Dr. Ramzy Baroud, author of “My Father Was A Freedom Fighter: The Untold Story of Gaza,” joins Scott to discuss the Israeli suffocation of the Palestinians in Gaza. Baroud explains how the nearly two million Palestinians living in Gaza are managing to subsist despite heavy restrictions on their life, including physical confinement and outright bans on farming and fishing. The suicide rate in Gaza is dramatic and on the rise as people have started to lose hope—and things are only getting worse. Baroud tells the story of a woman with breast cancer whose permit, which she needed to travel in order to receive chemotherapy, has been denied by Israel. She’s one of thousands of Palestinians who have been denied life-saving treatment.

Baroud details how Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made life for Palestinians that much worse and how the United States torpedoed a chance for a political solution in 2006 when Condoleezza Rice divided a peaceful coalition in Palestine. In doing so, the United States and Israel have made the establishment of a Palestinian state impossible. Israel has subsequently pushed the Gazans to the brink of starvation to break the will of the people and force them into accepting a deal in Israel’s interest. That new, misguided solution is directed by Mohammed Dahlan who is attempting to create a peace deal with the Sisi government in Egypt to open the borders with Palestine. Baroud claims this will create a split between Gaza and Palestine that will ultimately make life worse for the Palestinians. Further, such a deal would no longer demand the lifting of the Israel siege of Gaza and would create the appearance of an inter-Arab affair, removing responsibility from America and Israel. Finally, Baroud shares the books on Palestine he most recommends.

Ramzy Baroud is a US-Arab journalist and is the editor-in-chief of the Palestine Chronicle. His latest digital project is “Palestine in Motion,” intended to give a holistic understanding of the lives of Palestinians as told in their own words. Follow Ramzy on Twitter @RamzyBaroud and read his work at RamzBaroud.net.

Discussed on the show:

• “Palestine in Motion,” by Ramzy Baroud (Al Jazeera)
• Howard Zinn
• Hamas
• Benjamin Netanyahu
• “Israel-Gaza conflict: 80 per cent of Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes are civilians, UN report says,” (The Independent)
• Fatah
• 2006 Palestinian election
• Fatah-Hamas Mecca Agreement (2007)
• Dov Weissglass
• Ehud Olmert
• Dov Weissglass: ‘The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger,’ (The Guardian)
• “Counting the calories in Gaza” (Google search)
• “Tearfully But Forcefully, Israel Removes Gaza Settlers” (New York Times)
• Likud Party
• “Top PM Aide: Gaza Plan Aims to Freeze the Peace Process” (Haaretz.com)
• “Netanyahu At War” (Frontline)
• “95 percent of Jewish Israelis support the Gaza war” (Vox)
• Avigdor Lieberman
• “Watch: Israeli soldier caught on video fatally shooting wounded Palestinian attacker” (Washington Post)
• “Israel Polarized Over Soldier Who Killed Wounded Palestinian” (New York Times)
• Yisrael Beiteinu Party
• “Israel Cuts Gaza Electricity at Abbas’ Request,” by Jason Ditz (AntiWar.com)
• Mohammed Dahlan
• “Will Mohammed Dahlan return to lead Gaza?” (Al Jazeera)
• Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
• “The Gaza Bombshell” (Vanity Fair)
• “What Bradley Manning showed the world about Israel/Palestine” (Mondoweiss.net)
• “Gaza’s Game of Thrones,” by Ramzy Baroud (Al Jazeera)
• “Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel,” by Max Blumenthal

Ramzy Baroud’s Reading List:

The Question of Palestine, by Edward Said

In Search of Fatima, by Gahda Karmi

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, by Ilan Pappe

Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner’s Guide, by Ben White

Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa

My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story, by Ramzy Baroud

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