president abbas is the president of the palestine liberation organization and...ere appointed by him, and you worked for him very closely for years. yes, i was appointed by him, as the president of the palestinian institutions, as the head of our state under occupation... and i guess my point to you... ..like all other ambassadors. now, the point is, this isn't a confrontation between netanyahu and hamas, this is a confrontation that has lasted for 100 years between israel and the people of palestine. this is a confrontation that has been based primarily on one word, negation. and this negation started here, in this city, in this country, the balfour declaration. 67 words that have really promised our land to others without consulting us, and in 67 words it's shown that imperial arrogance, that colonial arrogance, and this negation has lasted until now. so, to reduce the whole story into netanyahu and hamas really does not serve justice for the situation. i'm not reducing the story to... numbertwo, hamas is a newcomer, stephen, to this whole equation. it was estab

mahmoud abbas said no. why? well, i'm glad you're defending hamas.a point where you discuss with me how palestinians achieve a credible, coherent leadership. stephen, it's the national movement. it's the plo that has been based on the concept, the notion of popular democracy. without that popular democracy, we would have never been able to do what we have done in the international arena. i wouldn't have an office here and an embassy representing palestinians. no—one cares about democracy more than us. and we do not consider democracyjust to be a way of renewing our political system. no, we look at democracy as a resistance tool. and hear it from me, it is the way, when our people cast their vote, it is also a national vote to rid ourselves of the military occupation, and we understand the significance of the convening of elections. yet there are issues. so we have been convening elections only in the arab region all these years... you haven't had an election since 2006. we have real issues. we cannot convene elections without gaza, 2 million of our p

it is not abbas. particular event of the invasion by the israeli government, they attack on the mosque, the throwing of flash bombs, the setting of fire to rugs during the holy period of fasting during ramadan, sure that set off a lot of problems. but it is not one incident. everyday life is creating these constant tensions and flareups. and as long as the occupation goes on like this, and as long as israel is actively colonizing palestinian land, than there is going to be trouble. >> my discussion with not only senator chris murphy come but casual conversations with other senators i had today, i heard from them that what they feel is different that they noticed about this conflict versus the many other times we have been around this circle is that arab israelis are rising in protest, that there is violence inside between jewish israelis and arab israelis inside israel. this is a new feature. is this a key element of how this unfolds? how does this fit into the puzzle? >> i called them palestinian isr

mahmoud abbas has been in power, really, just by his own choice for the last ten years.n put himself up for election, has he? you're correct and i think that's terrible for the palestinian people and terrible, frankly, for the eventual hopeful prospects for peace. jason greenblatt. he was the trump envoy for the middle east. this is the scene as dawn breaks in gaza city as the ceasefire appears to be holding. the first quiet dawn for gaza, the gaza strip, for the last 12 days. 0vernight people have been celebrating on the streets and cars have been driving around blowing their horns, one in itself is declaring this ceasefire a victory for what they have achieved —— hamas. israel has pushed hard, though, against them, as you can see there, just from the skyline, so many buildings, so much of the infrastructure has been knocked out by those air strikes over, what, just coming up strikes over, what, just coming up to two weeks of conflict between hamas, who fired 4000 rockets, we'rejust between hamas, who fired 4000 rockets, we're just hearing, israel itself. so has the cea

however, mahmoud abbas is some kind of a mayor of ramallah or the occupied territories.al who controls if mahmoud abbas leaves his home or doesn�*t leave his home, if mahmoud abbas can go out or travel or does not travel. and that israeli general takes orders from the israeli prime minister. so who controls the land from the sea, the mediterranean sea, to thejordan river is israel. so if we look to who won this round, i would say bibi netanyahu. he managed to delay a new coalition to be replacing his government. he managed to take everybody back to the same point that this started. we had four wars in 14 years with gaza, and gaza is still under siege. eastjerusalem people are being evicted, displaced. we still have now the occupied territories still under occupation with 200 settlements and 600,000 settlers so the situation is escalating, it�*s... crosstalk. who conceded what then, or was it pressure from the united states that finally made israel halt this offensive? it was simply president biden pressured by the democratic party — especially the left wing of the democr

from what we know about the conversation with prime minister netanyahu and president abbas u.s. president biden has largely stuck to the old regional scripts concern and so on everyone thought that biden would do better than trump on this tourny issue why this low key approach by the current administration. well people thought that biden would do better than trump because he had been president obama as vice president and president obama tried to have a somewhat different policy then than us administrations in the past which it really mired the united states in this never ending cook quote unquote peace process that never brought peace to anybody in in the middle east so people thought that biden would be better because he had worked for obama but biden is really very much representative of this kind of old school establishment politics in the united states which. really predates president obama and represented much more of a very solidly pro israel line both in congress and in the administration and biden has really is really determined i think to keep that middle of the road es

as the was recognized by international community leading the palestinian authority this is mahmoud abbas this is fatah forces this is along with between these 2 sides of palestinian society for many years this political if now is being you know taken to the extent of being a big part of fueling this feud because the fight is over dominance and of control of jerusalem and showing careful jerusalem abbas as much as you would like to. not have any say in what happens and what hamas is doing or how they're operating this is this is maybe the tragedy of what we're seeing now you know palestinian unity is trying to come together but the political struggle is such that hamas has the ability to do whatever i want without having any leverage or any sanction over that ok sunny thank you very much for your time chani resigned us from delhi and the conflict in the middle east has brought people out onto the streets in cities worldwide to protest against the violence here in germany thousands have marched in support of the palestinians. campaigners around the world organized rallies to condemn the vi

. -- mahmoud abbas.ome or not. if mahmoud abbas can go out or travel or does not travel. that is where the general takes the orders from the israeli prime minister so who controls the land from the sea, the mediterranean sea, to the jordan sea, the mediterranean sea, to thejordan river is israel that if we look to who won this round, i would say bibi netanyahu. he managed to delay a new coalition to be replacing his government, he managed to take everybody back to the same point that this started. we have four wars in 14 years with gaza and gaza is still under siege, eastjerusalem people are being evicted, displaced. we still have now the occupied territories are still under occupation with 200 settlements and 600,000 settlers so the situation is escalating, it�*s... situation is escalating, it's. .. ,, ,, �* situation is escalating, it's... ,,,, �* . it's... crosstalk. he conceded what than _ it's... crosstalk. he conceded what than i _ it's... crosstalk. he conceded what than i was _ it's... crosstalk.

maybe you need to book abba, then you can have the l abba, then you can have the ultimate matchup.— ultimateonbury is due to - ultimate matchup. yeah. i glastonbury is due to return nextjune. the stages are 90% in place, the fields will not be quite so much. a reminder of our top story: president biden has said that a two—state solution is the only way to resolve the conflict between israel and the palestinians. he added that there could be no peace unless the region unequivocally recognised the right of israel to exist. that is it from me and the team, hope to see you soon, there is more on the website, goodbye. well, friday, for many of us was an absolute write—off. blowing a gale, heavy rain, surely the weather is going to improve. and, yes, it is. the low pressure is finally moving out into the north sea. it brought some really heavy rain to wales, for example, and some ferocious gusts of wind. here's an example, 89mph in an exposed place in the isle of wight. more typically it was around 60mph or more, so very windy for the time of year, and of course, very wet. you can see where the lo

i think, in essence, it's a message of diplomacy particularly to mahmoud abbas. since president biden took office injanuary. an dlooking at some of the detail in there, he conveyed us commitment to strengthening us—palestinian partnership, the desire forjerusalem to be a place of peaceful coexistence for people for people of all faiths, and updated president abbas on us diplomatic engagement on the ongoing conflict. so, you know, in a sense, his hand has been forced by what's been happening on the ground. but clearly, he's trying to underscore, ahead of a meeting by the un security council on sunday, that there is diplomatic effort under way, the united states is trying to push that and find a diplomatic solution to this crisis. i'm joined now by hussein ibish, senior resident scholar at the arab gulf states institute in washington. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. i would really like your take on the us's role in de—escalating the conflicts in the region. qm. on the us's role in de-escalating the conflicts in the region.- the conflicts in the region. ok

our first pictures just in our tony blinken with palestinian leader abbas.me back. and today at 11:00 a.m., a look at what changed one year since george floyd was killed. thank you for watching. killed. thank you for watching like heart disease, risk s diabetes and raised triglycerides,... ...vascepa can give you something to celebrate. ♪ vascepa, when added to your statin,... ...is clinically proven to provide 25% lower risk from heart attack and stroke. vascepa is clearly different. first and only fda approved. celebrate less risk. even for those with family history. ♪ don't take vascepa if you are... ...or become allergic to icosapent ethyl or any inactive ingredient in vascepa. serious side effects may occur like heart rhythm problems and bleeding. heart rhythm problems may occur in more people... ...with persistent cardiovascular risk or who have had them in the past. tell your doctor if you experience an irregular heartbeat or other heart rhythm problems. possible side effects include muscle and joint pain. celebrate less risk. added cardio protection.

here's mr abbas.dministration - for its commitment to a two—state solution i and the maintenance - of the status quo injerusalem and to keep the residents ofjerusalem and sheikhl jarrah in their homes. and also we thank the us - administration for its position vis—a—vis the expansion - of settlements and the actions ta ken by settlers. we can talk now to jonathan schanzer in washington, dc. he is the senior vice president for research at the foundation for defense of democracies, an institute focusing on foreign policy and national security. what did you make of the meetings that were put forward? we haven't really heard much new from this administration, they are trying to reassure the region that the united states is still in charge, although it's hard for the region to trust this administration right now. really for two reasons. one, this administration has already stated bluntly that it plans to pivot away from the middle east, to spend less time on problems where there are very clear answers. wit

that mahmoud abbas i minnesotans, 21. i think that's - the...bas doesn't have any influence over hamas in that regard. if anything, i think the republicans would want to see the republicans would want to see the biden administration pull away from iran, who have influence. but that isn't necessarily going to happen because there are discussions over the nuclear programme. the progressive wing of the democrats want to see the biden administration condemn israel more, so it's extremely thorny, as always, issue, and a very difficult one for the biden administration to pick a clear path amid the violence. you biden administration to pick a clear path amid the violence.— biden administration to pick a clear path amid the violence. you speak of the fact that — path amid the violence. you speak of the fact that there _ path amid the violence. you speak of the fact that there is _ path amid the violence. you speak of the fact that there is a _ path amid the violence. you speak of the fact that there is a security - the fact that there is a security meet

the palestinian president abbas, prime minister netanyahu, and the u.s.dged to rebuild the gaza strip. an unacceptable coup d'État. france condemns the arrest of the president and prime minister of mali. they are being held for infringing on the new national charter. they remain at a military base, where they were taken by armed soldiers some 24 hours ago. we are watching all those stories and more for you. now it is time for business. amazon facing a major lawsuit from the usa >> being filed by the attorney general of the district of columbia. it is an antitrust lawsuit signal -- similar to the complaints seen in the eu. the tech giant is accused of violating competition laws by requiring merchants to pay up to 40% of a product price to use the platform. >> amazon is facing scrutiny for its business practices. after similar accusations in the eu, the retail giant is now up against a u.s. lawsuit. on charges of anticompetitive behavior. the case claims the company artificially inflates prices for consumers. >> amazon wins because it controls pricing acros

as you said, he's spoken with pal is stipjanuary -- palestinian president mahmoud abbas. is also diplomatically engaged with regional countries there, talking about egypt, qatar, jordan as well as the palestinian officials, and we see benjamin netanyahu on the screen alongside, you know, saying to his people, listen, i'm aware of what's happening. obviously, i'm on top of this, and i am going to do everything i can to protect my people which, of course, as the leader, he should do. so i'm asking you to also make sure we don't forget about the people, the palestinian people, on the other side. what is the ask of mr. netanyahu to december deescalate? >> well, as far as this tension right now and this war is intensifying or clash, whatever you want to call it. and biden has to lower the temperature, and netanyahu's saying i'm going to defend my people which, of course, he should. every leader should. arthel: so what does president biden, what does president biden do? what does he do at this point? beyond what he's already doing? >> i think biden has to continue to do what he

in israel he also spoke to the palestinian president mahmoud abbas but at the moment you know nothing really tangible to see if anything is imminent or will happen here with regards to cease fire. in its i'll give you the last word here the u.s. is trying to make that cease fire happen is the biden administration regarded as an honest broker in the conflict. that's a good question i mean as we know president biden called talked into a separate phone calls with netanyahu and abbas yesterday trying to really kind of broke a cease fire and we also know where this and netanyahu just posted a couple of hours later on facebook is not willing to do so is so that is not a good sign for the biden administration in that regard that they really have something to say in this conflict at the very moment so that indicates more or less that the possibilities of diplomacy are very limited at this point for the united states you know poll in washington in tanya kramer in jerusalem i think you both the conflict in the middle east has brought people onto the streets in cities worldwide to protest agains

i made it clear that i spoke with president abbas. we were -- we are going to make sure that we are going to provide for security in the west bank and we renew the security commitment as well as economic commitment to the people on the west bank. i also indicated to the israelis that i thought it was very important that they stop in jerusalem this intercommunal fighting extremes on both sides. it has to end. it has to end. and i'm prepared to put together and going to attempt to put together a major package with all the other nations who share our view to rebuild the homes and without reengaging, without providing hamas the opportunity to rebuild their weapon system, rebuild the gaza -- rebuild gaza. and they need the help. and i'm committed to get that done. and so i don't -- and i think, you know, my party still supports israel. let's get something straight here. until the region says unequivocally they acknowledge the right of israel to exist as an independent jewish state, there will be no peace. >> can i ask a question to preside

is a serious political problem now for president abbas.— president abbas.esident abbas. is that how it - seemed in gaza, rushdi? the israelis will claim victory of dismantling the tunnel systems and hitting some of the hamas fighters but politically, thus hamas come out of this stronger?— this stronger? yes. many people i talked to in _ this stronger? yes. many people i talked to in gaza _ this stronger? yes. many people i talked to in gaza said _ this stronger? yes. many people i talked to in gaza said who - this stronger? yes. many people i l talked to in gaza said who answered the call— talked to in gaza said who answered the call from — talked to in gaza said who answered the call from the _ talked to in gaza said who answered the call from the people _ talked to in gaza said who answered the call from the people in- the call from the people in jerusalenr. _ the call from the people in jerusalem, who— the call from the people in jerusalem, who fired - the call from the people in jerusalem, who fired the l the call from the people in- jerusalem, who fire

we know about the conversation between president biden and the israeli prime minister and mahmoud abbas is that he has not called for a cease fire he has not put any pressure on israel to stop the slaughter that's underway in gaza and that this is a very familiar situation in which it appears that the u.s. is taking the lead from israel on when they are ready for a cease fire and netanyahu has made clear he is not ready for a cease fire he said that our aim is to send hemis a message that it's not worth sending these rockets he is still sending that message and this is very reminiscent of earlier situations in 2006 with the the israeli war on lebanon connelly's or rice then the secretary of state to to george bush said we aren't we don't want a ceasefire yet implying presumably there were not enough dead people yet we see is something similar here it's quite dangerous. still ahead here in al-jazeera a vote that will give women more say in rewriting chillis constitution that dates back decades to its military dictatorship. bodies of suspected covert 9000 victims of dumped in india who is

has again emphasized israel's right to defend itself and has told the palestinian president mahmoud abbas that hamas must end its rocket bombardment of israel meanwhile there's been more bloodshed in the palestinian territories multiple members of an extended family in gaza were killed by israeli bombs israeli airstrikes also destroyed a tower block i was seeing apartments and offices of international media organizations. 13 stories reduced to rubble in seconds israel not hesitating to strike back hard against hamas. the building housed international news agencies israel's defense forces say hamas intelligence was using the media as unwitting human shields. warned about the attack journalists pleaded with an israeli intelligence officer for more time. look here from the a.p. news agency all of our equipment is in there including cameras and editing equipment give me 15 minutes to get it out. request denied the airstrike went ahead as planned. in another part of gaza a family of 10 had no warning before bombs flattened their home they were killed in their sleep all except for baby omar so

biden's first call with mahmoud abbas.te house summary said the president “underscored his strong commitment to a negotiated two-state solution as the best path to reach a just and lasting resolution of the israeli-palestinian conflict.” as of this afternoon, israel has reported at least seven deaths since the start of the conflic in gaza, the death toll is now reported to be at least 126. for more on the conflict, i spoke with npr correspondent daniel estrin who joined us from jerusalem earlier today. so, daniel, let's start with the latest. what have you been experiencing in the past few hours? >> well, the latest news is that the associated press bureau in gaza city was flattened in an israeli attack. the ap bureau was located in a high rise building along with al jazeera and other offices, and the owner of the building received a call from the israeli military notifying him that the building would be attacked and evacuate now. it attacked the building with airstrikes and demolished it. and then later israel announced t

what, what complicity does mahmoud abbas in the palestinian authority have for the conditions we see now? well, no, no. the boss is irrelevant. and, you know, the palestine authority was supposed to have all of palestine by the late ninety's and maybe not 10 yah, himself. destroyed that prospect of the oslo peace accords and left the color, staying authority with only 40 percent of the west bank and even they're, they're, they're under the thumb of the israeli military occupation. they can't do anything with israel, doesn't want them to do. and they're basically policing these people for israel. so ma'am, i mean richard hobbs just wrong. what about the situation on the ground? the people in the united states don't, don't actually follow events in the west bank and gaza and they're almost never on the news unless there's some big blow up like this. but if you read the, the colors sitting israeli newspapers about what's been going on in every little town in and dillard's in the west bank, then you see, brutalization, you can see colonization. you see these militant squatters settlers f

and reese was palestinian president mahmoud abbas in ramallah. following a meeting with israel. the prime minister injure was to lincoln is automation to show up a c side between israel and come up. also in the program, the european union ban slides tube from over below roofs. it's one of a number of measures to punishment for 4 think a passenger jets to deter resting position. journalists and minneapolis remembered a year off the george flows. murder is death at the hands of a white police officer triggered a reckoning of a race relations in the us. but some say not enough is being done to keep history from repeating. plus the cats is finally out of the bag, outgoing by a coach 100 flick will mileage the german national football team after his former bosses' yogi live down this. ah, i'm glad welcome to the program after israel 11 day conflict with how much parts of garza ally and ru us secretary of state antony blinking is now in the region trans, strengthened a ceasefire, and help palestinians rebuild the talks with palestinian presidents, mahmoud abbas secretary lincoln annou

so what's the benefit of talking to mohammed abbas? >> reporter: there is probably very little benefit by speaking to abbas. there's two camps really. you have the west bank which is a palestinian area that is separate physically and politically from the gaza strip, and the west bank is run by mahmoud abbas. he's 85 years old and under a lot of pressure for postponing elections. this is also a bit of a rivalry with hamas in the gaza strip showing that it is the real leader, that abbas is asleep at the wheel, he's not taking charge, he's not defending palestinians, he's not putting their issue front and center in front of the world's attention. so by carrying out this campaign, hamas is showing its leadership of the gaza strip, but it comes with an enormous cost because now day in and day out there are bombings in gaza and people are dying, parts of the city are being destroyed, but in the internal palestinian rivalry, certainly hamas is being talked about much more than abbas. but yes, if you want to solve this, you need to talk to ham

mahmoud abbas is 17 years to a four-year term.— mahmoud abbas is 17 years to a four-year term.mas are trying to play - four-year term. exactly right. it l will hamas are trying to play their own game and be the saviours of the palestinians. the reality is that the us has been pretty silent on this. we heard a statement today from bidens press secretary saying they have a right to defend themselves. we haven't heard much more than that. we need anthony blinking to step up. i think the issue here is for biden. he's got the right of china, a belligerent russia he's not around, climate change, a pandemic. this is not at the top of his priority list. but the top of his priority list. but the us really has to bang heads today. you can't rely on local actors to do it. and the big problem that rachel alluded to is not only is israel facing problems in gaza and west bank it is also facing unrest in the streets amongst 2 million arab citizens living in israel and that is a serious problem that the israeli government to contend with.— that the israeli government to contend with. ., , , .,

prime minister abbas johnston says a spike in cases of the indian coronavirus variant could make it more difficult to lift all social restrictions next month the prime minister stressed that more would be known about this in the coming weeks this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress and could make it more difficult to move to step 4 in june and i must stress that we will do whatever it takes to keep the public safe our surveillance and data gathering is now so dunst that if there was a danger of the n.h.s. coming under unsustainable pressure we would see the signs in the data very early on and could react in good time and that gives us the confidence to continue moving forwards fernand meanwhile america's vaccination campaign has expanded to include all teenagers between the ages of $12.15 it comes as the world health organization calls on wealthy countries to donate vaccines for children to its kovacs game which is helping middle income countries but as patsy cline reports the u.s. doesn't seem likely to heed that coal. it's not often that you see kids actually ex

i tend to blinking, met with a senior president mahmoud abbas. how can you convince him to trust the us when he's on the other side of backing israel so firmly? well, i think it's nothing new that there's a very close relationship between israel and the united states. but i think you have to see it on different levels. i think this, this is by the secretary of state, antennae thinking was very important for the palestinian authority. their relationship with the previous administration under the former president, trump was extremely trained actually broke down after don't try to move the embassy from television to jerusalem, the policy and then put the relationship on the ice. and there was not much contact for the past couple of years and that should change no. so there is a restart in these relations received from just as well from the americans to what's the palestinian authority. but also, you know, it's strengthening of their position via us in gaza. but if you wouldn't, every palestinian stacy evolve, they know they do not see really an hone

so i hope that prime minister netanyahu and abbas listened to joe biden's recommendation to begin tothings, to try to achieve a cease-fire, and to try to end what i think is a dangerous conflict in that area. >> and secretary panetta, president biden, as you were just saying, he spoke with the perform netanyahu today, as well as president mahmoud abbas. what should he be telling them? it sounds as though the president will be on the phone with both these leaders on a regular basis for the next couple weeks, at the very least. >> the first thing that i think is important is that i think president biden is trying to return the united states to the role of an honest broker, in thinking to deal with the israelis and the palestinians. i think that is the appropriate role for the united states. i'm glad that president biden is speaking to both parties. i think he's urging them to de-escalate, to try to achieve a cease-fire, and to try to engage in peaceful negotiate. that is the message that the united states should send. i hope that they listen to that. >> the u.n. secretary-general is ca

had her 30th birthday as an abba theme and boris johnson turned had her 30th birthday as an abba themed borisjohnson turned up, i wonder if he — theme and borisjohnson turned up, i wonder if he danced. | theme and boris johnson turned up, i wonder if he danced.— theme and boris johnson turned up, i wonder if he danced. i wonder why he ke -t it wonder if he danced. i wonder why he kept it quiet? — wonder if he danced. i wonder why he kept it quiet? because _ wonder if he danced. i wonder why he kept it quiet? because he _ wonder if he danced. i wonder why he kept it quiet? because he wanted - wonder if he danced. i wonder why he kept it quiet? because he wanted to l kept it quiet? because he wanted to avoid a big hoopla _ kept it quiet? because he wanted to avoid a big hoopla in _ kept it quiet? because he wanted to avoid a big hoopla in the _ kept it quiet? because he wanted to avoid a big hoopla in the press. - kept it quiet? because he wanted to avoid a big hoopla in the press. i - avoid a big hoopla in the press. i wonder if he danced to white wedding, the billy idol song. that was

the palestinian political leadership, and there are all sorts of criticisms, whether about president abbaslling the elections yet again, hamas not obviously being a democratic organisation, butjust in terms of israeli politics, quite interesting that the leader of the united arab list, mansour abbas, who has been talked of as a possible coalition partner in a new government that does not include benjamin netanyahu, that he is one of those calling for the protests by arabs over the al—aqsa mosque, for those protests to be halted, because he says he's worried they will lead to something far more dangerous. in a sense, could this be a potentially positive moment for political leaders within israel, to recognise the risk and do something more creative to avert that danger? i think there was that opportunity, perhaps, to come up with a creative solution with the fourth election results israeljust saw in quick succession, that's because of their slightly strange political system where you have to form a coalition government from, really, blocks of votes either on the right or left. for the first

it is the lead that of the palestinian people because it is the by the scene authority and mahmoud abbas is that chairman of the piano that even had mass recognizes as that of present that that of the palestinian people so something must give and the p.l.o. as well as the president authority needs to step in because as we've been saying that i said 7 days we're going to see a lot of suffering but once once the dust settles everyone is going to know that there is not a minute that a solution to this issue so what do you do clearly for the time being how mouse does not have it does not have an end to look at that in washington be a does the pacino fota thing certain that there is no dialogue within is it and have. but there could be and it has been for a long time one between the policy and or part of the or the p.l.o. and israel so i think that needs to happen but. present that bass now that there is this movement in the west bank needs to move or it needs to show his face needs to put his feet down because i tell you what if he does not i think history is going to move him if the palesti

an opportunity with a weak fatah, so weak that it cancelled those elections, having thought mahmoud abbas as president... he is about 15 years into his term... it's actually 17 years, but it's almost immaterial, isn't it? the fact is he was supposed to have one four—year term and stand for elections. that election never happened. that is right, and this gave hamas the time to act. they have weapons, better weapons, now, longer—range weapons that came from iran. they have been stockpiling these weapons. iran will have a hand in this as well, they will have had something to do with this, if not only the supply of those weapons and financing. all this is the perfect storm, and, as you say, some of that is from the international scene, really, that america is perhaps not seen as being terribly interested at this stage underjoe biden, and that is really one part of the jigsaw. the others are that hamas wanted to try and prove itself to the palestinian people and take part in this internal debate and struggle for representation of palestinians. and i think that israel is acting so firmly now in

that's right this was apparently the 1st time the president spoke to mahmoud abbas since the conflict began the 2nd time that he spoke to benjamin netanyahu entered both of them he expressed concern about the loss of life and what he called intercommunal violence that is violence between individuals in those 2 groups to abbas he said ultimately the solution to this is a 2 state solution that has been for a long time u.s. policy to netanyahu he reiterated that the u.s. position is that israel has a right to self-defense and to both men he condemned the firing of rockets by hamas out of gaza so really not as substantially changed u.s. policy and not a real sense of urgency pressuring either side particularly netanyahu to end this conflict john thank you for that john hendren live for us sane washington. and still ahead on al-jazeera dozens more bodies of suspected called $900.00 victims were found floating in india's river ganges and touched down china makes history as they successfully manned spacecraft on mars. surprisingly it's now remarkably warm of a most the u.s. including the nor

here's mr abbas.nt to a two—state solution i and the maintenance - of the status quo injerusalem and to keep the residents ofjerusalem and sheikhl jarrah in their homes. and also we thank the us - administration for its position vis—a—vis the expansion - of settlements and the actions ta ken by settlers. earlier, i spoke tojonathan schanzer, the senior vice president for research at the foundation for defense of democracies. he says it's proving difficult for the region to trust the biden administration at the moment. i think they are trying to reassure the region that the united states is still in charge although it's hard i think for the region to trust this administration right now, really, for two reasons — one, this administration has already stated very bluntly it plans to pivot away from the middle east, to spend less time on problems where there a re very clear a nswe i’s. certainly, with the united states now having to deal with a very great power competition, china, that is a fait accompli.

mahmoud abbas, long overstaying his term. just canceled legislative elections. in large measure because he thinks his side can't win. fatah in particular is of diminishing credibility. his ability to speak to bella 10 -- to ballot 10 -- the palestinians is compromised. on the israeli side you have benjamin netanyahu, who has failed in his effort to put together a majority coalition after israel's fourth round of elections. we seem to be going toward a fifth. i think you have a battle, in some cases to try to play a nationalist card to show we are not going to take it. people in the israel said this is helping benjamin netanyahu, who is comfortable playing a nationalist card. when you talk about actually resolving this in a longer-term way, i think it is hard to make a lot of progress when you have these political vacuums with hamas, with the palestinian authority, and israel. it could be that a crisis could pave the way for a deeper discussion about where we are trying to go with this and what is the endgame. that discussion has not happened, and as long as bomb

but let's understand that mahmoud abbas postponed an election that could have led to better leadershipgaza and the west bank into a more coherent and more responsible government. >> congresswoman, we're almost out of time. your book, "the insanity defense," comes from the old saying that you've talking about, governor hogan talks about, that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. real quick, that applies obviously to the mideast conflict, but president biden was hoping to redirect to competing with china. does the premise of your book make it clear that he just can't do that because of the realities? >> no, i think he can do that. and again, i think his interim national security strategy to take the foreign out of foreign policy and make it relevant to americans is right on. the one thing that is sad is to see this breakdown in congress especially of the republican party in the house. as i say in the last chapter, we have the incredible shrinking congress and they have to been an equal partner in an effective foreign policy. >> well said, it

i've also spoken with president abbas of the palestinian authority. i want to also thank the secretary of state, secretary of defense, our national security everyone on our team for their effort to bring this outcome we are about to see. we have held intensive high-level discussions. hour-by-hour, literally. egypt, the palestinian authority and other middle eastern countries with the name of avoiding the prolonged conflict we have seen in previous years when hostilities have broken up. i extend my sincere gratitude said the senior egyptian officials who have played such a critical role. i appreciate the contributions of other parties in the region who have been engaged in working toward the end of hostilities. these hostilities have resulted in the tragic deaths of so many civilians including children. i send my sincere condolences to all the families, israeli and palestinian, who have lost loved ones and my hope for a full recovery for the wounded. the united states committed to working with the united nations and we remain committed to provide rapid

secretary of state antony blinken has spoken to palestinian president mahmoud abbas, but abbas has little influence in gaza. >>> new details about the mysterious ailment known as havana syndrome. "the new york times" reports that 130 americans who served overseas have been affected prompting the biden administration to step up its investigation. some people have suffered long-term brain injuries after experiencing the phenomenon, which involves sound waves, pressure or heat. the initial cases were in china and cuba but some of the latest cases were in europe. one involved a military officer and his son. intelligence officials have not determined if the incidents are attacks. some claim russia is to blame. >>> now to the pandemic and a big new incentive to get vaccinated, $1 million. that's what one state is now offering in hopes of getting more shots into arms. abc's alex presha is here to tell us how we get that million dollars. alex, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, andrew. look, we've seen a lot of incentives to get vaccinated from free beers to doughnuts, even baseball tickets

. >> president abbas was told the u.s. would reopen its consulate general in jerusalem. it was closed by president trump. there was a commitment to help in the rebuilding of gaza after the 11 day war and a new package of funding for the u.n. and the palestinian authority. what was most telling was what secretary blinken didn't say. no mention of pushing toward a two state solution. no mention of a peace process. it is clear the biden administration wants to put a lid on this conflict, but for now it does not want to attempt to actually solve it. james bays, al jazeera, ramallah. lauren: as gaza continues to clear the rubble, it has been confirmed that five people died of covid-19 on tuesday. those numbers are thought to be a drastic undercount. health officials are warning of a disastrous third wave. we report from gaza. >> he is struggling for breath. like much of gaza, he spent days at home in fear of bombing raids. the trouble was, he had been infected with covid-19 and was getting worse day by day. now his doctor say his condition is very serious. >> he was infected

has again emphasized israel's right to defend itself and has told the palestinian president mahmoud abbas that hamas must end its rocket bombardment of israel meanwhile there's been more bloodshed in the palestinian territories multiple members of an extended family in gaza were killed by israeli bombs israeli airstrikes also destroyed a tower block housing apartments and offices of international media organizations. 13 stories reduced to rubble in seconds israel not hesitating to strike back hard against hamas. the building housed international news agencies israel's defense forces say hamas intelligence was using the media as unwitting human shields. warned about the attack journalists pleaded with an israeli intelligence officer for more time. look here from the a.p. news agency all of our equipment is in there including cameras and editing equipment give me 15 minutes to get it out. request denied the airstrike went ahead as planned. in another part of gaza a family of 10 had no warning before bombs flattened their home they were killed in their sleep all except for baby omar so i mea

abbas as representing them.hat we've been seeing here is something very unique: we saw jewish and palestinian citizens of israel essentially involved in fighting that we've not seen for many, many years. it was horrific to see. since then, in the last few days, israeli media and israeli social media, there has been a real campaign to try to bring these communities back together, talking about social cohesion. but while the fabric of israeli society felt like it was being torn apart during the war, when it comes to palestinians, whether inside of israel, here in east jerusalem, in the occupied west bank or gaza, they've been talking about something called palestinian national unity. >> dickerson: fascinating, indeed. imtiaz tyab in jerusalem, thanks so much. we go to bernie sanders who joins us from berlington, vermont. good morning, senator. >> good morning. >> dickerson: i want to start in the middle east. you made the case that how the u.s. government responds in this cease-fire says something about president