Last evening onThe ReidOut‚ MSNBChost Joy Reid and her guest‚authorPeter Maass‚ compared the war in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the genocidal Yugoslav Wars andSerbian war criminalSlobodan Miloevi. Maass‚ a journalist who covered the war in Bosnia‚ described how the media reports he has been reading about Gaza sound very similar to what he witnessed in the 1990s.Reid opened the interview with the question‚ Why do you say that it is genocide? To which Maass quickly specified that he thinks the amount of evidence surrounding this issue should be investigated by war crimes prosecutors for possible genocide charges‚ whichwasvery different from‚ I believe this is a genocide.To further push the Israel is committing genocide narrative‚ Reid named Slobodan Miloevi‚the former Serbian presidentconvicted of war crimes‚ and compared him to the Israeli PM‚ Netanyahu:Do you think that because he is the person that is prolonging this and doesn';t seem to want to stop it‚ could Benjamin Netanyahu wind up in a position like Mr. Karadi‚ like Mr. Miloevi‚ and actually chargedFor context‚ in the Yugoslav Wars‚ Miloevi was indicted for sixty-six counts of genocide inBosnia and Herzegovina‚ Croatia‚ and Kosovo. Groups of Serbs‚ Jews‚ Muslims‚ and Croats were ethnically cleansed from these areas in series of horrific war crimes.In contrast‚ the war in Gaza started because Hamas‚ an anti-Israel Palestinian terrorist group‚ attacked Israel in an attempt to ethnically cleanse the area and replace it with the Islamic Brotherhood. Hamas should be compared to Slobodan Miloevi‚ Radovan Karadi‚ and Ratko Mladi‚ not Israel.Not onlydidReid compare Netanyahu to a genocidal political leader‚ but she alsoclaimedthat Netanyahu has prolonged the war by refusing to ceasefire. So far‚nearlyevery multilateral ceasefire proposition has been agreed to by Israel and refused by Hamas.Recently‚ Hamas announced that they wouldnt be able to turn over 40 of the hostages they took because they were already dead.During the interview‚ Maass was reluctant to confirm that he thought Israel was committing genocide. Is it genocide? Its complicated. Instead‚ he referred to what hes seen on the media‚ apparently unaware that the statistics that the mainstream media uses are from Hamas-controlled organizations.I saw genocide happen in front of my eyes. Now‚ what I';m seeing happening in front of my eyes in the way that you are‚ and others are‚ because foreign reporters arent allowed into Gaza by Israel‚ is disturbingly evocative‚he demurred.Adding: All of these kinds of incidents that I saw before and that weve seen in other military situations and other genocides we have seen thereWhat counts is really what war crimes prosecutors‚ war crime judges might decide. And thats kinda what I think needs to happen.To call for an investigation into Israels methods of warwasone thing‚ to compare it to the ethnic cleansers of the Yugoslav Warswasanother.Earlier in the interview‚ Maass mentioned that his great-grandfather‚ while not a Zionist‚ helped Jewish people be relocated out of Russia and into what was then called Palestine.Reid and Maass attempted to use this example to explain how Zionismwaswrong and peace could be attained between the groups if the state of Israel did not exist. Yet‚ this conversation completely ignored how Hamass goalwasto remove the same people that Maasss family helped put in Israel.Hamas does not want to live in peace with Jewish people. It does not support religious freedom and removing the state of Israel will not satisfy them. Like the ethnic cleanser‚ Miloevi‚ Hamas wants to eradicate the people of Israel‚ not just the nation.Maass has also been indirectly supporting this narrative on CNN and other major liberal media.Veteran war correspondent @maassp argues that international courts should examine whether Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Whats the legal standard? And is the evidence there? Plus how he responds to accusations that the suggestion is blood libel pic.twitter.com/nGrnsP0XTU Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) April 10‚ 2024Read the full transcript here:The ReidOut4/11/247:55:23-7:59:44(...)JOY REID: You have covered wars‚ including in Bosnia. And so‚ you have something to compare it to. Why do you callBecause its very controversial among a lot of people to call what is happening in Gaza genocide. Not everyone likes to hear that. Why do you say that it is genocide?PETER MAASS: Well‚ I say‚ I was very specific about that. I mean‚ I said that there is‚ like‚ a lot of evidence indicating that this is genocide and it should be investigated by war crimes prosecutors for possible genocide charges. And indeed‚ the international court of justice is looking into that now. There are other venues‚ international criminal court‚ that could also do the same. And the reason that I said that is because when I covered the war in Bosnia‚ I also covered military activity in Iraq and Afghanistan where I saw a lot of violence.But in Bosnia‚ in particular‚ I saw people shot by snipers. I saw civilian homes get bombed from the hills by the Serbs who were besieging Sarajevo. Aid shipments halted. Water‚ electricity‚ cut off. Visited the main hospital in Sarajevo. It would get bombed. I knew people there who were killed. I wrote about it at the time. And all of these things that I saw in Sarajevo‚ in Bosnia when I was reporting there in the 1990s‚ which was a long time ago‚ were very similar to what I have been seeing‚ what we all have been seeing in Gaza. And‚ in the case of Bosnia‚ there were war crimes trials and there are a number of people who are in prison now on atrocities‚ convictions‚ on genocideREID: Slobodan Miloevi.MAASS: He died while awaiting trial‚ but Radovan Karadi‚ who was the Bosnia Serb political leader‚ Ratko Mladi the Bosnian Serb military leader‚ they are in prison for the rest of their lives on charges that include genocide. I was covering‚ I saw genocide happen in front of my eyes. Now‚ what I';m seeing happening in front of my eyes in the way that you are‚ and others are‚ because foreign reporters arent allowed into Gaza by Israel‚ is disturbingly evocative. All of these kinds of incidents that I saw before and that weve seen in other military situations and other genocides we have seen there. Is it genocide? Its complicated.REID: Yeah‚ its a legal question.MAASS: Its very difficult. We can talk about it forever‚ but our opinions don';t count. What counts is really what war crimes prosecutors‚ war crime judges might decide. And thats kinda what I think needs to happen.REID: The things weve heard‚ you write about the grandmother whos holding her six-year-old grandson';s hand and is‚ you know‚ shot by a sniper. Weve seen on social media‚ Israeli soldiers‚ IDF soldiers‚ uploading images of themselves looting‚ taking things from Palestinian homes. Weve seen mosques blown up‚ schools blown up. The deliberate destruction Al-Shifa and other hospitals. Is that the kinda thingAnd I think the most egregious‚ or maybe not the most egregious‚ the most shocking thing people are seeing now is the mass starvation. Thats the kind of thing youre saying deserves an investigation.MAASS: Yeah. And‚ I mean‚ the number of children in particular who have been killed‚ more than 13‚000 children‚ this is a number that really isnt disputed by anybody of any reputation. More than 13‚000 children have been killed in six months in Gaza by Israeli bombs or Israeli bullets‚ et cetera. And‚ when I was covering the war in Bosnia‚ and I mean this was a four- yearlong war. There was something around the order of 6- or 7‚000 children killed over the course of four years. This is six months. And its just‚ its shocking. Its hard to kill‚ I think‚ that many people‚ that many children without making mistakes that are not random.REID: Yeah. Do you think that because he is the person that is prolonging this and doesn';t seem to want to stop it‚ could Benjamin Netanyahu wind up in a position like Mr. Karadi‚ like Mr. Miloevi‚ and actually charged‚ is in theory‚ is that something you can even‚ it boggles the mind to think about it‚ is it something you could see happening?MAASS: It boggles the mind to think about it‚ but if you asked me in 1992‚ 93‚ 94‚ 95‚ could I ever envisioned Slobodan Miloevi extradited to a war crimes tribunal‚ in the hay‚ by his own people. Same for Radovan Karadi‚ same for Ratko Mladi‚ I would have said I don';t know what you';re smoking. And it is kind of unimaginable now. Whats less unimaginable is the possibility of actual war crimes charges being filed against him‚ and IDF generals and others. Its always possible. There are war crimes trials‚ you know‚ happening‚ you know‚ today‚ eh‚ with respect to many conflicts.