It’s been 426 days since the systematic genocide of Palestinians in Gaza began, and it seems like the world is still debating whether it’s a genocide or not. Legal scholars have called it a genocide, the International Criminal Court has termed the actions of Israel as war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the majority of the world views Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories as wrong and has voted in the UN that they should withdraw back to the 1967 borders.
But the voice of the empire, denying genocide, is still the loudest and drowns the rest of the world – completely suppressing the voices of resistance from Palestine.
This week, Amnesty International published a report titled, “You feel like you are subhuman.” In it, they write, “Month after month, the government of Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its specific intent to physically destroy them. Israel’s government and state officials responsible for the crime of genocide must be held accountable. We are calling on all States to use every legal avenue to bring suspected perpetrators to justice. No one should be allowed to commit genocide and remain unpunished.”
The report lists three patterns that show Israel’s intention to commit genocide. The first is Israel’s destruction of infrastructure essential for the survival of the civilian population. Secondly, they repeatedly forced mass displacement under unsafe and inhumane conditions. And lastly, they denied or obstructed the delivery of humanitarian assistance and essential services.
Additionally, Amnesty International echoes calls from Palestinians on the US government to immediately suspend all arms sales, military funding and training to Israel, urgently fund humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza, restore funding to UNRWA, and use all leverage to support an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
This week, I read a reflection written about a friend of a teammate in Palestine whose brothers were arbitrarily detained — or better said, kidnapped — by the Israel Occupation Forces in the West Bank. In it, she quotes her friend’s sister’s poem:
“Before “Israel” arrested my brothers, I argued with my brothers about ordinary things
such as their ignorance
they seem very silly and meaningless now
we argued
this is what siblings do
now, I am consumed with regret for the message
I deliberately ignored and did not respond.”
I couldn’t help but cry about her loss and the brutality of family separation. I can’t imagine being Palestinian and living under a genocidal occupation and daily experiencing the weight of colonial violence. At the receiving end of every act of violence is a human story.
We cannot oppose genocide just to tell our children that we were on the right side of history. We oppose genocide because if we did not, we would lose our essence of being human.
On a side note, thank you for helping us reach our giving tuesday fundraising goal. We still need to reach our year-end goal of $50,000 and would sincerely appreciate your support for our work in Palestine and other countries where we accompany local activists in transforming violence and oppression. Play our raffle to win fantastic prizes – you could even win a delegation or a Palestinian keffiyeh.
