Ms Huda Raza is studying International Relations at National Defense University, Islamabad.
Another Assault
As you might have seen or heard, upon starting to bomb Palestinians in Gaza, the Israeli forces targeted residential apartments in which 49 Palestinians, including 17 children, were killed. Palestinians were still reeling from Israel’s massacre in May 2021—which killed over 250 Palestinians, including at least 66 children—when Israeli airstrikes were launched in Gaza on 5th August 2022.
Since 2009, Israel has conducted numerous deadly wars against Gaza, executing thousands of people on top of its disastrous 15-year military siege. Moreover, the Israeli forces raided the Palestinian city of Nablus after bombing Gaza and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian child, Hussein Taha. Earlier, they killed 5-year-old Alaa Abdullah Riyad Qaddoum, along with several children.
Israel has continuously traumatized them throughout their whole lives by bombing and denying them access to food, water, electricity, and healthcare. Now, because of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, they are no more. Their families are left to grieve and rebuild under impossible circumstances. Thus, several Palestinians are currently living in this reality as they witness Israel continuing to attack Gaza in a senseless war.
The Gaza Strip
Speaking of the Gaza strip, it is a 140 square miles small area of land located on the western coast of Palestine where over 2 million Palestinians live. In 2005, Israel withdrew its forces from the Gaza strip and began a massive siege. Palestinians in Gaza suffer from travel bans; people cannot leave the strip due to the Israeli-led blockade over Gaza’s only gate to the world.
75% of Palestinians live under food insecurity, while 97% of Gaza’s water is unfit for human consumption. Israel calls these cruel and deliberate measures “putting the Palestinians on a diet.” Moreover, with one of the most powerful militaries in the world, Israel is assaulting a civilian population that is mainly defenseless and imprisoned.
The majority of the Palestinians in Gaza are children, 91% of whom suffer from PTSD because of Israel’s endless brutalization. Since 2008, Israel has killed more than 4,000 Palestinians in Gaza over the course of 4 horrific military assaults, including hundreds of children.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
A senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander, Khaled Mansour, had been killed in the Israeli airstrikes that hit Gaza. Israel said its primary motive was to target the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Moreover, in response, Islamic Jihad also fired rockets toward Israel. Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a faction that opposes the existence of Israel. This group was established by the Palestinian students in 1981 to create a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and other annexed areas by Israel.
The group aims to “liberate Palestine” and form a state based on Islamic principles. Islamic Jihad does not take part in Palestinian politics; it rather concentrates on armed resistance against Israel through its military wing, the al-Quds Brigades. The group has its headquarters in Syria and reportedly receives funds from Iran.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades
There’s an intense sorrow and outrage all over the occupied West Bank after Israeli forces killed Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, a top commander of the Palestinian armed group Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades resisting Israeli occupation. Thousands of mourners filled the streets of Nablus where Ibrahim al-Nabulsi was killed. He was wildly known as the “Lion of Nablus.”
Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades is an armed group that emerged during the second intifada. It is splintered from Fatah (Palestinian political organization) and at times operates alongside Islamic Jihad in Nablus and Jenin.
Israel’s Elections
Israel is going into its fifth election in about two years; the past two years have failed miserably to establish a stable government due to the frictions and divisions within the Israeli state. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid is trying to maximize his chances of getting more votes for his party. Thus, we have seen that whenever the Israeli elections draw near, the bloodier the Israeli attacks are on the Palestinians.
Moreover, both Democratic and Republican administrations have shielded Israel on international platforms, so Israel cannot be held responsible for any of its illegal and brutal invasions. Thus, the US, by providing almost 4 billion dollars annually to the Israeli state, is intimately involved in Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.
Palestine & Ukraine
The use of force by Russia against Ukraine exposed the hypocrisy of Israel and its Western allies that have ignored the Israeli ethnic cleansing and occupation of Palestinian territory but denounced Russia for violating international law and emphasized the significance of upholding Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, “the current events in Europe have shown blatant double standards, with the US and European governments giving Ukraine military support and moral support while failing to condemn Israeli abuses against Palestinians.” For Ukrainians, their right to self-defense has been recognized, but the same entitlement is not acknowledged for Palestinians who have been under Israeli occupation for decades.
The Palestinian people count on the United Nations, the biggest supporter of human rights, to intercede, but the United Nations depends on the United States. Therefore, when it comes to Israel’s atrocities on Palestine, both the UN and the US stay silent. Israel’s ongoing assertion about expanding settlements and annexing substantial land of the occupied West Bank depicts how it is violating international law.
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