AMY GOODMAN: So, you're talking about what's happening on the Gaza-Israel border. The embassy is opening in Jerusalem, Sharif. Do you know about any protests there? It's opening just after the broadcast, actually, of this show. The protest in Gaza, while today is the most deadly day of the Israeli military gunning down Palestinian protesters -- the numbers, we think, around 30, as you said -- we're nearing 80 Palestinians killed by Israeli snipers and the Israeli military since the ongoing nonviolent protest of March 30th, that are supposed to be culminating tomorrow, although expected to go on from there.
SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Well, Amy, being here in Gaza, it's hard to know what's happening in Jerusalem, just with everything that's happening on the ground and also a lack of access to the internet. But what I can tell you is that Jerusalem is a main factor in what's driving this. You know, there's a number of reasons that this kind of new movement is happening in Gaza. It's the accumulation of a number of things and the convergence of a number of events.
You know, first of all, there's the siege, of course, where the situation in Gaza -- I've been coming here since 2011, and every time I come, the situation is much worse. It's really now intolerable. This has been a siege for 11 years. It has affected everything -- the economic situation, humanitarian situation, the right to travel. On top of that, in summer, the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas imposed sanctions on Gaza, worsening the economic situation and things like electricity, in a bid to force Hamas's hand. And, you know, everyone knew that this was unsustainable. People were talking about it. And so, that's one of the reasons this has risen up.
But another one, in a broader context, and from speaking with a lot of people here, there's a sense that the very core of the Palestinian cause is under threat, that the essence of the Palestinian cause is under threat. So you have Jerusalem, which is at the very core of the Palestinian cause, with Trump moving the embassy to Jerusalem, the U.S. Embassy, and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and that is a huge insult to Palestinians.
And there's also the issue of the right of return. Many people here spoke of what's called the deal of the century, that's supposedly being worked on by Trump and other countries. There's been several leaked versions of it. But many of them do away with the right of return, and treat Palestinian refugees as a humanitarian situation. If you take away Jerusalem and the right of return, you know, what's left for the Palestinian cause? So that's really driving this, as well.
And it also comes in a context of a divided leadership, Palestinian leadership, with Fatah and Hamas really nowhere near reconciliation, that was supposed to happen a few months ago. It comes in a context of a region where Arab countries, like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, are aligned with Israel, in many ways. And it's coming on the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, of 70 years of waiting for the right to return not being realized.
And finally, Gaza has seen itself, historically, as responsible for the national cause. Yasser Arafat is from Gaza. Gaza gave birth to the first intifada. It gave birth to Fatah. It gave birth to Hamas. It gave birth to Islamic Jihad. It is -- all of this came out of Gaza, and it sees itself as part of -- you know, responsible for the Palestinian cause. And so, that's why the demands here are not just lifting the siege. They go to the very essence of it, and they're calling for the right of return, as well.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about the significance of the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem. An anti-gay, pro-Trump pastor from Dallas, Pastor Robert Jeffress, was chosen by the Trump administration to lead the prayer at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Pastor Jeffress has a history of making hateful comments against Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Mormons, the LGBTQ community. This is just a few of the statements he's made over the years.
DONALD TRUMP: Where is Pastor Jeffress? He's around here someplace. What a good guy! Where is he? Well, come here. I love this guy!
PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: Here's the deep, dark, dirty secret of Islam. It is a religion that promotes pedophilia, sex with children. ... Mormonism is not Christianity. It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity.
ANDERSON COOPER: Hindus and Buddhists, Islam -- cults?
PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: Yes, absolutely. ... Muhammad was nothing but a bloodthirsty warlord who beheaded 600 Jews who would not follow him into battle.
IMAM MOHAMMAD ALI ELAHI: That is not true.
PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: Islam is wrong! It is a heresy from the pit of hell. Mormonism is wrong. It is a heresy from the pit of hell. Judaism, you know, you can't be saved, being a Jew.
JIM ACOSTA: And Mormons do say they are Christians.
PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: Yeah.
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