found that they nearly d but the last hurdle, they chose not to sign o mike is standing by for us in ramallah, and the first in his special report. >> more than 2,100 palestinians, most of them women and children, were killed. more than 70 israelis, 70 of them, also perished. following attacks on u.n. shelters, the secretary general condemned israel's actions. >> these were outrageous, unacceptable and unjustified firing. >> in the midst of the punishing israeli assault on gaza, appeals were made to the palestinian authority to once and for all exercise it's legal and non-violent rights, and with a stroke of the pen, join the international critical court or the icc. such a move could have triggered an investigation into both party's committed war crimes in the 50-day conflict. this court filing, submitted by a french law firm, was to the justice minister what appeared to put israel in the dark. >> we must do everything in our power to enable the international criminal court to bring to justice those responsible for committing war crimes. >> for this confidential august 14th letter, obtained e

mike is standing by for us in ramallah, the investigative unit is in the hague. here first is the special report. >> reporter: more than 2,100 palestinians, most civilians and many children, were killed. [ explosion ] >> reporter: more than 70 israel list nearly all of them soldiers also parished. following attacks on u.n. shelters, the secretary general condemned israel's actions. >> these attacks were outrageous and unjustifiable. >> reporter: in the midst of the punishing israeli assault on gaza, appeals were made to the palestinian authority to once and for all exercise its rel non-violent rights, and join the international criminal court or icc, such a move could have triggered a formal investigation into whether both parties committed war crimes during this conflict. this court filing submitted by a french law firm is a complaint made by the palestinian general prosecutor. 12 days later, the palestinian authority foreign minister made a highly publicized visit to the hague. >> we must do everything within our power to bring to justice those responsible for

given the horrors, why are young american women leaving home to ramallah. with reactions from the palestinians. >> well, laura, the reaction from independents is one of two scenarios. either the palestinians were unsure about the procedures to be a meck of the icc, or there was a conscience decision taken at the highest level not to do so now, the first scenario, clearly debatable. for five years, the palestinians have attempted to be members of the icc. and they should be aware of the procedures, and the state, whether the justice minister or the foreign minister approaching the icc for the palestinian state to be a member and accept the jurisdiction of the icc. the second scenario, that there was a conscience decision not to, and that's what's underdebate at present. i'm joined by the secretary general of the palestinian initiative, and do you think there was a conscience decision not to join the icc at this stage, and why? >> i think there's no decision yet. and there has been a lot of pressure from all political parties in palestine. we all signed a pet

for more on this, mike hanna is live in ramallah in the occupied west bank.hat is hamas saying, mike? >> well, it is strong criticism from mahmoud abbas, making those comments to journalists in cairo, basically insisting that hamas was intent on retaining control of gaza, and also insisting that during recent weeks and months. hamas has been acting against members within gaza, killing a number. and forcing others into house arrests. rafts of a large number -- arrests of a large number of hamas members, more than 30 in the area having been arrested by the palestinian authority. well, the reaction from hamas has been somewhat muted, a spokesman saying it would be better for hamas to bring the matters up, rather than waging a war through the media. this is what the spokesperson had to say. >>. >> translation: the statements made by mahmoud abbas against hamas are not justifiable. as reports relied on are false, untrue and groundless. these entail a great amount of injustice. these tension-filled statements are no reward for the people of palestine, who stood up

israeli-palestinian peace and therefore to achieve that peace we must look not only to jerusalem and ramallah, but to abu daw dhabi, and ryad, politil material and other indispensable support. i am ready to make an historic compromise. not because israel occupies a foreign land. the people of israel are not occupiers in the land of israel. history, archaeology and common sense, all make clear that we have had a singular attachment to this land for over 3,000 years. i want peace because i want to create a better future for my people. you about it must be a genuine peace. one that is chord in mutual recognition and enduring security arrangements. rock-solid security arrangements on the ground. because you see, israel withdraws from lebanon and gaza, created two militant islamic enclaves on our borders for which tens of thousands of rockets have been fired at israel. and these sobering experiences heightens israel's security concerns regarded potential territorial concessions in the future. now, those security concerns are even greater today. just look around you. the middle east is in chaos. st

. >>> mike hanna there from ramallah, thanks for that. >>> still ahead - backing down. why the u.s. president has delayed his immigration reform. >> the pigeon sat on the branch reflecting on existence. >>> few critics understand what it's about, but a surreal movie from sweden takes the prize at the venice film festival. >>> welcome back. let's recap the headlines. the ceasefire between the ukranian government and pro-russian separatists have been breached. the government checkpoint in mariupol came under fire in the first major violation of the truce. u.s. and iraqi army helicopters are striking islamic state fighters around haed eacha, trying to -- haed eacha, trying to protect the security of the dam. it provide water to millions, and is the second-largest dam. >>> mahmoud abbas accused hamas of running a shadow government, critical of the way it runs gaza. >> palestinians in gaza in desperate need for humanitarian release. israel destroyed much of the strip's infrastructure during a month-long bombardment. what remains can't be repaired due to limited supplies. >> delivery runs

. >> a palestinian artist in ramallah is turning destruction in gaza into images. here is her story. >> my name is bush ra. i'm a 25-year-old graphics designer. as a palestinian, a human and an arab, i cannot be an observer to the destruction of a country and the mass killing of a people, especially if it's my homeland and people. this requires me to rest. and that is not only done by military means. we resist by our culture and art. before working on the pieces i was helpless. i couldn't do anything. when i started, i felt something was speaking to me. i felt hope. i felt empowered. >> anyone who stares at the sky sees shapes in the cloud. you look at the smoke and you spot shapes as well. this is not about me, it's the story of those killed. each takes time. i contemplate enough and have to think of something new. i thing about it for a day. it also takes me a while to gather pictures before executing the idea. the piece i like most is mortars ascending. it was my first. the seconds on tv at the time. they were those that killed children. another favourite is the

this is set in ramallah with a palestinian cast, about palestinian life from a palestinian director. but israel is claiming ownership, and the whole row is making some people very upset in west jerusalem. here is why. the israeli government is furious that the director has listed this film as palestinian here at the venice film festival. after all, israel gave her hundreds of thousands towards the cost of making it. the economy minister says it's unfair and unacceptable. the culture minister is using words like serious, cynical misrepresentation and the israeli film fund is shouting fraud. they are strong words. it's not a battle of dialogue, it could be heading to the court. the israeli government is clear - it wants its money back. >> we pay tax to israel like every citizen, it's our right to get the fund. to me, film does not belong to film, funds, countries - it belongs to the artist. >> the movie tells the tale of three christians, unmarried. it's a melodramaa talking about more than the somebody of occupation. it's a drama about the film not in it that is getting most of the at

. >>> now, a palestinian artist based in ramallah is making art political. bushrah turns scenes of destruction into images. she hopes to bring attention to the plight of her people. here is her story. >> my name is bushrah. i'm a 25-year-old graphics designer. as a palestinian, a human and an arab, i cannot be an observer to the destruction of a country and the mass killing of people. especially if it's my homeland. it requires me to resist. it is not only done by military means. before working on the pieces, i felt helpless, i couldn't do anything. but when i started i felt that there was something speaking to me. i felt hope, empowered. anyone that says that the sky sees shapes - you look at the smoke resulting from air stripes. >> this is not about me, this is a story of those killed. each takes time. i contemplate a lot. i always think of something new and tell a different story. i think about it for a day. it takes me a while to exam pictures. what i liked most is tyres ascending. it was the first. it affected me a lot. the screens on tv is another favo

. >>> a palestinian artist from ramallah is making her hart political. bushrah turned seconds of destruction during israel's offensive in gaza into images, homing to bring attention to the plight of her people. here is her story. >> my surname is bushrah. i'm a 25-year-old graphics designer. as a palestinian, a human, and an arab, i cannot be on observer to the destruction of a country, and the mass killing of a people, especially if it's my homeland and my people. this requires me to resist, and resistance is not done by military moons. it is dub by culture and hart. >> before working on the pieces i felt helpless, i couldn't do anything for gaza. when i started, i felt there was something speaking to me. i felt hope, empowered. anyone who stares at the sky sees shapes in the cloud. you look at the smoke resulting from air strikes and you spot shapes. this is not about me, it's the story about those kill. each peace takes time. i contemplate a lot and think about something new and tell a different story. i think about it for a day. it takes me a while t

mike hannah, al jazeera, ramallah. >> let's bring in the former spokesman for the palestinian authority. thank you very much for joining us. you know what's going on with the palestinian authority and the way abbas thinks. what's he trying to do here? >> well, contrary to expectations, it seemed that this last war by israel on hamas actually fueled the already difficult relations between the two sides. i think abbas wants to make it clear that the difficulties in gaza in no way the responsibility of the palestinian authority and that hamas, which is expecting the pa to pay its employees are not allowing the p.a. to have any kind of responsibility and i am talking about the unity government, which is supposed to be a representative of the two sides. >> excuse me for jumping in here. hasn't it also helped isolate hamas since, of course, there are many players who would benefit from it? >> probably that will isolate hamas but let's also remember that the p.a. does not have much credibility, especially in the eyes of many palestinians, including in the west bank, but, also, outside. i think

mike hannhanna, al jazeera, ramallah. 7 men paca anybody hanging for a gang rape of four women.evastating flood that has killed more than 140 people. al jazeera america presents, edge of eighteen >> my heart is racing so fast >> standing at a crossroads... >> my parents have their plan. i'm gonna do what god asks me to do before what they ask me to do... >> can a family come together? >> do you think that you can try and accept me for me? >> life changing moments... >> my future is in my hands right now... >> from oscar winning director alex gibney, a ground breaking look at the real issues facing american teens on, the edge of eighteen only on aljazeera america >>> a reminder of the head lines on al jazeera. a shaky cease-fire in eastern crain is being tested with severalplosions near the city of donetsk. heavy shell something continuing in and around the port city of mariupol. the united states has carried out a fresh wave of airstrikes in iraqi targeting the islamic state group. sites near haditha were hit. mounting tensions in the recently formed palestinian unity government

. >> in ramallah, mahmoud abbas reported a new initiative bypassing negotiations. it would call for a courtney upshaw resolution orring u.n. resolution or conference to end the israeli occupation of palestinian territory. >> joining us centre jericho in the west bank is the chief palestinian netter for the palestinian -- negotiator for the palestinian organization. good to have you back with us. let's begin with the ceasefire. the costs were huge. more than a third of gaza's 1.7 million citizens displaced. how is what was agreed to yesterday different to what was offered different to the first week of conflict, why all the bloodshed or something we could have had in the first week. >> no, i think the question is wrong. why did israel wage the war. we did not start the war. it began on june the 12th. the israeli government decided to begin the bombardment, and the war from day one had political objectives. this was israel's response. this was an israeli response to the fact that we began a reconciliation process, to get on track. so the intention of the israeli gove

mike hanna, al jazeera, ramallah. >> protests were sparked by the death of a teenage boy who was injured in a conflict in gaza. he was hit by rubber bullets. thousands of youths through rocks and firebombs at officers, who tried to control the crowd with gas and stun grenades. >>> many in gaza are still in need of humanitarian relief weeks into a cease-fire. israel enjoyed much of the strip's infrastructure during the month-long bombardment. we have reports from rafa on the mammoth task ahead. >> reporter: delivery runs like this are as crucial now as they were in the war. aid agencies are still provid ing a lifeline for tens of thousands of people. this is free drinking water that is filtered and safe. those return to go damaged homes even when the water supply is working there is often no electricity to pump it from tanks and wells. gaza's only power station had been hit repeatedly by israeli shells. it's fuel store and treatment plants were destroyed along with generator and turbine damage. it's estimated full repairs will take a year and the temporary fix will only offer a fraction o

now within the last couple of hours here in ramallah, that was life on palestinian television, absolutely no mention of the i.c. c., or indeed, membership of the i. c.c. now, we are told by several sources within the p.l.o. executive committee and an organization that there has been a link call between the u. n. security council and membership. the strategy it would appear is that if his new proposals for dialog are not met, he is going to the u. n. security council asking for the proposals to be implemented through a security resolution. a strategy or not. this is the one scenario that we are hearing very clearly. it is definitely a conscious decision. that they have to play and he is not going to play it, until he is forced into doing so. within the civil society there's fury at the fact that the palestine government did not take the opportunity to join the i.c.c. when all the steps were in place. all that was needed was endorsement from the head of state, or the desire to join the i.c.c. then everything else would have fallen into place, that not happening, great anger that it hasn't.

the tensions as you call them, have a very clear basis, which is that the palestinian authority in ramallahs backed by and allied with israel, and hamas is a -- one of the resistence factions that just engaged in a war with israel. and so unity between people who are cooperating with the israeli army on the one hand, and those who are resisting it on the other is very difficult. but what is driving them together is very similar. the egyptian military dictatorship, which is also closely allied with israel, insists that forces loyal to abass, that is to say forces allied with israel, control the border between egypt and gaza, as a condition for loosening the egyptian side of the israeli siege. so hamas has no choice, if it wants to see some kind of end to the israeli egyptian blockade. and that's true with israel's other allies like the european union, various regimes who insist that forces allied with israel, supervisor the gaza crossings as a condition for ending israel's illegal collective punishment of the civilian population. >> now, alley is ha ma's power base. now the cease fire that w

. >> now, a palestinian artist based in ramallah is making art political. she has used scenes of destruction from the offensive on gaza as a basis for her work, and hopes to bring attention to the flight of her people. here is her story. >> my name is bushrah. i'm a 25-year-old graphics designer. as a palestinian, a human and an arab, i cannot be an observer to the distrucksz of a country and the mass killing of people, especially if it's my homend and people. this requires me to resist. we rest by our culture and art. before working on the pieces, i felt helpless, i couldn't do anything for gaza, when i started i felt there was someone speaking to me. i melt hope and empowered. anybody who stares at the sky sees shapes in the clouds. you look at the smoke and you spot shapes as well. this is not about me, it's the story of those kill. each piece takes time. i contemplate a lot and think of something new and tell a different story. i think about it for a day sometimes. it takes me a while to gather pictures before executing the idea. the piece i like most i

and so basically in ramallah or three fingers being held up to celebrate the idea.ng a kind of world apart, a gap, a golf that was profound and i was a psychologically from the time when i was our negotiator, as bad as things might get a certain points but was never close to where we are today. the gulf is wider than i've seen it. i can't recall a time where i think the gulf was as wide as it is, though there's a sense of irony when i say that, because on the one hand if you look at, his approach towards hamas these days seems to reflect, shall we say, a very high degree of skepticism. he's not real keen on embracing them at this point. obviously, the israelis have the same view, but the idea that the israelis at this point are prepared to take a big leap, given what they see around them, the idea this point that he is in a position where he can make what amounts to fundamental concessions, given what i think the mode of palestinians is and how he sees, particularly given the anger level of policy towards israelis, i think it just doesn't pass the test of being real

very button of scientists kind of went off the deep end in the eyes of his newly branded marine ramallah just, who was this new discipline of science the navy had created the now a speech or 19. he was doing inside cohabitation experiments at the track is beyond the fisting thumbnail dolphins and see what has been issued in the water for a month and didn't hold the facts and he went on to do lsd experiments which was a collective time in the mid-60s. then he started taking lsd and eventually liberated all of his dolphin's. so by 1968 he had liberated his dolphins, like release him from captivity in the caribbean, retire to preach the gospel of dolphins has higher being and i don't know if you recognize these people. timothy leary, john billy on the far right and allen ginsberg and they would hold symposia together and he continued to write books. when i was in college i read books in the early 70s. so there were other scientists who flipped. this is what was so interesting about the story. this is roger payne did some of you may know is named. he released it worked as the navy funded res

i've seen it in the hope of young palestinians in ramallah who dream of building their future in a free and independent state. i see it in the persevere republicans of men and women of burma striving to build a democracy against the odds. these citizens remind us of why civil society is so essential. when people are free to speak their minds and hold their leaders accountable, governments are more responsive and more effective. when entrepreneurs are free to create and develop new ideas, economies are more innovative and attract more trade and investment and ultimately become more prosperous. when communities, including minorities are free to live and pray and love as they choose, when nations uphold the rights of all their people, including, perhaps, especially women and girls, those countries are more likely to thrive. if you want strong successful countries, you need strong, vibrant civil societies. when citizens are free to organize and work together across borders to make our communities healthier, our environment cleaner and our world safer, that's when real change comes. and we s

. >> i have done work in ramallah and palestine with women lawyers there, working to try to build a legaly, a bar, within palestine. i've been working with women parts ofo be important the palestinian bar. i came back from when my trip someone a dispute at columbia about palestinian women lawyers. we have this administrative thing we have to do a columbia, put our posters through the dean's office for approval. i was told i could not have any "palestine"he word in the title because there was no such thing as palestine. i ignored them and did it anyway. we can think a lot about of places in the world, tibet, where he could say there is no such place as to bet. to censor the idea of or conjuring palestine in an academic setting is something that is happening across campuses across the country. what happened to me so mild to what is happening to professor kris.ta or happen to >> talk about what you call the corporate university and how you think that ties in. >> he spoke about this in his expense as well. what we're saying in this incidence, and i would call it the catastrophe, at university

therefore, to achieve that peace, we must look not only to jerusalem and ramallah but also to cairo, abu dhabi and elsewhere. i believe peace can be realized with the active involvement of arab countries, those that are willing to provide political, material and other indispensable support. i am ready to make a a historic compromise. not because israel occupies a foreign land. the people live israel are not occupiers in the land of israel. history, archaeology and common sense all make clear that we have had a singular attachment to this land for over 3000 years. i want peace because i want to great a better future for my people. it must be a genuine peace. one that is anchored in mutual recognition and enduring security arrangements, rocksolid security arrangements on the ground. israel withdraws from lebanon and gaza created enclaves on our borders for which tens of thousands of rockets have been fired at israel. these sobering experiences heightens israel's security concerns regarding concessions in the future. though security concerns are even greater today. just look around you.

aljazeera, ramallah. >> analysts say there is little trust between fatah and hamas.hey say both have only agreed to the unity deal as a tactic to gain more control. >> this was the scene in jerusalem this weekend, palestinian protestors and israeli police clashing on the streets that followed the death of a 16-year-old palestinian. that teen critically wounded during a clash with israeli police on sunday. >> parts of pakistan and india in kashmir are experiences floodwaters, water levels topping 15 feet in some houses and some neighborhoods are unreachable. >> a fire at an apartment building in chicago claims the lives of four children. firefighters say it may have started on the second floor. two duties were critically injured when they jumped from the burning building. fifty others escaped the fire. >> firefighters are battling a blaze inside california's yosemite park. hikers had to be rescued. >> it comes three weeks after another wildfire in that park sent scrambling tourists, as well. >> for three days in august, it burned until firefighters fought it. >> high

you can be between jerusalem and ramallah, you're talking about less than 10 miles and it might have been -- might as well have been from here to the moon, at least psychologically. i was there right after the cud knapping of the three israeli teenagers which turned out to be the murder of the three israeli teenagers. i was there before the murder of the palestinian teenager but what i saw in israel was a cundy that was under a sense of national -- national trauma because of the kidnappings. and what i saw in ram alla were they fingers being held up to celebrate the idea of the kidnapping. it was profound -- from the time hen i was our negotiating -- negotiator it was never close -- the gap between the two sides is as wide as i've seen it. where it'sall a time been like this. the one hand if you look at his approach towards hamas these days seems to reflect, shall we say a very high degree of except six. he's not -- skept six. he's not israeli has the same view but the idea that the israelis at this point are prepared to take a big leap given what they see around them, the idea at th

it is set in ramallah with a palestinian past about palestinian life from a palestinian director, butis claiming ownership. the whole thing is making people very upset. the israeli government is furious that the director has listed this film as palestinian here. israeli gave her hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the cost of making it. the economy minister is saying it is unfair and unacceptable. the culture minister is using words like serious, cynical misrepresentation and the israeli film fund is shouting fraud. those are strong words. this is not just a battle of dialogue anymore. this is a battle that could be heading for the courts, because the israel government is very clear on this, it wants its money back. >> it's our basic rights, yeah? for me, films not belong to funds or country, it's belong to the artist. >> the movie tells the tale of three unmarried christians, lobbed away in their villa. it talks about more than the obvious subject of occupation. it's the drama about the film, not in it that is getting most attention here in venice. >> there is nothing in my contr

i've seen in the hope of young palestinians in ramallah who dream of building their future in a freendependent state. i sit in the perseverance of men and women in burma who are striving to build a democracy against the odds. these citizens remind us of why civil society so essential. when people are free to speak their minds and hold their leaders accountable, governments are more responsive and more effective. when entrepreneurs are free to create and develop new ideas, economies are more innovative and attract more trade and investment and ultimately become more prosperous. win communities, including minorities, fre a free to live d play and love as they choose, when nations uphold the rights of older people, including perhaps especially women, and girls, then those countries are more likely to thrive. if you want strong successful countries, you need strong, vibrant civil society. when citizens are free to organize and work together across borders, to make our communities healthier, our environment cleaner, and our world safer, that's when real change comes. we see this in the sp