May 20

May 20 What’s happening in Palestine is the direct result of Israel’s occupation

Blog, op-eds, Opinion, Palestine in America

Many people worldwide have been tuning into dreadful scenes of carnage and explosions all across occupied Palestine. It’s paramount to note that the entire area is effectively under the control of the Israeli government. The PLO is a puppet government only allowed to exist as long as Israel gives its blessing. The only semi-autonomous section is in the southwest, Gaza. Gaza is an enclave about the size of Chicago that has been under Israeli blockade since 2004. 2 million Palestinians live their lives trapped inside this open-air prison. Israel controls what enters via land, air, and water.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry wants people to focus on Israel and how it’s under attack by Hamas, the democratically elected government of the Palestinians in Gaza. By painting Israel as the victim and righteous defender of the zionist people, the regime tries to absolve itself from any war crimes. The truth, Israel is a settler-colonial state backed by $3.8 billion in unconditional yearly American aid. Two prominent human rights organizations, B’Tselem and now Human Rights Watch, have officially called Israel an apartheid state, echoing what Palestinians have been saying since 1948. Yet, the United States still sends vast quantities of arms and munitions and subsidies to the Israeli regime.

Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez each introduced a resolution that would block the planned $735 million worth of missiles that President Biden approved--a measure that would only perpetuate Palestinians’ deadly reality. This is a watershed moment as more and more US politicians refuse to sign off on unconditional aid to a government that is guilty of many human rights abuses.

By employing a strategy of de jure apartheid, state-sanctioned violence towards Palestinians, and racist rhetoric in the media, Israel has effectively shown the world exactly what it is--an ethnostate. This is a regime that has been lauded across the globe for its vaccination campaign while simultaneously refusing to vaccinate the Palestinians under its occupation. This is an entity built on ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian population.

It is in this context that the world opens its eyes.

Sheikh Jarrah, a small area in Jerusalem, is flagged for a complete change in the demographic of its inhabitants. A predominately Palestinian neighborhood is slated for community-wide eviction. Jewish settlers, backed by the Israeli government with subsidies and armed escorts, have been forcibly evicting Palestinians from their homes since Israel’s inception. The Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah have led a successful campaign to educate the world about what is happening to them and thousands of other Palestinians across the occupied country.

Moreover, by intentionally attacking peaceful Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Israeli regime has drawn worldwide condemnation and reinvigorated the Palestinian people to unite and resist. Israel is no victim; it is the perpetrator.

Weeks before Hamas launched its first rocket, Israel was already brutalizing and killing Palestinians all over occupied Palestine. It’s not just Gaza that has risen up to resist Israeli expansionism, the treatment of Palestinians as sub-human has led to a popular uprising all over the country.

Israel is a nuclear superpower holding anywhere from 80-400 warheads while amongst the ranks of the top 20 militaries in the world. These aren’t clashes; they are massacres. Palestinians have a right to self-defense as well as the right to fight against an unjust regime.

Human rights activists around the world know that the litmus test is Palestine. It’s time for governments to declare their opposition to settler-colonialism. Self-determination, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, and freedom to live are all luxuries kept away from Palestinians since 1948.