Dr. Zainab Amanullah Khan is a dentist and an activist.
Introduction
Israel started yet another chapter of its incremental genocide in the Gaza Strip on 7th October. The unfounded and damaging rhetoric with one-sided reporting paved the way for the modern genocide of the Palestinians, who are stranded in the largest open-air prison in the world. Thanks to social media, so many people around the globe, bear witness to what happens when the headlines are no longer controlled and information leads the way.
Here is a dictionary of an activist, here are the words that need to be added to your moral book, and here are the definitions that need to be incorporated into your beliefs. Sometimes the victory is in knowing. The beginning of the change is when the narrative is changed.
A: APARTHEID
Definition: according to the Apartheid Convention, inhuman acts resulted from policies and practices of apartheid and similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination. It is declared a crime against humanity and is an international crime. The list of acts that fall within the confines of crimes includes murder, inhuman treatment, arbitrary arrests of members of racial groups, deliberate imposition of living conditions calculated to cause physical destruction of a racial group, legislative measures that discriminate in political, social, economic and cultural fields, division of population along racial lines by creating separate residential areas for racial groups and the persecution of persons opposed to apartheid.
Last year in March, Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law was re-enacted which imposes restrictions on the unification of Palestinian families to maintain a Jewish demographic majority in Occupied Palestine Territory. In July last year, the Israeli Supreme Court upheld the law that since its enactment in 2008. According to OCHA-OPT, last year Israeli forces killed 151 Palestinians in Occupied West Bank, injured 9,875, and killed 36 children.
Since October 7th, more than 6000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the United Nations. More than 1000 people have been arrested in Occupied West Bank.
B: BLOCKADE
Definition: An act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving. According to Article 23 of the Geneva Convention (IV), free passage for all consignments of medical and hospital stores is allowed, and free passage for all consignments of essential foodstuffs, clothing, and tonics is permitted. According to Article 70 of the Additional Protocol, rapid and unimpeded passage of all relief consignments, equipment, and personnel destined for the civilian population of even the adverse party will be allowed and facilitated.
After Israel’s bombardment started on 7th October Gaza was under total unlawful blockade which, according to senior Israeli officials, was in part an effort to defeat Hamas. On 9th October, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said,’ a complete siege…. no electricity, no water, no food, no fuel. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.’ No humanitarian aid was allowed in, electricity was cut off, and on 27th October, telecommunication centres were bombed cutting Gaza completely from the rest of the world. The illegal blockade entered its 17th year in Gaza, with more than 175 permanent checkpoints and other roadblocks in the West Bank.
C: COLONIALISM
Definition: the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. Israel is a settler colonial enterprise that is profiting from taking control of indigenous people’s land after expelling them and annexing it.
Their long-held policies of annexing East Jerusalem, building the long and concrete separation wall in the occupied West Bank, the siege on Gaza, dividing the Palestinian land into non-contiguous units, the inability of Palestinian people to purchase and lease land, and the policy of home demolition. All are clear examples of Israel’s goal of taking over the native Palestinian land. What we are witnessing right now is the Israeli dream of Greater Gaza, which is in effect.
With more than 600,000 people displaced, the Israeli strategy is to make Gaza uninhabitable. By controlling the amount of aid that enters and pushing them towards the south near the Egyptian border, they are basically forcing the Palestinians to ethnically cleanse themselves.
D: DISPLACEMENT
Definition: the action of moving something from its original place or position. Israel ordered 1.1 million Palestinians to evacuate Nothern Gaza in the span of 24 hours. According to the UN, ‘forcible population transfer constitutes a crime against humanity.’ Then they proceeded to bomb the very roads leading towards southern Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians.
Since the start of the aggression, according to the United Nations, 1.4 million people have been displaced in Gaza. Last year, 1,031 Palestinians were displaced across the West Bank after Israeli authorities demolished 952 Palestinian structures.
E: ETHNIC CLEANSING
Definition: According to the UN commission; ‘a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.’ They further added,’ these practices constitute a crime against humanity.’
Motaz Azaiza, a photojournalist from Gaza, lost more than 15 members of his family. Yara, an independent journalist from Gaza, lost 30 members of her family. Dr.Fadi, came across his father and brother’s dead bodies while treating patients at Al Shifa Hospital. Gaza health ministry released a detailed document of 212 pages that lists 7000 Palestinians killed by Israeli bombing.
G: GENOCIDE
Definition: According to Article 2 of the Genocide Convention, it is an act committed with the intent to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group by killing its members, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring physical destruction of a group and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
According to the UN, more than 6000 Palestinians have been killed in the period from 2008-2020. The highest number of recorded injuries were 19,860 in 2014 and 31,558 in 2018. According to the World Food Programme, 63% of the Gazan population is food insecure. Since 7th October, more than 5000 have been killed and 15,273 injured. According to UNFPA, there are 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza right now, with more than 5000 due this month. The failure of healthcare facilities, lack of medical staff, and unavailability of medication are the nightmares those mothers are living in right now.
I: INTIFADA
Definition: the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The first Intifada lasted from 1987-1993. After 20 years of military occupation, the Palestinians fought back with demonstrations, boycotts, tax resistance, strikes, and largely unarmed protests. After 6 years, an estimated 1,162-1,204 Palestinians were killed. This paved the way for the Oslo Accord in 1993, which was to bring Palestinian self-determination which never happened. The second began in 2000 and lasted till 2005.
J: JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY
Definition: the quality of upholding honesty and being steadfast in your moral principles while demonstrating an inherent resistance to being bought, swayed, or influenced. Similarly, misleading or false reporting that directly contributes to civilian casualties is considered a violation of international humanitarian law (IHL). IHL puts emphasis on responsible and accurate reporting that doesn’t incite violence against civilians.
Since the start of the assault on the Palestinian civilians, we have seen the biased reporting execrated the ongoing massacre. We saw truth being butchered on the mainstream media under a one-sided narrative that lacked objectivity completely. The lack of on-ground coverage of the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza puts a question mark on the already tainted credibility of the media. War crimes were justified on the pretext of national defense. Statements were retracted and clarifications were tweeted, but the city of Gaza paid the price with more than 6000 dead bodies for that brutal and violent rhetoric.
K: KIDS OF PALESTINE
Definition: children living in Palestinian territories who grew up in an environment marked with violence and instability. Under the Geneva Convention, “children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault. The parties to the conflict shall provide them with the care and aid they deserve.”
A study was conducted about children living in the Gaza Strip by UNICEF, and they concluded that they are traumatized, with 88% afflicted by fear. 22% of Palestinian children die before the age of five, because of anemia, nutritional deficiencies, and severe malnutrition. Every year, 500-700 Palestinian children are prosecuted under Israeli juvenile military courts.
During Operation Cast Lead, 341 Palestinian children were killed and during Operation Protective Edge, 532 Palestinian children were killed. According to Save The Children, the number of children killed in Gaza in 3 weeks has surpassed the annual number of children killed in armed conflicts globally, across more than 20 countries. 3,195 children have been killed in Gaza, 33 in the West Bank with an additional 1000 missing. On average, more than 1 Palestinian child was killed per week this year
N: NAKBA
Definition: It means catastrophe in Arabic, and refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 war. 15,000 Palestinians were killed and 750,000 were expelled from their homes. 530 villages were destroyed and 78% of historic Palestine land was captured.
O: OCCUPATION
Definition: the action, state, or period of occupying or being occupied by military force. According to Article 49 of the Geneva Convention (IV),’ the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupied’. It further prohibits, ‘individual or mass forcible transfer.’
According to Amnesty International, since 1967, 50,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished and 100,000 hectares of Palestinian land has been appropriated by Israel. Since 7th October, Israel has dropped 12,000 tons of explosives on Gaza displacing 2.3 million people.
P: PALESTINIAN DIASPORA
Definition: It refers to the dispersion and resettlement of Palestinians who were forced to leave their homeland. According to the UN, 700,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes.
Q: QUARTET
Definition: a diplomatic group composed of four key international entities that play a role in mediating and seeking a resolution to the Palestine-Israel conflict. According to the UN, the Quartet comprised of the EU, Russia, the UN, and the US established in 2002 to facilitate the Middle East peace process negotiation. Since the aggression started on 7th October, the government of the US has chosen to stand with Israel, citing the genocide of the Palestinian people as Israel’s right to defend itself.
The failure of the UN to halt the aggression against innocent Palestinian civilians serves as a strong question on the capacity of the organization and the powerful dictation from certain countries that exists within its infrastructure.
S: SETTLERS
Definition: group of people who settle among and establish political control over the indigenous people of an area. According to the 4th Geneva Convention,’ the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.’
According to the UN Human Rights Council, 700,000 Israeli settlers are living in the Occupied West Bank illegally in 279 settlements. 147 of those settlements are illegal even under Israeli domestic law. In 2023, the Israeli government approved plans to build thousands of homes in the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
U: UNITED NATIONS
Definition: an international organisation of independent states formed to promote peace and international cooperation and security. In 2022 alone, there were 15 UNGA resolutions signaling out Israel. On 11th November, a resolution stated that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan, are illegal and an obstacle to peace and economic and social development was not passed despite having 150 votes in favour. On 17th November, a resolution stating that the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination was not passed despite having 167 votes in favour.
W: WAR CRIMES
Definition: according to UN Art 8, it means grave breaches of the Geneva Convention; wilful killing, wilfully causing great suffering, serious injury to body or health, extensive destruction and appropriation of property that is not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully. Since 7th October, Israel’s strategy of carpet-bombing Gaza to obliterate Hamas goes against Article 87 of the Geneva Convention (III), which prohibits no person from being punished for acts that he/she didn’t commit.
Israeli authorities cut the electricity it delivers to Gaza and turned off the water supply. Gaza’s last functioning seawater desalination plant collapsed, leaving more than 2 million people to resort to drinking dirty water, which constitutes a war crime. Gaza which is dependent on 200 humanitarian aid monthly had to survive without it for almost a week before 20 such trucks were allowed in, leading to mass starvation of the civilian population.
According to Human Rights Watch, Israel used white phosphorous over Gaza City. Even in 2009, during Operation Cast Lead reports were found that Israel used white phosphorous munitions. On 17th October, Israel bombed Anglican Hospital in the middle of Gaza City, where in addition to all the patients, hundreds of displaced Palestinians were taking shelter. More than 700 people were killed in the direct violation of the 4th Geneva Convention’s 18th article.
According to WHO, more than 12 hospitals and 37 health facilities have been forced to close due to lack of aid. In the face of adversity, the ink flows and the words endure. These letters are a testament to the uncrushable and indomitable spirit of the Palestinian people. They are a reminder of a history that is being erased right in front of our eyes. It’s a shameful reminder of all those laws that exist in theory but collectively failed to prosecute Israel’s apartheid regime. These letters are not the conclusion; in fact, they are a call for collective action against oppression. The letters may end, but the Palestinian resistance lives on.
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