In America, it is all too easy to forget about the millions of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation - and it should come as no surprise.
During Monday's foreign policy debate Obama and Romney fought throughout the debate over who was a more staunch supporter of Israel. The word Israel was mentioned 34 times, six times more than Syria where more than 30,000 have died in the ongoing conflict. But more troubling, the one and only mention of "Palestinian" came from Romney, the same man who has said Palestinians want to destroy and eliminate Israel, do not want peace and are somehow struggling economically because their culture is inferior to Israel's.
Romney may ignore the role Israel's occupation has on Gaza and the West Bank, but the United Nations doesn't. Gaza will no longer be "livable" by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to improve water supply, power, health and schooling, according to a recent UN report.
And Qatar's Emir is stepping it up: on Tuesday he became the first head of state to visit Gaza, where more than 1.6 million people live under an Israeli-led blockade, since Hamas took full control in 2007.
The Emir pledged $400 million to build housing complexes, roads and many other projects in a move that further highlights Qatar's growing role in the region. The move also shows Qatar's ability to play many different sides -- supporting Hamas in Gaza, while maintaing strong links to the U.S., which deems Hamas a terrorist organization.
I discussed Qatar's bold move and what Israel's reaction might be Wednesday with Omar Chatriwala, a journalist in Qatar, Paul Gross a former speechwriter for the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Omar Ghraieb at the Rafah Border Crossing in Egypt and Mohammad Omer in Gaza City.
Omar Ghraieb shared his story about a tumultuous trip he was forced to make to Egypt in order to obtain a visa for an upcoming UN-sponsored trip to New York where he would receive media training (around 22:30 in the video below). During the segment, Mohammad shared that his electricity was cut off and Israeli planes were flying above.
Watch the full segment below: