The Palestinians

Opinion on the recent Palestinian-Israeli situation: a result of decades of colonialism, displacement, and state-sponsored murder

Saturday morning I woke up to see my people fighting for liberation through a screen. It was on my phone that I saw Palestinian resistance groups finally break through an occupation wall in Gaza on both ends, for the first time in 30 years Gaza broke through its siege. I saw Palestinians reclaim the land stolen from them in illegal settlements , and I saw Palestinian children dance upon the tanks that have controlled their entire lives. For the first time in our history, Palestinians reclaimed the homes stolen from them, even if just for a few moments we see that liberation is possible. But in these few moments of Palestinian joy in resistance, I immediately knew the backlash that would face my people - 700 already murdered and 2300+ injured, and many more to come as the Israeli Prime Minister declares "War" (even though Palestine has no army, no formal government, and no support from international powers). In response, Palestinian resistance groups, and many across Palestine, are challenging the Israeli belief that Palestinian land is up for the taking or that the lives of our people are worthless. 

Just as devastating is the double standard when it comes to how Israeli and Palestinian lives are valued. Israel is bombarding the 2nd most densely populated territory in the world in retaliation, using weapons of mass destruction and chemical warfare. They have tightened the siege even further, cutting off water, electricity, and food - a call for genocide on the Palestinian people. Yet, when I turn on the news all I see is sympathy for the people illegally occupying Palestinian land with no mention of the mass bloodshed taking part on a civilian population with no means of escape, no help from foreign governments, and no P.R. organization to dispel propaganda on their behalf. For every Palestinian to make an appearance on mass media, 100x the representation of our occupiers and their sympathizers.

It goes without saying that civilian death is devastating. The murder of children is always devastating.

How much bloodshed, how much Palestinian death is necessary for the world to realize that the occupation of Palestine is violent? The blockade of Gaza is violent. The decades of brutalization, imprisonment, and genocide are violent. We hear calls for “peace”, but what is peace when your children are buried under rubble or your home gone forever? What is peace when entire families have been annihilated? Peace is NOT Justice. Justice is liberation.

For Palestinians, it is our identity they fear. We will always be a threat to the occupation because our existence proves that the colonial ideology should not exist. We are armed with the truth of our very being.

Do not look at what is happening in a vacuum. Do not excuse innocent death on either “side”. But realize that human beings were not created to be caged for two decades. That people were not meant to be colonized for seven decades. That people were not meant to see their land stolen while the world supports their oppressors. The land is Palestine, and we are the land.

This short statement can no way encompass everything that needs to be said, but with the overwhelming amounts of grief and devastation I have seen, I just wanted to say something.