the ok. in day vote surely the palestinian authority was as i said be well out of good signs you bills elections because there are signs of so many and the future independent ok but skeer as long as the israeli you can patient goes on the palestinians are not truly treated and as long as they look. we cannot speak literally about for fred's democracy ok the problem is it's a dozen or so those elections i wouldn't say that those elections out totally sham but those elections are being true democratic because down might might be or see

generally democratic but not substantially happening under an occupation ali abunimah can you help us to zoom out to give us the context here why is this announcement tattling now between fatah and hamas why why is all of all of this happening now. well i think we have to go back to the issue that dr must of about who to race of so-called national reconciliation and national unity and you know there's this narrative that there's this split between hamas and fattah how and why can't they just get along and that needs to be a focus on the why this split exists in the 1st place the fundamental split and why it has existed and persist is because on the one side you have mahmoud abbas and fattah at the internationally supported palestinian authority in the west bank who believe in collaboration with the israeli occupation this is called security coordination where the palestinian authority which people would presumably be

voting for works closely with the israeli army works with the shin bet the israeli 6 secret police helps to put palestinians in prison i'm the one hand and on the other side you have have massed which supports resistance and in fact its military wing as as we know has fought 3 wars with israel in the past decade and in the years since the 2006 election so the basis for national unity has to be. calm to be. you know one side collaborates and the other side resists unity means either mahmoud abbas has to give up collaboration with the israeli military occupation or hamas has to give up resistance and since so far neither has been willing to budge what would a best is totally committed to collaboration and how mass remains committed to resistance there can be no unity and there can be no papering over these cracks

that's why we've seen over the years i count i don't know how many so-called reconciliation agreements and meetings in cairo and announcements and they all fall apart because of this fundamental split the people. all think think can just be made to disappear so the question is since we know that mahmoud abbas was absolutely committed to collaboration with israel the question is has have masses political leadership given up on the idea of resistance and decided to join mahmoud abbas in a coalition and the other point i just want to make in relation to the agreement in cairo that dr butterworth he talked about it is it's not up to palestinians to guarantee whether the elections of free are fair because as noted this is on the occupation and israel defines virtually every palestinian political party as

a terrorist organization and right now there are members of the the last palestinian legislative council legislative council that was elected in 2006 like khaled meshaal rather who are in israeli prisons so israel will not respect well israel will only respect the results of the election if it gets the result which it once was which is the perpetuation of mahmoud abbas and his collaborationist regime ok will not allow a result that does not meet its requirements and nor will the so-called international community if hamas wins again the e.u. will immediately 3 start responding so all the by big ministration and all the rest so let's not pretend that palestinians really have any choice the only thing they're being asked to do is to elect a palestinian authority city that continued to collaborate with israel against their right ok i need to interrupt because i need to make sure that we have

a spread and spread evenly discussion you made a number of very good points i'd like to come back to my stuff about a good deal just on one of the points that we just heard there talking about either as hamas is giving up resistance or abbas is giving up cooperation with israel that's the only way to this can go forward what's your take when in my opinion of course there's a difference between the messenger attack on the issue of the dogs that are good that should be conducted and the type of relationship with israel to keep bishan. but they increasingly do it in the last 2 years and that's also the came on but it doesn't which is under siege like the v.a. the fact is that under israeli occupation there are spent in my opinion during the last 2 years is this that i'm going to concentrate in more 'd of a struggle over and money which is about occupation is so that basically. started to who are either suicide even getting close to declaring that they would run a unifier exist in the coming election only 5 fast. which means less means there

are $32.00 to get together to consign the issue of the vikings are predicted. as academic your students and to me just development but we should also add one of the following does the palestinian people have directed to you that we are not only talking about the leadership of the senate we are also talking about the leadership of the p.l.o. and product of the agreement that was concluded in cairo is that there should be elections of the palestinian national council and one thing that we don't want to see is a formation formation of another court the system with the fantasy and political groups proxies divide the seats between themselves without giving the people the public that i have to choose i think the palestinian public has been deprived really long time that i believe that what that means that the end all order in the

palestinian authority and that is that's the we should get about and we should concentrate on understanding for one more official i have to mention here is that. some of the changes that were made in gravel are very important if they are implemented because we demanded that the law is changed to give an opportunity for the younger one addition i want to propose it was to bring down the age or be difficult under $221.00 we demanded that today that women will have at least upwards of 50 percent of the seats of the fundament which is very important but isn't what we have to be. but the big question with me what is that will do we expect that i will graduate next in the middle limited area that's why this election should be good in the direction of becoming one for popular member not. ok and insisting to having to let use the spike is

a decision not to question. is what the national committee will do will be again to repeat what they've done in 2006 of them since well this will not be acceptable the world community has the will of the citizens of the people who live of this i want to bring up pick up that point and pretty off across the face as with her and talked about a few times out it was the us that supported attempts to push hamas out of gaza yet how much on gaza after a while actions in 2006 it's been very involved in palestinian affairs to say the least so what will the biden administration be thinking now what are the developments that are happening between the palestinian sides is the u.s. going to get involved again could the u.s. in some way deal with hamas. presently unfortunately we know that they are what i prefer to refer to us today american imperialism but i do

ben so leave them in economy and administration we know that the american imperialism is being walled while the globe in the cruelly anybody in the middle east and it is already stated tried to kill so it says it will own interests so it's not a myth that will fit but i bring out one for story not the main question is if we want to go to. the intervention of the united states and i personally object to it i don't want to be and look to see any intervention by the us not that states because we all know that the united states has always been biased in favor of israel is what is the ok bio i want to mention 2 things that are very important or do on a day to create relate that would at the elections but i think the dots in the next week they are what is the nascent nation state be they a basic law that the israeli knesset that is the knock that if you is

a girl which actually 10 is an into and up by what i state this is one thing the 2nd is the only see it but speaking of the israeli government under the thumb yeah with specially the last 5 years of soul it actually has been bill sowing and ethnic cleansing in the occupied palestinian territories 'd so in that sense is land as i said before but now i said it even more bluntly that we hate it given. it a nation state beater and the practice of ethnic cleansing the palestinians now and then a serious threat even more than before and other such threats the elections and that's the main question in my view the elections the question is whether the elections are going to change. the attitude off is a way that those elections may change something that

really moves the israeli government in a close election these are look to it is very important but what about this since we are talking across britain with the question of the. elections or rethink the palestinian for the palestinian authority so i will focus on that still the question is whether those elections are going to freak the palestinians from that terrible of you patient apartheid if we think that is it is been consuming one thing i think we have in question one thing i think really hasn't happened yet this is that we can i talk about what i always saying where we're running out of time but one thing that i think we have to ask and i'd like to put to you ali abunimah how do palestinians actually feel about the concept of an actions do they feel like palestinian politicians can actually represent them i mean mahmoud abbas's as i believe 85 years old does he represent or can he represent a very young population who have you know many things that they want on said by

their politicians. well that's a very good question we have to remember that even if these elections go ahead they exclude the vast majority of the palestinian people remembered the palestinian people as not just the residents of the west bank and gaza strip but the millions of palestinians forcibly exiled from their homeland by israel solely on the racist grounds that they're not jewish so i know that the cairo document that dr but it would be mentioned says there should be elections for the palestine national council but the reality is that that has never happened before i knew you'd have to overcome the practicality of holding elections for palestinian refugees in jordan in syria and lebanon and other countries where this this has just been unprecedented them i doubt it would be permitted to happen so even if they grew agree to that on paper the elections in the west bank and gaza would not produce

a legitimate leadership for the whole palestinian people ok and if have mass and spread to her run together they don't even give the people of the west bank and gaza strip any sort of meaningful choice i think we should stop kidding ourselves that under a brutal military occupation and the apartheid regime like israel that we can have elections any more than black south africans could have had divided the lections and been to stand condition ok we would have to lead a definite time i somebody asked apologies we have run out of time a big thank you to all of our guests mustapha by gucci off across offend me up on the mat thank you. and thank you too for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting our web site. of a further discussion go to our facebook page that's facebook dot com ford slash a.j. inside story and also join the conversation on twitter a handle is at a.j. inside story from a conveyor belt and i'm not talking here about. as

information on the government's responses to covert 19 across the world emerges so to as a deeply disturbing question. people in power investigates allegations of systemic discrimination against the pandemics the sable victims and asks has there been a shameful failure to protect some of the world's most vulnerable citizens. coverts disabled victims part 2 on

a jersey you know. i've been covering all of latin america for most of my career but no country is alike and it's my job to shed light on how and why. my money inside with the top stories on al-jazeera said it is a donald trump 2nd impeachment trial have heard the former president's supporters believe they were acting on his orders when they stormed the capitol building last month u.s. democrats have wrapped up their 2nd and final day of opening arguments against donald trump they've used graphic anna times harrowing evidence to make the case that the former president is responsible for the january 6th violence and has shown no remorse.