Why Did Biden Slam ICC Over Israeli-Hamas Arrest Warrants? – Assal Rad 

Why Did Biden Slam ICC Over Israeli-Hamas Arrest Warrants? – Assal Rad 

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The Biden administration has denounced ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan for seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismael Haniyeh, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri. Middle East analyst Assal Rad underscores the U.S. government’s complicity in Israeli war crimes in Gaza by arming Israel despite numerous ICJ rulings calling for Netanyahu’s government to adhere to its commitments under the Genocide Convention, and most recently, to immediately halt its operation in Rafah. She also discusses the potential implications of the recent deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. 

Defunding UNRWA to Starve Gaza – Sari Hanafi part 2/2 

Defunding UNRWA to Starve Gaza – Sari Hanafi part 2/2 

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Israel’s accusations against a total of 19 UNRWA staff members alleging their involvement in the October 7 attacks prompted 16 countries to pause or suspend $450 million in funding to the agency. A UN investigation resulted in one of the 19 cases being closed and four suspended due to a lack of evidence. Of the 12 staff members initially accused by Israel, 10 of them were fired by UNRWA, while the other two were killed. Israeli claims that 10% of UNRWA employees have ties to Hamas have yet to be substantiated. As Sari Hanafi explains, UNRWA provides critical infrastructure, housing, and education to Palestinians in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza. 

Selective Outrage: Why the Slaughter of Palestinians is Ignored by Western Governments – Sari Hanafi part 1/2

Selective Outrage: Why the Slaughter of Palestinians is Ignored by Western Governments – Sari Hanafi part 1/2

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Following Israel’s killing of 7 WCK aid workers, Western politicians appeared to reconsider their unwavering support of Netanyahu’s government, if only for a brief moment. Iran’s attack on military targets in Israel, in response to Israel’s strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus, has since been cited by the U.S. and Germany as a justification for continued military support for Israel. Sari Hanafi, Professor of Sociology at the American University of Beirut, discusses Germany’s past genocidal war crimes as well as the ICJ case brought by Nicaragua examining Germany’s complicity in genocide in Gaza. 

How Israel Maintains Its Colonial Occupation – Walid Habbas pt 1/2
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How Israel Maintains Its Colonial Occupation – Walid Habbas pt 1/2

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Israel has expanded its role as an occupying power in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip by building illegal settlements, establishing practices of indirect colonial management founded on military proclamations, and imposing checkpoints and blockades to control the livelihood of Palestinians since 1967 in particular. Walid Habbas, researcher at the Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies (MADAR), zooms out from the current atrocities and applies a bird’s eye view to flesh out the dynamics of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Besides military deployments enforcing the occupation, Walid delves into Israel’s control of Palestinian industry and the various forms of economic dependency that emerge from it.

A Viable Plan or Utter Delusion: Is the Two-State Solution (Still) Possible? – Assal Rad part 2/2
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A Viable Plan or Utter Delusion: Is the Two-State Solution (Still) Possible? – Assal Rad part 2/2

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In Part 2, Assal Rad speaks to the importance of U.S. airman Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., where he stated that he would “not be complicit in genocide” in the Gaza Strip. Assal Rad, scholar of the Middle East, highlights the Biden administration’s deceitful unwillingness to hold Israel to account in the face of the IDF’s well-documented atrocities in Gaza while it simultaneously withholds funding from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on the mere basis of allegations.

Defying the World: Why the West Won’t Stop Israel’s Slaughter in Rafah – Assal Rad part 1/2
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Defying the World: Why the West Won’t Stop Israel’s Slaughter in Rafah – Assal Rad part 1/2

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Despite the ICJ’s ruling calling for the prevention of plausibly genocidal acts against the Palestinians, the IDF continues its slaughter of civilians in the Gaza Strip with impunity. Assal Rad, historian, and Middle East scholar discusses the plight of 1.4 million Palestinians in Rafah and the absurdity of placing their livelihood in the hands of Israeli officials whose aim is anything but ensuring their safety. If Israeli government plans are not just another step towards ethnic cleansing, why won’t Prime Minister Netanyahu propose evacuating Palestinians to Israel in order to ensure their subsequent safe return back to the Gaza Strip?

From Rafah to an Abyss – Israel to Continue Attack on 1.4 Million Palestinians – Joshua Landis (part 2/2)
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From Rafah to an Abyss – Israel to Continue Attack on 1.4 Million Palestinians – Joshua Landis (part 2/2)

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In part 2, Joshua Landis discusses Hamas’ recent ceasefire proposal and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s planned ground incursion into Rafah. Netanyahu has rejected international calls to abandon a military onslaught on the densely populated area around the Rafah Crossing, where 1.4 million Palestinians from all over the Gaza Strip are seeking shelter in a 64-square-kilometer area. Landis contends that Bibi’s explicit repudiation of a two-state solution, as well as lack of plans to guarantee the safety of civilians before launching an invasion of Rafah, does little to assuage concerns about the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Arab-Americans in Michigan Denounce Biden’s Bankrolling of Destruction in Gaza – Shireen Al-Adeimi

Arab-Americans in Michigan Denounce Biden’s Bankrolling of Destruction in Gaza – Shireen Al-Adeimi

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Dr. Shireen Al-Adeimi is a Professor of Language and Literacy at Michigan State University and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Michigan is key to Biden’s presidential run, where Muslim and Arab-Americans in the state have withheld support from Biden due to his full backing of Israel’s genocidal project in Gaza.

Israel’s “Dahiya Doctrine” of Death – Imad Salamey pt 1/2

Israel’s “Dahiya Doctrine” of Death – Imad Salamey pt 1/2

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Dr. Imad Salamey is an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, and author of The Communitarian Nation-State Paradox in Lebanon. Part 1 describes the nature of the cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel, including a strike on Hamas’ deputy leader al-Arouri. He also addresses Israel’s “Dahiya doctrine,” a military strategy of targeting civilian infrastructure with the aim of forcing civilians to jettison their political leadership or kick out combatant groups residing in the area. It was first deployed by Israel during its 1982 invasion of Lebanon to evict the PLO and is now being unleashed in Gaza under the pretext of rooting out Hamas.

Brutal Occupation Underpins Class Inequality for Israelis and Palestinians – MK Ofer Cassif

Brutal Occupation Underpins Class Inequality for Israelis and Palestinians – MK Ofer Cassif

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Israeli Member of Knesset Dr. Ofer Cassif is a member of the Hadash Party, which supports Jewish-Arab cooperation and workers’ rights. MK Cassif highlights how the occupation generates class inequalities and a regime of elite oppressors vs. the oppressed, which is not exclusively based along ethnic or religious lines. He outlines Prime Minister Netanyahu’s disregard for the well-being of both Israelis and Palestinians, as well as a history of propping up Hamas.

Radical Transformation is Needed for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace – Nadim Houry

Radical Transformation is Needed for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace – Nadim Houry

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Nadim Houry, Executive Director of the Arab Reform Initiative, discusses the role of Arab countries in the Middle East in demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and negotiating the release of hostages taken by Hamas. Normalization between Bahrain and the UAE with Israel, in addition to negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, has been disrupted as the Israeli bombardment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza continues. Houry also addresses previous attempts to advance peace, such as the Saudi-led Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, and argues that a regional rather than bilateral approach with Israel is necessary, one which requires a non-negotiable end to settlement expansion in the West Bank and brings Iran and other regional actors into the fray.

Strategically and Morally Bankrupt: U.S. Policy in the Middle East – Col. Lawrence Wilkerson
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Strategically and Morally Bankrupt: U.S. Policy in the Middle East – Col. Lawrence Wilkerson

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Retired U.S. Colonel Larry Wilkerson discusses the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bombardment of Gaza and large-scale indiscriminate attacks on Palestinian civilians. He points to state-sanctioned torture and other unlawful acts committed by the U.S. after 9/11 and asserts that the Israeli government is responding to Hamas’ attacks in a similar fashion by wholly disregarding international legal norms. In doing so, Israel is putting its own population at risk, as well as collectively punishing the Palestinians.

A Brutal Occupation Begets a Brutal War Between Israel and Hamas – Trita Parsi

A Brutal Occupation Begets a Brutal War Between Israel and Hamas – Trita Parsi

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Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, analyzes Iran’s role in supporting Hamas’ brutal coordinated attack on civilians in Israel. Parsi unpacks Palestinian grievances, as well as Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and illegal blockade of Gaza. With host Talia Baroncelli.