The ethnic cleansing of Palestinians
By this time, everyone should be aware of the events of October 7, 2023, where the Palestine-based militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,400 Israelis and taking over 200 hostages. This made the Israeli government jump at the opportunity to declare war on Hamas and subsequently start bombing the densely populated city of Gaza, which holds 2.1 million residents.You might be thinking to yourself, “goodness what an atrocity”-which it is, there’s no denying it- “why would they attack Israelis unprovoked”- well that would be untrue.Â
If anyone did even a little digging, they would find out that this is not the first instance of violence between the two countries. Israel’s “right to defend itself” is such a tired excuse, in this author’s opinion.Â
Hamas is a response to decades of oppression and violence from the Israeli government since the time after their arrival to Palestine in 1948. Israelis have displaced generations of Palestinians from their homes, as 80% of the 2.1 million people in Gaza are registered as refugees from what is now known as Israel and this continues with the West Bank occupation where Zionist settlers are coming in and kicking Palestinians out from their own homes, creating an apartheid. So when Israel declares war on Hamas, they are really declaring war on the Palestinian people under the guise of trying to eradicate Hamas, which in and of itself is collective punishment, an international war crime.Â
As if this wasn’t enough, the Israeli government has a lengthy history in regards to oppressing Muslims in practice of their religion. Attacks on mosque goers during the holiest month of Ramadan are a yearly occurrence.
Pair this with the dropping of more than 6,000 bombs within the first week alone (as of October 12, 2023), the dropping of white phosphorus (not only in Gaza, but also in Lebanon), which is prohibited under international humanitarian law, on mostly civilians, it is a grossly disproportionate reaction to the initial attack by Hamas on October 7 on Israel’s part.
Like everything in the US, nothing matters more than money. The country that has not been able to provide its own citizens with free healthcare, student loan forgiveness, adequate gun control, or a livable wage has promised and gone ahead with sending their long time ally Israel a $10 billion dollars package for their offense against Hamas, which in reality has been used to obliterate entire neighborhoods in Gaza. With this, at least 10,000 Palestinians have been killed and the death toll keeps rising daily.
The situation in Gaza has also consequently caused a humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian aid has been attempted to be delivered to Gaza, but Israel has created an “open air prison” in Gaza. Truckloads of humanitarian aid were ready outside the border on the Egypt side, but the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) denied its entry, insisting that “Gaza aid must not go to Hamas.” Food, water, electricity, and fuel is being cut off by the IDF, leaving Gazans to suffer further. Hospitals, that are already overflowing with people, are being bombed. There are people being operated on, getting amputations, without anesthetics and on the floor because there are no beds.
The actions of Israel towards Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank are no exceptions to this phenomenon of blatantly dismissing a people’s struggle simply because you are not the one living it. The lack of empathy and solidarity from people, colleagues, celebrities, family and friends, is truly sickening. I’m seeing friends turn a blind eye to the horrific events unfolding in the city of Gaza, while I am crying everyday seeing the devastation being inflicted on innocent civilians. This issue couldn’t be divisive: the Palestinian people are facing an ethnic cleansing. This is wrong. Explaining why you should care about people’s death is something no one should have to do.
Remember that while fathers are collecting their children’s severed limbs from under rubble, carrying around their literal bags of bones, Israelis are celebrating. IDF soldiers dancing and making cute TikToks, vloggers making gluten-free baked goods for the “poor” Israeli soldiers, and Israeli influencers making fun of Palestinians in rubble. This may not affect you directly, but that does not exempt you from being aware and vocal of the atrocities being done to Palestine. Speak up, even if you think your voice doesn’t matter, I assure it does. Do research. Verify sources. Spread awareness with up to date and correct information.Â
We must not forget Palestine!