[captioning made possible by democracy now!] ♪ >> from pacifica this is democracy now. >> this is a very contentious issue, israel and palestine. surprised it is only a contentious issue in the united states, not even among the population. it is contentious because the u.s. government and the israeli government are blocking a very important consensus, which is almost universal in support.

it has been on the table for about 30 years. 1900 palestinians are dead, close to 10,000 wounded. half a million are displaced grid 64 is merely -- 64 israeli soldiers are dead. first, an update on the humanitarian crisis in gaza. >> many tens of thousands of people, in the facilities right now, probably do not have homes to go back to. those lucky enough to have homes to go back to may have those that are no longer on the water or electricity system. those have been badly damaged. >> all that and more is coming out. ♪ welcome to democracy now. democracynow.org, the war and

peace report. i'm amy goodman. the 72 hour cease-fire has entered its final 24 hours. no detail has been reached at this broadcast. palestinian officials are in egypt, but they have not held face-to-face negotiations on a lasting cease-fire. nearly 1900 palestinians have died, most of them civilians. a total of 64 israeli soldiers were killed in gaza have a three civilians in israel. un secretary general ban ki-moon called for israel and the palestinians to negotiate a lasting peace. course, we cannot rest as the suffering continues. this cease-fire has come at the price that is almost too much to bear. the massive death and instruction and data has shocked and ashamed the world. demand forlestinian the easing of a blockade in gaza.

on wednesday, president obama acknowledged this cannot continue indefinitely. he said that gaza cannot sustain it so permanently closed off from the world. >> we will have to see a shift in opportunity for the people of gaza. i have no sympathy for,. i have great sympathy for ordinary people who are struggling. amnesty international has called for an immediate probe into israeli attacks that help professionals who have killed six medics. they have described deliberate strikes on hospitals. in northern iraq, sunni militants have reportedly captured the country's largest christian town, forcing tens of thousands to flee. the islamic state has advanced into qaraqosh and other northern towns as kurdish forces withdraw. over the weekend, the militants seized the town of sinjar, forcing about 200,000 people to flee, many of them members of the yazidi religious minority. they called for the un security council to intervene.

up to 40,000 remain trapped on a barren mountain, surrounded by rebels and slowly dying of thirst. a displaced resident described the conditions there. the mountain has no water, no electricity, no roads.\ not even a single greentree. nothing for humans to eat. i received a call in our goal -- an hour ago. they're living dead children on the ground. >> the death toll from a record outbreak of ebola in west africa has topped 930. there are fears the virus has spread to saudi arabia after a man who recently returned from sierra leone died of a suspected ebola infection. a spanish priest who fell ill in liberia has been brought to madrid for treatment. in the united states, a patient in new york has tested negative, while two missionaries infected in liberia are said to be improving after receiving an

experimental drug. liberia has declared a state of emergency and closed a major hospital. the drug has not been given to hundreds of ailing africans. the assistant health minister there told the wall street journal dying patients are pleading for the drug used on the two americans. the population here is asking: 'you said there was no cure for ebola, but the americans are curing it?' in pakistan, a u.s. drone strike on a home has killed at least five people. unnamed officials have identified the dead as militants but their identities could not be confirmed. the strike took place in datta khel in the region of north waziristan where the pakistani army has been conducting a major offensive. russia has struck back against western sanctions with a new ban on agricultural products from the european union, united states and other countries. the one-year ban applies to fruit, vegetables and meat and dairy products. it comes amidst fierce fighting between pro-russian rebels and security forces in eastern

ukraine, which led to a halt in the investigation at the crash site of malaysia airlines flight 17. nsa whistleblower edward snowden has been granted permission to remain in russia for another three years, after his temporary asylum expired this month. snowden has been stranded in russia after the united states revoked his passport while he was en route to latin america. in cambodia, a un-backed tribunal has sentenced the two highest-ranking surviving leaders of the khmer rouge regime to life in prison for crimes against humanity. the khmer rouge killed at least 1.7 million cambodians during the late 1970s. more than three decades later, nuon chea and khieu samphan, are the first leaders to be convicted. in mexico, congress has approved an energy reform package to open the country's oil and gas sector to private multinationals after decades of state control. mexican president enrique peña nieto has touted the reform as

part of a broader neoliberal agenda. the opening of the energy industry sparked mass protests when it was first approved last year, with a poll showing more than two-thirds of mexicans opposed it. bank of america has tentatively agreed to pay nearly $17 billion to settle a probe over its sale of toxic mortgage-backed securities in the lead-up to the financial crisis. if finalized, it would reportedly be the largest single corporate settlement with the federal government in us history. missouri has carried out the nation's first execution since last month's botched killing of a death row prisoner in arizona. michael worthington was killed by lethal injection on wednesday for a 1995 rape and murder. in the arizona execution, joseph wood gasped for air, choked and snorted during a two-hour-long ordeal that his attorneys called "the most prolonged bungled execution in recent history." and new york city police have arrested the wife of a man who filmed their fatal encounter with a father of six accused of selling loose cigarettes in

staten island. eric garner died after police placed him in a chokehold and pinned him to the ground while he repeatedly said he couldn't breathe. on friday, the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. a day later, police arrested ramsey orta, the man who filmed garner's arrest, on a weapons charge. on tuesday, his wife was arrested and accused of assault. chrissie ortiz told pix 11 police have been harassing her and her husband. >> 4:00 in the morning. we are laying down and my whole room lights up. what is that? it is a police car. they are driving by and putting spotlights in my window. what was that for? >> the head of the new york city police union, patrick lynch, defended the officers involved in garner's death, denying they used a chokehold, which has been banned by the nypd for decades. >> it was not a chokehold.

he was a big man, who had to be brought to the ground to be placed under arrest, by shorter police officers. >> and those are some of the headlines this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. >> welcome to all of our listeners and viewers around the country. the 72-hour ceasefire in gaza has entered its final 24 hours. talks are ongoing to extend the truce but no agreement has been reached. palestinian and israeli officials are in egypt but have not held face to face negotiations on securing a lasting ceasefire. meanwhile gaza is in a state of devastation and ruin. close to 1900 palestinians were killed during the 29-day offensive, including at least 1,354 civilians, of whom 415 are children. more than 10,000 people have been injured. >> there are 373,000 children who require psychological support.

half a million palestinians have been displaced, with at least 187,000 displaced people are still living in un emergency shelters. 10,000 homes have been completely destroyed. 30,000 homes partially wrecked. meanwhile 64 israeli soldiers were killed in gaza, and three civilians in israel. we go now to jerusalem. we're joined by a spokesperson for the united nation's relief agency. can you talk about the devastation on the ground right now in gaza? it is devastation which is both physical and emotional. what we're saying physically -- you see it on your tv set. to get site engineers into the field, before i can make in an." determination and tell you they how many homes have been destroyed. there's plenty of anecdotal evidence. people have been leaving our shelters, going out, and coming back. that suggests that they're going

to destroy homes. they were told to leave. these leaflets were dropped by the israeli army said. it appears that lots of those homes -- we estimate about 10,000 homes have been destroyed. a situation where this catastrophic human displacement crisis is morphing into something equally disturbing to us. it is a huge homelessness crisis. as far as the psychological scar, imagine being a child in gaza. if you are just five years old, three times in your short and fragile life, you would have been subjected to the extraordinarily terrifying and traumatizing bombardment that we have seen in gaza. we estimate that there are 400,000 children deep in trauma. we need to look at the physical nation of the distraction. but also, the effects could last

a lot longer. what about the basic services of those who leave the un's shelters and go back to whatever is left of their homes? what is the situation there? people may have seen, about 10 days ago, pictures of the only power plant in gaza, which was hit with thick, black smoke. already, there were on average, per household, four hours of electricity. imagine if you were in america with four hours of electricity per day. imagine if the main power generator gets hit, and that is reduced. that is what is happening. that is as far as electricity is concerned. the water system has been hit. you may remember back in the early days of the conflict. there were three or four

workers who were killed in the field, as they refuse to go out. who can blame them? there were no prepares -- repairs done. where the water system has been hit, it has not been patched up. 95% of the water in gaza is undrinkable. you turn on the tap and salt water comes out. 95% water is undrinkable. eillions of liters of sewag flow into the sea everyday. it flows north toward israel. water and electricity, the public utilities, are decimated. we do not even know yet quite what the extent of the damage will be. >> there are an estimated 187,000 refugees in the un's shelters? half a million refugees altogether, within gaza.

can you explain? well, people were told to leave their homes. they abandoned their homes with great rapidity, terrified. imagine being disabled. i can tell you with the streets of gaza were like. they came to un's shelters. some went to stay with family and friends. certainly, innuendo tears, but then they are directly hit. i am not saying it is delivered, but we need an investigation to find out. now finding out that the army that told them to leave their homes has apparently been 10,000 people having their homes destroyed by that army. now there are a lot of questions. assumptionsways that the u.s. will pick up the pieces.

you did hear the secretary-general say we will not rebuild gaza again. if we are going to rebuild gaza, let's have the blockade lifted. it will be impossible to rebuild gaza with the restrictions that are there now. the prospect of peace is also significantly if the persists. we have moved beyond the realm of humanitarian action alone. will they carry on carrying out bits of food? we cannot continue to do that indefinitely. the people of gaza used to have a good trade relationship with the people of israel. whether the blockade is implemented, the complaints that we got most were from tel aviv. it was israeli businessman and businesses that were being so badly hit. follows,ical movement

where economic activity leads. we can show these two peoples that lifting the blockade for exports and imports can be done peacefully. israel has perfectly legitimate execution concerns. if you look at some of the incidents that have happened that these crossings -- they are dangerous places. there were legitimate security concerns. there were also economic and political rights. they have to be respected in the context of the agreement. i wanted to ask you also. there have been some 10,000 or more people injured during the cease-fire period. permittingbeen the most injured to be moved out of the country to medical facilities? >> not in large numbers.

the details we will have to get from the world health organization. let me refer to those who study humanitarian law. us isckground for all of the occupying power. the civilians just had their homes destroyed and their children are deeply traumatized. they are burying their dead. in some cases, they are still underneath the rubble. my friend said there is just unbearable stench of decay everywhere. that is the reality. we have to restore the dignity to the people of gaza. their humanity and their dignity has been denied. there are several ways of restoring the dignity. one calls for a proper investigation. you cannot grieve and move on if

you do not know what happened to your loved one. even in death, human dignity must be respected. parts of the respect for human dignity and death is allowing the loved ones to know what happened. we have to have an investigation. not just as a jurisprudence exercise. but as an exercise in sigh psychotherapy. we need to look at the causes of the conflict. all of my israeli friends and the people i know in gaza are adamant that they cannot go through this again. it has done israel no good on the international stage, which i hope matters to israelis. as far as the people of gaza are concerned, it has led to intolerable suffering. the idea that after all of the injury and civilian death, we returned to the status quote. that must be unthinkable.

shame on any of the peacemakers who are considering that as an option. >> christopher -- >> consider that as an option if you want to return. >> if you want to return to -- ? >> to the status quo. in a situation where millions of people are terrorized. >> we want to thank you very much for being with us. spokesperson for the united nations relief and works agency. this is democracy now. when we come back, gnome jansky joins us. ♪ [music break]

>> music by anouar brahem, the tunisian oud player and composer. this is democracy now. i am amy goodman. >> to talk more about the crisis in gaza we go now to boston where we are joined by noam chomsky, world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author, institute professor emeritus at massachusetts institute of technology, where he's taught for more than 50 years. he has written extensively about

the israel/palestine conflict for decades. >> forty years ago this year he published, "peace in the middle east? reflections on justice and nationhood." his 1983 book, the fateful triangle, is known as one of the definitive works on the israel-palestine conflict. he joins us from boston. welcome back. please first just comment. we have not spoken to you throughout the israeli assault on gaza. your comments? >> it is hideous. it is an atrocity of sadistic carnage,us, murderous, without any credible pretext. it is another one of the periodic israeli exercises in what they delicately call "mowing the lawn."

that means shooting fish in the pond, to make sure that the animal stay quiet in the cage that you constructed for them, after which you go to cease-fire. observeds that hamas the cease-fire, as israel concedees. israel continues to violate it. then it is broken by an israeli escalation. hamas reacts. then you have a period fof "mowing the lawn." this one is more sadistic and vicious than the earlier ones. that theythe pretexts use to launch this attack. could you talk about that? and what degree it had any validity? >> as the israeli officials

had observed the previous cease-fire for 19 months. the previous episode of "mowing the lawn" was the november 2012 cease-fire. the cease-fire terms were that hamas would not fire rockets at the rockets. israel would move into the blockade and stop the attacking in gaza. hamas lived up to it. israel concedes that. year, and event took place that horrified the israeli government. a union was formed between gaza and the west bank, between hamas and fatah. israel has been trying to prevent that from longtime.

the unity agreement came. israel was serious. -- furious. they got even more upset when the u.s. more or less endorsed him.hich enraged they launched a rampage in the west bank. i was used as a pretext for the brutal murder of three separate teenagers. that they pretense, knew they were dead. that allowed a huge -- of course, they blamed it right away on hamas. they have yet to produce evidence. their own highest leading authorities pointed out right away that the killers were clan.ly from a rogue that turns out to be true. they have been on the side of

hamas for years. i gave an opportunity for a rampage in the west bank. people,g hundreds of maria arresting many who had been released -- re-arresting many who had been released. finally, there was a hamas response. there were rocket attacks. that gave the opportunity for "mowing the lawn" again. >> you said that israel does this periodically. why did they do this periodically? >> because they want to maintain a certain situation. there is a background. for over 20 years, israel has been dedicated with u.s. support, to separating gaza from the west bank. that is in direct violation of the terms of the oslo accord 20

years ago, which declared that the west bank and gaza are a whose territorial entity integrity must be preserved. for rogue states, some agreements are just an invitation to do everyone. israel, with u.s. backing, has been committed to keeping them separate. there is a good reason for that. look at the map. outlet to the only the outside world for any even entity, thenian west bank is separated from gaza. the west bank is essentially a prison. israel on one side, the dictatorship on the other. furthermore, israel is systematically driving

palestinians out of the jordan valley. there building settlements. military zones and settlements, the usual story. that would mean that whatever is left for palestinians in the west bank, after israel takes what it wants and integrates it into israel -- they would be completely imprisoned. in the outside world. keeping them separate from one policyr is a high goal of for the u.s. and israel. the unity agreement threatened that. it threatened something else, israel has been claiming for years. one of its arguments for invading is -- how can they negotiate with the palestinians when they are divided? they are not divided. he loses that argument.

ore important argument is the strategic one. the unity was a real t hreat. there was a real endorsement of it by the united states. they immediately react. >> what do you make of the -- you say israel seeks to maintain the status quo, while creating a new reality on the ground of expanded settlements. what do you make of the continued refusal of one of the distraction after another here in the united states? that officially as opposed to the settlement expansion. they refuse to call israel to the table on this attempts to create its own reality on the ground. >> your phrase officially opposed is quite correct. you have to distinguish the rhetoric and the government from

its actions, from political leaders. it should be obvious. we can see how committed the u.s. is to this policy, easily. 2011, the un security council considered a resolution, which called for israel to terminate its expansion of settlements. notice that the expansion of settlements is not really the issue. it is the settlement. the settlement, the infrastructure development, gross violations of international laws determined by the security council and international board of justice. every country in the world, outside of israel, recognizes this. this was a resolution calling for an end to expansion. policy, what

happened was obama vetoed the resolution. that tells you something. furthermore, the official about the to israel settlement expansion, is accompanied by what diplomatic language is called the wink. it is an indication that you do not really mean it. latestmple, in obama's condemnation of the recent, as he puts it, violence on both sides -- was accompanied by sending more military to israel. people can understand that. hen obama came into office, made the usual statements against settlement expansion. and, his administration was obama would do

anything about it. when the first george bush did something about sanctions, to block settlement sanctions. the answer was, no, this is just a moment. the israeli government just what is happeneiing. the military continues. the economic aid continues with diplomatic protections, ideological protection continues. thatng the issues in ways form to the israeli demands. all of that continues. there is this clucking of the tongue that is not helpful to peace. >> i want to turn to the israeli prime minister. he spoke to journals yesterday. >> something that hamas rejected

-- an israeli cease-fire proposal of july 18. at that time, the conflict had claimed 185 lives. hamasn monday night, finally agreed to that very same proposal. it went into effect yesterday morning. , a full 90%hat 90% of the fatalities in this conflict, could have been avoided had they not rejected then the cease-fire that it accepts now. they must be held accountable for the tragic loss of life. >> noam, can you respond? it is a broad response. the narrow response is that he knows that the cease-fire was arranged between the egyptian

military dictatorship and israel. both have been very hostile to hamas. it was not even communicated to hamas. they were angered by this. they will not accept it on those terms. that is the narrow response. response is that 100% of the casualties and destruction and devastation and ifon could have been avoided israel had lived up to the thee-fire agreement, after november 2012 agreement. instead of violating in the manner described. in order to block the unity government. of takinge policy over what they want in the west bank. and separating it from gaza.

diet.g them on a this comment is from a man who negotiated the so-called withdrawal in 2005. to end the was discussion of any political settlement. gazans will be kept on a diet. meeting just enough calories allowed so that they do not all die. that would not look good for israel's reputation. but nothing more than that. capacity technical that israel is the experts at calculating precisely how many calories would be needed to keep them on their diet, under siege, blocked from export, flocked

from import. they cannot go out and fish. the vessel struck back to shore. more of theiror arable land is far from the entry of palestinians. that is the norm. that is the diet they want to keep them on. meanwhile, separated from the west bank, they continue the ongoing project of taking over - - describe the details. taking over parts of the west bank, that israel intends to integrate into israel. presumably, they will ultimately annex in some fashion, as long as the u.s. continues to support it. and block them from the international community. am, as this whole month has

unfolded in images of the carnage have spread around the world, what is your assessment of the impacts of the already abysmal relationship that exists between the united states government and the arab and muslim world? i'm thinking especially of the young arabs and muslims aroudn world who may not have been exposed to prior atrocities in this conflict. >> first, we have to sand wedge between muslim and arab populations. there is a striking difference. the governments are mostly dictatorships. when you read in the press that the arabs support us on is thato, what is meant the dictators support us, not the populations. are moderatelyps

supportive of what the rest -- u.s. and israel are doing. that includes the dictatorship in egypt and saudi arabia. saudi arabia has been the closest ally in the region. they are the most radical fundamentalist islamic state in the world. theirthey are spreading doctrines throughout the world. it has been the leading ally of the notice dates for years, just as it was before it. they both tended to perform radical islam to the danger of secular nationalism and democracy. they are fairly supportive. they hate hamas. they have no interest in the palestinians.

toy have to say things mollify their own populations. the rhetoric and action are different. the dictators are not bold. the populations are quite different. that has always been true. the tahrirof square demonstrations in egypt, there were international polls taken in the united states. very clearly that 80% of egyptians remain the main threats to israel and the united states. the condemnation of the united states -- the policies were so extreme.

that the region might be safer if iraq had nuclear weapons. there is a whole story over the that varies around something like that. that is the populations. elsewhere don't believe it. it is not just the muslim populations. they probably have hundreds of thousands of people at their demonstrations, protesting the israeli atrocities. ingt is happen elsewhere in the world too. go back a couple decades. israel was one of the most admired countries in the world. now, it is one of the most feared and despised in the wo rld. israeli propaganda is just anti-semitism --

to the extent that there is an anti-semitic element, it is because of israeli actions. the reaction is to the policy. israel is persisting in these policies. that is what is going to happen. this has been pretty clear since the early 1970's. i have been writing about it since it is so obvious. israel made a fateful decision. the most fateful in its history. president sadat of egypt offered eaceel a full p agreement in return for withdrawal of israel from the egyptian sinai. that was the moderate labor government. they consider the offer and rejected it.

they were planning to carry out extensive development programs in the sinai. build a huge, big city. settlements, big infrastructure, driving tens of off thes of bedouins land, destroying villages. those were the plans. israel made a decision to choose expansion over security. a treaty with egypt would have meant security. that is the only significant military force in the arab world. that has been the policy of percent. you pursue a policy of expansion over security, there are things that are going to happen. there will be moral degeneration

within the country. there will be increasing opposition and anger and hostility among populations outside the country. you may continue to get support from dictatorships, and from the u.s. administration. but then you lose the populations. that has the consequence. you could predict and others did predict in the 1970's, to quote myself -- those who call themselves supporters of israel are actually supporters of its moral degeneration, international isolation, and possibly ultimate distraction. that is the course of this happening. it is not the only example in history. there are many analogies. most of them are pretty dubious.

there is one that i think is pretty realistic. it is not discussed very much, but it should be. in 1958, the south african nationalist government was imposing the harsh regime. they recognized that they are becoming internationally isolated. we know from declassified documents that in 1958, the south african foreign ministry called in the american ambassador. they had a conversation where m, weessentially told the are becoming a pariah state. we are losing all the governments. we're becoming isolated. it really does not matter. you are the only voice that counts. as long as you support us, it does not matter what the world thinks. that was not a bad prediction. if you look over the years, our position with south africa grew

and developed. there was a u.n. arms embargo, boycotts began. it was so extreme, by the 1980's, that even the u.s. congress was passing sanctions. president reagan had to veto -- he was the last part of the apartheid regime. congress actually reinstated the sanctions over his veto and he did not violate them. reagan, the988, last holdout. his administration declared the african national congress to be one of the more notorious terrorist groups in the world. the decision to keep supporting south africa and supporting terrorist groups was done in angola. finally, even the united states

join the rest of the world. very quickly, apartheid became collapsed. that is not freudian analysis. there were other reasons for the collapse of apartheid. two crucial reasons. one was that there was a settlement that was acceptable to south africans and international business. a simple settlement, to keep the socioeconomic system level. blacksaphorically allow -- that was the settlement. it is pretty much what has been implemented. there is no comparable settlement from israel and palestine. a crucial element, not discussed here, is cuba. they said military forces and tens of thousands of workers and

teachers and others -- they drove the south african aggressors out of angola. they compelled him to abandon illegally held namibia. more than that, as nelson mandela pointed out from prison -- the cuban soldiers were black soldiers. ofy shattered the myth invincibility of white superman. that has very significant affect on those black africa, white south africa -- indicated to the south african government population. this is not going to impose their hope of regional support systems. it is a quiet system that would allow them to pursue other operations.

terrorist activities beyond. how is a major factor. >> we have to break. we will come back to this discussion. we are talking with noam chom sky. this is democracy now. we will be back. ♪ [music break]

>> more dead and gaza moans, by dave lippman. this is democracy now. i am amy goodman with juan gonzalez. our guest is noam chomsky. i want to turn to president obama speaking at a news conference in washington. >> long-term, there has to be a cannottion that gaza sustain itself permanently, close-up from the world.

and incapable of providing some jobs and economic growth for the population that live there, particularly given how dense that population is. how young that population is. we're going to have to see a for the opportunity people of gaza. i have no sympathy for, us. i have great sympathy for ordinary people who are struggling with and gaza. >> that is president obama yesterday. can you respond? for all states and all political leadership, we have to distinguish rhetoric from action. for any political leader, they can produce the lovely groundwork and rhetoric. think of stalin, whoever you want. what we ask is, what are they doing?

ort does obama suggests carry out as a means to achieve the goals of ending the u.s.-backed israeli siege come blockade ofsiege, gaza? there are things that the u.s. could do easily. i use these south african analogy too closely. but, it is indicative, but it is not the only case. timor case, when clinton finally told the indonesian generals that the game is over, they pulled out immediately. the u.s. power is substantial. in the case of israel, it is critical. it could override virtually unilateral u.s. support.

there are plenty of things the u.s. could do to implement what obama talked about. the question is when the u.s. obeys.rders -- israel that has happened over and over again. it is particularly obvious why, given the power relationship. there are things that can be done, which were done by bush 2, by clinton, by reagan. then we will know if those words are anything different. >> you talk about separating rhetoric from actions. israel has always claimed that it is no longer occupying gaza. with a recently spoken senior adviser to the israeli ambassador of the united states. he is a spokesperson for the israeli defense ministry. he said israel left the gaza

strip in 2005 and removed all of the settlements. we removed the ip of forces and took out 10,000 jews from their houses. israel wants peace and extended its hands for peace. your response? >> several points. first of all, the united nations -- every country in the world, even the united states, regards israel as the occupying power in gaza. for a very simple reason. they control everything. they control the borders, the land, the sea, the air. they determine what goes into gaza and what comes out. they determine how many calories children need to stay alive. is occupation under international law. no one questions it outside of israel. even the u.s., the usual backer. that, we end the discussion

of whether they are an occupying power or not. as for wanting peace -- look back at the so-called withdrawal. that left israel as the occupying power. by2005, israeli talks, led ariel sharon, recognized that this makes no sense for israel to keep a few thousand settlers in devastated gaza. that is a large part of the idf. the israeli military protected the breaking up of gaza into separate parts. it made no sense to do that. it made more sense to take the settlers from their subsidized settlements in gaza, where they were illegally presiding, and send them off to subsidized intlements in the west bank,

areas that israel thinks are key. that is pragmatic sense. there is a very easy way to do it. they could have simply informed that theers in gaza idf was going to withdrawal. at that point, they would have climbed in and gone off to the settlements in the west bank. decided to construct what is sometimes called a national theater. ridiculedally cool -- by leading specialists in israel. created see you could

boys pleadingof with israeli soldiers. do not destroy my home -- again,"s for "never referring to the west bank. there is a staged national trauma. let me a farcical was that there was repetition, of what the israeli press called national trauma. they kept the occupation. they moved on. to repeat what was said -- there was a negotiator with the united states. he said that the purpose of the withdrawal is to end the

negotiations from the palestinian state to the palestinian rights. this will freeze it with the u.s. accord. and to then they have an imposition of the diet. within weeks after the so-called withdrawal, israel escalated the attacks on gaza and imposed very harsh sanctions. the freen was that elections a place in palestine. it came out the wrong way. israel and the united states loved democracy. but only if it comes up with a one. they instantly imposed harsh sanctions on the israeli attacks. they really never ended.

then, the israeli and united states governments were meeting, to stage a coup to overthrow the government. hamas preempted that coup. then, we're on to where we were before, periodic episodes -- >> we only have a minute. of u.s. media is saying that the u.s. had been sidelined, now we talk about egypt's doing this negotiating. what needs to happen now? the cease-fire will end in a matter of hours. what kind of truce does need to be accomplished here? u.s.r israel, with backing, the current situation is kind of a win-win situation. theamas agrees to extend cease-fire, israel can continue with its regular policies from

before. bank separating from gaza, keeping the diet, so on. if hamas does not accept the cease-fire, then you'll hear another speech like the one you quoted earlier. the only thing that will break this is if the u.s. changes its policy. that has happened in other cases. south africa, timor, others. that is decisive. if it is going to be a change, crucially depends on the change in u.s. policy. for 40 years, the united states has been almost unilaterally attacking israeli rejections, refusal to entertain the overwhelming international consensus. >> we have to leave it there. we will continue the

conversation post-show and post it online. renowned political dissident and professor emeritus -- i'm amy goodman. i'm amy goodman. our website is

- hello. i'm john cleese. i think we all know that music, aside from the pure pleasure of it, sometimes has a transcendent power. what is called sacred music seems universally to be a form of prayer, a vehicle for spiritual practice, because music and sound are so clearly connected to our higher selves. so now we're in for a special treat, because the reverend alan jones and native singer joanne shenandoah are going to give us the opportunity to experience something of this. so settle back, take a long, deep breath as we join our host, phil cousineau, on this musical, soul-rendering episode of global spirit, the first internal travel series.