On July 2, 2025, the UK House of Commons overwhelmingly approved a motion to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, with 385 MPs voting in favor and just 26 against. The decision was subsequently endorsed by the House of Lords on 3rd July. As a result, the proscription officially came into effect on 5th July, making it a criminal offence to support or be associated with the group under UK law.

Following the designation, the Metropolitan Police updated their official news site with a public statement, titled “Update on policing in London following proscription of Palestine Action.” The statement reads:

“Palestine Action has now been proscribed by the UK Government and expressing support for them is a criminal offence in the UK. There are a number of events taking place in London this weekend, and anyone attending should be aware that officers policing these will act where criminal offences, including those related to support of proscribed groups or organisations, are committed.”

The proscription, under the Terrorism Act 2000, grants police additional powers to intervene where individuals or groups are seen to be endorsing or facilitating a proscribed organization.

The Road to Proscription: From Warnings to Crackdown

Talks of proscribing Palestine Action have been circulating in government circles since late 2023, as the group’s high-profile actions escalated. Their direct-action campaigns, including the occupation of Elbit Systems sites in Leicester and Bristol, and the targeting of weapons factories and offices connected to the Israeli arms trade, drew both media attention and condemnation from officials.

As public support for Palestine surged amid Israel’s escalating military operations in Gaza, government ministers began signaling a harder line. In October 2023, then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman sharply criticized pro-Palestine demonstrations, branding them “hate marches.” She drew no distinction between peaceful protesters and violent ones, stating: “To my mind, there is only one way to describe those marches, they are hate marches.”

Who Are Palestine Action and Why Are They Targeted?

To understand the gravity of the UK government’s recent decision to proscribe Palestine Action, it’s important to consider who the group is and why it has been targeted.

Founded in 2020, Palestine Action is a direct-action network known for its disruptive protests against British complicity in Israel’s military operations, particularly through targeting Elbit Systems UK, a major arms manufacturer supplying drones and weapons to the Israeli military.

The group’s tactics include occupying factory rooftops, damaging equipment, and defacing buildings with red paint to symbolize Palestinian blood. While these methods are confrontational, they are non-violent. Supporters argue the actions are a necessary form of civil disobedience to expose and disrupt what they describe as the UK’s role in human rights abuses in Gaza.

The U.K. government’s move to proscribe Palestine Action came shortly after activists breached a Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on the 20th June. Members of the group damaged two military aircraft, in which the Police estimated that the damage caused by the incident amounted to approximately £7 million.

The incident marked a sharp escalation in the group’s direct-action tactics and appears to have been a key trigger for the government’s decision to invoke terrorism legislation.

Palestine Action does not use weapons or target civilians; instead, it targets corporate infrastructure linked to international conflict, a distinction now at the heart of a contentious national debate.

The Public Pushback: What’s at Stake?

Since the ban on Palestine Action took effect, the Metropolitan Police, also known as the Met Police or the Met, which is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention within Greater London, has cracked down on public displays of support for the group. In Parliament Square, Met Police officers arrested over 20 demonstrators, many holding placards reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

Key developments include:

• 29 protesters have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences.
• The group was officially proscribed as a terrorist organization after a last-minute legal challenge to delay the ban at the Court of Appeal failed.
• Palestine Action now joins a list of banned organisations including al-Qaeda, ISIS (Daesh), and Hezbollah.
• Membership or support for the group is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
• Even wearing a T-shirt or badge with the group’s name can result in a maximum six-month prison sentence.

Among those arrested was Reverend Sue Parfitt, aged 83, an emblematic figure of the broad crackdown.

Leslie Tate, a 76-year-old Green Party councilor, condemned the ban as “the creeping edge of totalitarianism” and called the protests “necessary to defend our democracy.”

What does this mean for future activism in the UK?

The proscription of Palestine Action is not an isolated event but part of a broader democratic challenge facing the UK. Growing emphasis on security concerns is increasingly influencing political discourse, sometimes at the expense of fundamental civil liberties.

Democracies depend on dissent, protest, and the freedom to question authority. When protest is criminalized, the balance of power can shift away from citizens toward the state.

Critics caution that equating disruptive but non-violent activism with terrorism risks blurring vital democratic boundaries.

From its inception, the genocide in Gaza has been both an Israeli military and ideological crusade, revealing a calculated indifference to the future of the Palestinian people. While political transitions, negotiations, and planning for the “day after” are usually essential components of conflict resolution, they seem to be entirely absent here. The intent, it seems, is not to build bridges or pathways to peace, but to dismantle any prospect of Palestinian statehood. Given the scale and precision of the destruction in Gaza, one must ask: what else would be the point of such devastation, if not to make recovery impossible?

For Palestinians, this approach represents a dark strategy to make tomorrow as unbearable as today – a perpetual cycle of loss that undermines the very foundation of a viable future. Every bombed-out building, every displaced family, and every erased neighborhood tells a story not just of wartime suffering, but of a deliberate push to make any semblance of normalcy in Palestinian life nearly impossible. At its core, this war isn’t just about today’s strategic gains, it’s about erasing the possibility of a Palestinian tomorrow.

As Israel advances its military objectives, the question arises: at what point will the international community deem it appropriate to call for a cease-fire? There is an assumption that when enough has been achieved and enough targets neutralized, a ceasefire will restore balance. But there is a “but” and it’s critical to recognize that.

The Israeli government has made its position abundantly clear: it intends to maintain a military foothold in Gaza. It’s not about temporary control or temporary security measures; it’s about establishing a permanent presence. And the debate within the Israeli leadership goes beyond military strategy. They are now debating whether to stop at the occupation or to go a step further by reintroducing civilian settlements in Gaza, a move with ominous implications.

This choice is not a minor detail – it reflects the heart of the conflict’s trajectory. What was once a question of defense or withdrawal has become a struggle between two extremes: those who advocate apartheid-like policies and those who favor even harsher measures. For the Palestinian people, it’s a staggering dichotomy that leaves no room for dignity or autonomy.

In recent years, the two-state solution-a cornerstone of peace negotiations for decades-has been largely sidelined, if not outright abandoned. The Abraham Accords, a diplomatic initiative championed by the first Trump administration, shifted the focus from Palestinian statehood to normalized relations between Israel and other Arab states. While heralded as a breakthrough in regional diplomacy, the Accords effectively buried the two-state solution and cast doubt on any meaningful path to Palestinian sovereignty.

What we’re witnessing is not just a military campaign; it’s a campaign of annihilation. A future for Palestinians, if left to its current trajectory, is being systematically narrowed, erased piece by piece. The erasure goes beyond physical structures, striking at the social, cultural and political foundations of Palestinian society. It’s a future held in chains, where aspirations are crushed under the weight of calculated indifference and ideological hostility.

In such a landscape, the question of peace fades, replaced by a harsher reality: the persistence of oppression as policy. The conflict in Gaza has become more than a war; it’s a statement. And until the international community recognizes that statement for what it truly is, a future in which Palestinians are treated as equals, with dignity and rights, will remain a distant dream. 

With Trump back in office, the prospect of this vision – what can be called Nakba II – being fully realized alongside Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime opponent of Palestinian independence, seems imminent. Together, they are in a position to put a definitive end to the concept of a separate Palestinian state, wrapping it up as part of what could be considered the ultimate “Art of the Deal.”

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n the midst of genocide taking place in Gaza by Israel, Turkey rebuffs claims of military collaboration with Israel, an assertion vehemently criticized by Ankara for the violence inflicted upon innocent Palestinians.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry swiftly dismissed allegations of any cooperation with Israel, particularly in the defense sector, emphasizing the nation’s unwavering support for Palestine.

“It is not possible for the Republic of Turkey, which has always supported Palestine, to engage in any activities that would harm the Palestinians,” stated the ministry on Tuesday.

“The National Defense Ministry has no dealings with Israel, including military training, exercises, or defense industry collaboration.”

False reports

The statement comes in response to reports circulating in certain media outlets suggesting Turkey’s continued export of firearms, weapons, and ammunition to Israel.

Separately, Turkey’s Presidency Directorate of Communications Center for Countering Disinformation refuted these claims after scrutinizing several social media posts.

“The products listed in the alleged export list’s 93rd chapter do not pertain to war weapons and ammunition, but rather include ungrooved rifle spare parts, accessories, and fishing equipment used for individual purposes such as sports and hunting,” the center affirmed.

“Additionally, the products exported under the heading ‘Gunpowder and explosives, pyrotechnic products, matches, pyrophoric alloys, combustible preparations’ in the 36th chapter of the export list were ‘gel fuel and lighter fluid.'”

Ankara has long advocated for a two-state solution, championing an independent Palestine even before the latest genocide in Palestine. This time, Turkey has intensified its criticism of the United States for its overt support of what President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has labeled as “war crimes” committed by the Netanyahu administration against innocent Palestinians.

Turkey supports Palestine

Instead, Turkey has collaborated with Egypt, which hosts the only feasible land crossing with Gaza for delivering aid. Since the onset of the Gaza genocide, Turkey has dispatched thousands of tons of aid to Egypt for further delivery to Gaza, employing military planes or vessels for transportation. Turkish charities have also organized nationwide campaigns to collect donations for the people of Gaza.

The Israeli military offensive on the Palestinian territory, initiated following a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, has resulted in a staggering loss of life and widespread destruction. Despite international calls for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has persisted in its military campaign.

As the genocide continues unabated, Gaza’s civilian population faces dire circumstances, with the majority displaced internally and essential resources in critically short supply. The situation has drawn condemnation from international bodies, with Israel facing accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

Amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Turkey has also been subjected to false claims and disinformation campaigns, including allegations of providing military equipment to Israel. However, Turkey has remained resolute in its stance in support of Palestine and has shelved plans for normalization with Israel in light of the recent hostilities.

Source: Daily Sabah

In the tumultuous landscape of the Israel-Palestine conflict, international law emerges as a critical but often elusive framework for addressing the issues at hand. Its application becomes both a beacon of hope for justice and a labyrinth where legal principles intersect with geopolitical realities. 

This month’s curated book bundle unveils a series of thought-provoking works that dissect the interplay between law, politics, and human rights in the context of Israel-Palestine. These books traverse the historical, legal, and humanitarian dimensions of the conflict, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and potential avenues for justice.

Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine by Noura Erakat contends that judicial intervention has failed to address the most pressing challenges facing the Palestinian struggle for freedom. She delves into the shortcomings of occupation law, which, rather than deterring Israel’s settlement enterprise, has proven ineffective in curbing its expansion. 

Furthermore, Erakat scrutinizes the laws of war, revealing how they have permitted the use of lethal force and widespread destruction during Israel’s military offensives in the Gaza Strip. The once-promising Oslo Accord’s two-state solution, as posited in 1993, is declared a dead letter, underscoring the need for a fresh perspective.

Justice for Some introduces a novel approach to understanding the Palestinian quest for freedom by examining the relationship between power dynamics and international law. Erakat navigates through pivotal historical moments, from the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to contemporary conflicts in Gaza, illustrating how the strategic manipulation of legal frameworks has played a pivotal role in shaping the current conditions of the region.

Erakat persuasively argues that, over the past century, the application of law has disproportionately advanced the interests of Israel, highlighting that the outcome was not an inevitable consequence but rather a product of political interventions. 

This book emphasizes that law is inherently political and that its interpretation and enforcement are contingent on the actions of states and individuals. It posits that change within the legal realm is possible and that international law can become a potent force for advancing the cause of freedom when mobilized in support of a political movement.

Noura Erakat, Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2019) ISBN: 9781503613577, 352 pages

Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Palestine: Working Through the United Nations offers a brilliant and authoritative exploration of the UN’s attempts to address and expose Israeli violations of international humanitarian law and human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories since the 1967 War. 

Authored by three independent international legal experts who served as UN Special Rapporteurs, the book unveils a compelling narrative of their six-year-long, unpaid mandate to investigate and report on Israeli transgressions.

What sets this study apart is the unprecedented political independence enjoyed by the Special Rapporteurs outside the typical UN bureaucratic constraints. Despite divergent backgrounds and political perspectives, the experts unanimously confirm the routine and diverse violations of Palestinian basic rights by Israel. The book delves into their frustrations, trials, experiences, and the consensus they reached.

This collaborative effort sheds light on both the positive role the UN can play in addressing contentious issues and the geopolitical forces that hinder the implementation of international law. The vehement reactions from Israel and pro-Israeli NGOs underscore the importance of a reliable account of Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights. 

The book exposes how critics sidestep substantive charges by resorting to discrediting attacks, including accusations of anti-Semitism, aimed at undermining the credibility of the Special Rapporteurs.

While skeptics may dismiss the UN’s ability to enforce international law, this book emphasizes the impact of expert findings on shaping international public opinion and solidarity politics. The well-evidenced conclusions presented within the book have fueled transnational activism, exemplified by the growing global support for the BDS Campaign and other nonviolent external pressures.

Richard Falk, John Dugard, and Michael Lynk, Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Palestine: Working Through the United Nations (Clarity Press, 2023) ISBN: 9781949762549, 398 pages

The United Nations and the Question of Palestine: Rule by Law and the Structure of International Legal Subalternity, authored by Ardi Imseis, unravels the complexities and tensions that exist between the UN’s actions and the requirements of international law, revealing a nuanced and often contradictory relationship when it comes to Palestine. The exploration delves into the various forms that the UN’s failure to adhere to international law has taken and the far-reaching implications of such deviations. 

The book unveils a state of ‘international legal subalternity’ imposed upon Palestine and its people. It contends that the promise of justice through international law is consistently offered, yet remains elusive, perpetually withheld under the guise of political legitimacy furnished by the international community.

The book provides readers with a critical perspective on the UN’s handling of the Palestinian question. The author’s exploration invites readers to reconsider preconceptions, offering a thought-provoking analysis of Palestine’s pursuit of justice on the global stage.

Ardi Imseis, The United Nations and the Question of Palestine: Rule by Law and the Structure of International Legal Subalternity (Cambridge University Press, 2023) ISBN: 9781009076272, 303 pages

In Gaza: An Inquest to Its Martyrdom, Norman G. Finkelstein delivers a powerful and meticulously researched examination of the tragic plight befalling the Gaza Strip. As one of the world’s most densely populated areas, with a majority of inhabitants under eighteen and two-thirds classified as refugees, Gaza has been the recurrent target of eight devastating Israeli military operations since 2004. 

Finkelstein portrays the dire reality faced by its largely defenseless population, with thousands perishing and tens of thousands left homeless, exacerbated by a merciless and illegal Israeli blockade.

Finkelstein’s book, drawing on numerous human rights reports, conducts a penetrating inquest into Gaza’s martyrdom, challenging Israel’s justifications for these actions as self-defense. He convincingly argues that these assaults were blatant violations of international law. 

However, the book also unveils a disheartening narrative of the failure of international guardians, including renowned organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the UN Human Rights Council, to adequately address Gaza’s suffering.

One of the most unsettling conclusions is the succumbing of human rights organizations to the Israeli juggernaut, particularly highlighted by Judge Richard Goldstone’s retraction of his UN report. Finkelstein’s book only serves as a tribute to Gaza’s martyrs but also stands as an act of resistance against historical forgetfulness. 

In unraveling the man-made humanitarian disaster that is Gaza, Finkelstein offers a compelling call to action, urging readers to confront the uncomfortable truths and advocate for justice in the face of ongoing tragedy.

Norman Finkelstein, Gaza: An Inquest to Its Martyrdom (University of California Press, 2021) ISBN: 9780520318335, 440 pages

Prolonged Occupation and International Law: Israel and Palestine is a significant academic study stemming from the 2018 conference on “The Threshold from Occupation to Annexation.” This collection expands the discourse on the 55-year Israeli administration of the Palestinian Territories, covering themes from colonialism to potential international criminal liability.

In response to the prevailing political inertia, the volume offers a poignant examination of international legal frameworks in the context of Palestinian life under prolonged Israeli occupation. It emphasizes the dynamism of international law, showcasing its potential, when coupled with imagination and social movements, to advance justice in Palestine and beyond.

This scholarly collection, featuring contributions from renowned experts, provides a comprehensive exploration of fundamental legal issues arising from Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestine. It serves as a crucial resource, weaving together rigorous analysis and lived experiences to guide a nuanced understanding of the challenges posed by prolonged occupation and the quest for justice.

Nada Kiswanson and Susan Power, Prolonged Occupation and International Law: Israel and Palestine (Brill, 2023) ISBN: 9789004503922, 402 pages

In the shadow of the birth of Israel seventy years ago, the Palestinian refugee question remains an enduring and complex crisis, making it one of the most protracted post-WWII refugee issues. With over six million refugees scattered across the Middle East, their status is intricately tied to the political circumstances surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the specific state or territory ‘hosting’ them. Despite the foundational role of international law in addressing their plight, it often takes a backseat in political discussions.

This compelling new edition builds upon the seminal work of its predecessor published in 1998, offering a clear and comprehensive analysis of various facets of international law relevant to Palestinian refugees. From refugee law and human rights law to humanitarian law, the book explores the intricacies of providing international protection for Palestinian refugees and delves into potential durable solutions. Notably, it examines the current interpretations of Article 1D of the 1951 Refugee Convention and various definitions of Palestinian refugees.

A key reference text, this book serves as an authoritative account of the subject, shedding light on the roles of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in relation to Palestinian refugees. It stands out for its innovative framework proposing just and durable solutions, drawing on recent developments in refugee law and a holistic, rights-based approach.

Francesca Albanese and Lex Takkenberg, Palestinian Refugees in International Law (Second Edition) (Oxford University Press, 2020) ISBN: 9780198784050, 608 pages

“The media is the most powerful thing in the world. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”

Malcolm X

Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in response to the Hamas attack, known as Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, on October 7, another war has been waged on the internet with Israel flooding social networking sites with misleading information and fake news. These propaganda campaigns, led by fake pro-Israel accounts, challenge the Palestinian narrative and attack the Palestinian resistance. The fake campaigns have been accompanied by a fierce media war waged by Israel, using a policy of misinformation and lies to deceive global public opinion.

In more than one case, Western media organizations and presidents have repeated Israeli claims without verifying them. Israel’s claim that Hamas killed 40 Israeli children and beheaded them is perhaps the most prominent example of recent Israeli media misinformation.

Cyber army

Coinciding with the ongoing war in Gaza, dozens of fake accounts suddenly appeared online, relentlessly attacking Hamas and the Palestinian resistance. As a journalist and researcher specializing in diplomacy and digital media in times of conflict and war, I noticed the random and unusual appearance of dozens of accounts across social media platforms, most notably X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

Some of these accounts appeared shortly before the war, but they all have the following in common: they impersonate Arab or unknown identities, place the flags of Arab countries next to the Israeli flag, and all repeat the same story, whether as individual tweets or as comments on news and events disseminated on digital platforms. Many of these profiles also deliberately incite strife among Arab peoples by referring to the political and historical differences between them, such as the differences between Morocco and Algeria, and the political problems between Iraq and Kuwait.

I have also noticed that many of these fake accounts follow everything that is published about the war on famous Arabic digital platforms , such as the Al Jazeera website, Al Jazeera Mubasher, and TRT Arabia , in order to attack the Palestinian resistance and the people of Gaza in general. I followed some of these accounts and found that they are constantly commenting on war news with the same content, the same words, and the same narrative. Some of them even go further and leave comments that are meant to anger and provoke their followers.

Between Mossad and “Pallywood”

The cyber war is not limited to fake accounts and includes accounts claiming to be affiliated with official Israeli entities, including an account claiming to be the Israeli National Intelligence Agency (Mossad) on the X platform. The account with the blue authentication mark has more than 100,000 followers.

Shayan Sardarizadeh, a journalist who specializes on online misinformation for BBC Monitoring, was one of the first to discover that the account was not real, exposing the truth about one of the videos it had posted. The video, posted on the tenth day of the war, claimed to show Israel’s Iron Beam, a directed-energy weapon air defence system, but Sardarizadeh revealed that it was, in fact, the video game Arma 3. Since then, the administrators of the account in question have changed its name and continue to spread misinformation.

Such misinformation has been accepted by many in the world as established fact.  The ongoing war has brought back the use of the word “Pallywood,” a portmanteau of “Palestine” and “Hollywood,” used by Israel years ago to discredit Palestinian narratives and claim that Palestinians were cinematically representing their suffering. The hashtag has proliferated during the war with misleading, out-of-context images and videos accusing Palestinians of faking their deaths and injuries in Gaza.

Take, for example, the misleading information about Gaza activist Saleh al-Jaafrawi, who has played a major role in exposing and publishing dozens of clips documenting Israeli massacres during the current war. Al-Jaafari angered Israel, which launched a massive campaign against him, accusing him of lying, misleading, and acting, and dubbing him a “Hamas Pallywood actor.” The use of the term is intended to strip the Palestinians of their humanity and to distort their image worldwide.

Organized electronic campaigns 

An investigation by Innovative Contractors for Advanced Dimensions (ICAD), that specializes in open source intelligence, has revealed the truth about many digital accounts attacking the Palestinian resistance and criticizing Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. The investigation, conducted in October 2023, revealed that organized electronic committees are behind these accounts, as they repeat the exact same phrases and use the same emoticons on more than one digital platform to create an imaginary public opinion.

According to the investigation, the fake accounts have the same digital characteristics, as they impersonate a specific country, tweet in broken Arabic, and their number of followers does not exceed 50. The evidence points to accounts that work in an organized electronic fly group, the name used to refer to online bots and harassers and trolls,  and deliberate manner to achieve certain political goals.

There are specific clues to determine the authenticity of social networking accounts: if a profile is newly created and suddenly shares a large amount of content that is divisive, misleading, and sometimes contradictory, it is likely to be fake or operated by certain people or entities for political purposes. This is true of dozens of accounts I have tracked during the current Israeli war on Gaza.

The fake accounts work within organized committees or are affiliated with a certain party, which leads us to Israeli hasbara, the Hebrew word for propaganda and misinformation.

The term “hasbara” was first coined in the early 20th century by the Zionist activist Nahum Sokolow. It was later used as a synonym for public relations, but in reality, it is nothing more than an organized program to spread Israeli political propaganda around the world with major government and security support. Hasbara efforts often target Western political elites, opinion leaders, and the general public, and involve almost every Israeli government institution, including the army, the Foreign Ministry, NGOs, universities, research centers, advocacy groups, and even students.

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coalition of United Nations experts has issued an urgent call for comprehensive and independent investigations into the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

In a statement released on Monday, November 27, the experts stressed the imperative need for full cooperation from Israel, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and authorities in Gaza to support these investigative efforts.

The UN specialists outlined that there is an imperative legal duty to probe into incidents of summary or extrajudicial killings, torture, and any actions that significantly infringe on human dignity. They emphasized that such investigations are not only a fundamental legal obligation but also essential for holding those responsible accountable, particularly those in positions of command.

Legal authority

Highlighting the principles of international law, the experts reminded that such grave crimes do not have a statute of limitations and fall under universal jurisdiction. This means that courts in any country have the authority to prosecute those responsible for the crimes, irrespective of the perpetrators’ nationalities or the location where the crimes occurred.

This call to action comes in the wake of a large-scale military offensive launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip, which began after a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7. The health authorities in Gaza have reported a staggering number of Palestinian casualties, with at least 14,854 deaths, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women. The official Israeli death toll has been reported at 1,200.

The UN’s appeal underscores the urgency of addressing the alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the conflict. The experts’ joint statement is a resounding call to the international community to ensure that justice is served and that such investigations are not impeded by geopolitical dynamics.

All findings should be as comprehensive and accurate as possible.

Furthermore, the experts have offered the assistance of their respective mandates and their forensic science expertise to support these investigative efforts. Their support aims to bolster the capacity and thoroughness of the investigations to ensure that all findings are as comprehensive and accurate as possible.

The explicit mention of forensic science suggests a commitment to meticulous and scientifically grounded inquiry into the incidents, which is essential for establishing a reliable chain of evidence. This approach reinforces the objective of the ICC and the Independent Commission to hold those responsible accountable in a manner consistent with international legal standards.

The UN specialists’ statement adds a robust voice to the international community’s efforts to seek accountability and justice for the actions taken in the conflict. It reflects a concerted effort to ensure that international law is upheld and that the atrocities committed do not go unpunished.

Source: Anadolu Agency.

Born out of a lecture on the ‘deal of the century’, Palestine: Matters of Truth and Justice offers a thought-provoking analysis of the Palestine-Israel conflict, settler colonialism, occupation, and the issue of Palestinian nationhood. In the book, prominent scholar Azmi Bishara advocates for a justice-based approach and makes the important distinction of approaching the issue at hand with objectivity rather than neutrality.

Palestine: Matters of Truth and Justice is composed of two parts; First is a historical account and reflections on history, and the second addresses the Trump-Netanyahu deal, the concepts of settler colonialism and apartheid, and the question as to what comes next in the future.

The book begins by emphasizing the significance of the Nakba (Palestinian Catastrophe), not merely as a historical context but a central element in understanding the ongoing issue. Bishara delves into the Nakba’s impact and its symbolic importance. The book highlights the core problem as settler colonialism, which involved occupation, expropriation, ethnic cleansing, and the displacement of the native population to establish a Jewish state.

When examining the Trump-Netanyahu deal, Bishara highlights the economic and political incentives and alliances that influenced it. He addresses the embrace of religious Zionism in the Trump administration and its role in the deal, and underscores how regional governments have sought to sideline the Palestinian cause and normalize relations with Israel.

The book concludes by discussing potential future strategies for the Palestinian struggle. Bishara indentifies that the task ahead is not ultimately theoretical and abstract but also practical and strategic- depending on a number of factors including political actors, the strength of resistance and the nature of international order.

In summary, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of the historical context, complexities, and possible paths forward in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, emphasizing the significance of justice as a fundamental aspect of resolution.

The book comes as a valuable source following the escalation on October 7 that developed into a humanitarian crisis with Israel’s heavy bombardment in Gaza. As an urgent path to longlasting peace is needed, Palestine: Matters of Justice and Truth may offer some answers.

Azmi Bishara, Palestine: Matters of Justice and Truth (Hurst Publishers, 2022) ISBN: 9781787387102, 360 pages

Ilan Pappe’s remarkable work, Ten Myths about Israel, takes a fearless approach to scrutinizing the contested ideas surrounding the origins and identity of the contemporary state of Israel while offering a critical examination of the past, the present, and the path ahead. In this insightful exploration, Pappe meticulously dismantles ten myths, etched into the collective consciousness, that have long perpetuated and shaped our understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Focusing on the fallacies of the past, Pappe confronts six enduring misconceptions. The first myth contends that Palestine was an empty land, a claim he systematically debunks by delving into the historical record. The second myth suggests that the Jews were a people without a land, a notion Pappe addresses with a nuanced perspective that challenges conventional wisdom.

Myth number three posits that Zionism is synonymous with Judaism, a misconception that Pappe dissects to reveal its fallacious underpinnings. He also tackles the assertion that Zionism is not colonialism. Pappe’s exploration examines the formation of Zionism and its instrumental role in the early phases of nation-building

The fifth myth claims that the Palestinian population voluntarily left their homeland in 1948, a narrative that Pappe refutes by drawing from historical accounts and testimonies. The sixth myth revolves around the belief that the June 1967 War was a conflict of “no choice,” an assumption he subjects to rigorous examination.

Pappe then shifts his focus to the fallacies of the present, highlighting three prevalent myths that continue to shape the discourse on Israel. Myth number seven proposes that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, a claim he scrutinizes through the lens of contemporary politics and policy.

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amas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, as the name suggests, was motivated by a central focus on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Israeli aggression against the holy sites. The aim of the operation is to put an end to the 15-year blockade of Gaza and the related status quo in the Palestinian arena. It can be said that Hamas has achieved this goal at a tactical level in a short period of time. This operation has shaken global public opinion and forced it to take a position.

Although the operation carried out by Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has been hyperbolically described as “Israel’s 9/11,” it would be more accurate to characterize the al-Aqsa Flood as a successful deception operation in which Hamas skillfully managed to conceal its military plans by convincing Israel that it no longer wanted war.

Hamas meticulously continued its preparations for this operation while Israel, with an unexpected naiveté, thought that it was keeping Hamas under its control. It has even been claimed that during the preparation process, Hamas deliberately reduced the tempo and frequency of its actions against Israel. Military experts have claimed that the operation was the most surprising attack since the Yom Kippur War with some describing it as an unprecedented intelligence maneuver.

Why was Israel taken by surprise?

The timing of the operation, which coincided with the Sabbath, the Jewish day of worship and rest, created a shock factor that made it difficult for the Israeli forces to react immediately. Moreover, infiltration from multiple points (air, land, and sea) took the Israeli defense by surprise.

Hamas decided on the details of the operation with a very limited group of people in order to prevent leaks from within its ranks. Some analyses have also pointed out that recently Israel shifted its focus on the steps to be taken to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia and away from Hamas.

An analysis of the tactical phases of the operation reveals that as the rockets launched from Gaza caused surprise, infiltrations were carried out with motorized parachutes and hang gliders in the shadow of the rockets. The initial infiltrating elements and elite units of Hamas were seen fortifying area control and security which facilitated attacks on the concrete barriers reinforced with electronic systems. This allowed buldozers, motorcycles, and land vehicles to breach the barrier system, enabling more elements to infiltrate.

Drones carrying improvised explosive devices (IEDs) disabled the electro-optical systems of the Israeli watchtowers. At the same time, the communication line with the Israeli army headquarters was disrupted, limiting the ability to respond to the attack immediately.

The kidnapping of Israeli prisoners into Gaza will provide Hamas with political leverage to increase its bargaining power in future prisoners’ exchange.

Finally, it is argued that the Israeli army made a strategic mistake in deploying its troops mainly in the West Bank, which was one of the factors that facilitated the execution of this operation.

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major escalation in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a sudden and unprecedented attack on Israel, targeting settlements near Gaza and in the Negev. The surprise attack caught Israel completely off guard and revealed its lack of preparedness for a full-scale confrontation with Gaza, let alone a multifront war.

The roots of the escalation can be traced to the tensions between Palestinians and Israelis in recent weeks. The Occupied Palestinian Territories have witnessed an increase in violence by the Israeli military and settlers around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces/settlers in the West Bank, including settler attacks on Palestinian villages in the West Bank.

The Hamas attack began at 6:30 a.m. local time on Friday, when sirens went off in several areas, including Israeli settlements on the Gaza border. Rockets were then fired into Israel, reaching Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Unprecedent attack

The Hamas onslaught included waves of rocket fire into Israel and infiltration from Gaza into Israeli settlements. According to media reports, more than 5,000 rockets were fired at Israel in the early hours of the escalation.

The commander-in-chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, issued a statement at 8:00 a.m. in which he openly declared the start of a military operation called Operation Al-Aqsa Typhoon. He confirmed that the first attack targeted Israeli positions, airports, and military sites. Deif explained the reason for launching the operation, stressing the “desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israelis and their audacity to insult the Prophet Muhammad.”

He added that the operation aims to put an end to the Israeli violations, stressing that as of October 7 “the security coordination with the occupation will stop and the Palestinian people will also resume their revolution and establish a state.” Deif called for the unity of all Arab and Muslim forces to defeat the occupation, urging “everyone who has a weapon to use it.”

Palestinian control of Sderot police station and the use of drones

Palestinian fighters who stormed Sderot took control of the town’s police station. They reportedly took the entire police force hostage.

Hamas used advanced technology to coordinate its attacks, employing modern communication systems and aerial surveillance to identify Israeli targets. The Israeli military struggled to counter Hamas’s attacks, as Palestinian rockets were fired at different areas, making them difficult to intercept.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) responded with intensive air strikes on Gaza, destroying many Palestinian civilian and military targets. This resulted in a significant number of casualties, with over 560 deaths reported, including 78 children and 41 women, while 2,900 others were injured (as of Monday, October 9, 2023 at 3 am local time). Palestinians reported that entire families were killed under the rubble after Israeli air strikes targeted residential buildings.

In Israel, the escalation resulted in more than 700 casualties, including over 2,300 wounded. More than 100 Israelis were reportedly captured by Palestinian fighters and taken to Gaza. Israel said that of the 700 Israelis killed, more than 74 were members of its armed forces.

Lebanon joins the escalation

Mortar shells were heard in the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shuba Hills in Southern Lebanon. Israeli army radio reported the firing of shells from inside Lebanon at Israeli army positions in the Shebaa Farms and Mount Hermon.

According to Reuters, quoting security sources, the shells hit an Israeli military position in the Shebaa Farms. The Israeli army responded by firing at what it called “targets in Southern Lebanon.” Hezbollah resumed shelling, saying it had targeted the Israeli intelligence site and other sites with a large number of artillery shells and guided missiles.

Gunmen from Lebanon broke into the Israeli borders, where they clashed with Israeli forces, injuring 6, one of them in critical condition.

The escalation has created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with 21,000 Palestinians displaced by Israeli air strikes on civilian homes. Many countries, including Egypt and Jordan, have called on both parties to cease hostilities and seek peaceful ways to resolve the conflict.

It is unclear how the escalation will end. Israel is seeking revenge for its losses, and the Palestinian factions will not stop until the siege of Gaza is lifted and a future deal is reached to exchange Israeli prisoners for the 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

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t last, December came around, the month I had been keenly expecting. Now there was only one month left for my January birthday, and I eagerly wrote down some ideas for how to celebrate my 8th birthday with family and friends.

With my final exams to finish first, I was motivated to study well to have a relaxed and beautiful winter holiday. I was excited, too, to hear my parents’ words, “We’re not just celebrating your birthday, you know. We’re also celebrating how well you’ve done at school.”

The first trauma

On December 27, I finished the first exam and met my friend Amani, who used to walk home with me. We stopped at the door of the school to buy some sweets. It was a normal day.

During our walk home, the massive sound of bombardment suddenly shook the ground. A man started shouting that we all needed to run and hide “somewhere safer.” We were close to a gas station, which was extremely dangerous.

Everyone started running, terrified. Schoolchildren were shouting and trying to hide in the nearby stores and shops. Amani and I started crying. We were little and couldn’t understand what was going on, and here we were all alone in the middle of a nightmarish, deadly situation.

We rushed into one of the markets, following some students who were older than us. I still remember their faces. They, too, were terrified of the scenes they were experiencing: young children and men falling over on the streets, bombs falling from the sky like rain, everything being violently turned upside down at once.

Amani and I stayed behind, unable to look at or see what we were witnessing. We couldn’t believe what people were whispering about in sheer terror. We just kept closing our eyes and ears, and shaking.

It seemed impossible for us to get home safely with the explosions everywhere, a sky crowded with drones, and the awful roar of heart-stopping bombs.

A few minutes later, we moved to another shop, then another shop, then to a street we had never walked on. Trying to get home as fast as our legs could run, we finally made it.

I hugged Amani and asked her to take care of herself. When I walked into my home, my mom couldn’t believe her eyes. Finally, she could be assured that I was alive and well.

While trying to wipe my tears, she couldn’t hide her own feelings of fear and she cried. I had so many questions to ask her. But that day, I was not able to utter a single word.

Seconds later, my father and uncle came home. They were both in an unusual state, and their eyes were red. While worshiping at the mosque, they had inhaled tear gas. Every one of us was feeling distraught.

Hours later, my aunt finally knocked on the door. After she entered, she collapsed and told us that on her way home she’d seen a missile strike a house. She also described how she struggled to reach home after monitoring her students’ exams.

We were all trapped in a state of waiting without knowing what we should do next. Should we study for the next exam? Should we prepare for a sudden evacuation?

My mom tried hard to isolate my siblings and me from watching the news and from the outside world, but I couldn’t forget the pictures I’d seen by chance on TV of children injured or killed by the bombs.

Throughout this whole time, my heart kept beating wildly. I was shocked by how everything escalated so quickly. At the same time, I wasn’t really aware of the meaning of the grim moments we were living through.

I didn’t know it was just the beginning of a war, a long war that was going to destroy me, my dreams, my childhood, and my friends.

Near-death experience

The targets that Israel attempted to destroy that winter included not only the sites where freedom fighters might be found, but also residential towers, schools, mosques, homes, hospitals, animals, trees, markets, and everything that moved on the ground.

Living in a crowded neighborhood as we did, we prayed hard for it not to be bombed because a single Israeli missile would lead to the massacre of many neighbors. On December 29, it was the turn of the Aqel Mosque, which was separated from our house by one tiny street.

That chilly night, we were traumatized by a violent earthquake. The mosque had been bombed! We awoke terrified. I remember the sound of breaking concrete columns, the smell of artillery shells and fire. We cried and screamed inconsolably.

If we stayed inside amid the darkness and destruction, we’d be in great danger. But we’d also face terrible danger if we ventured out onto the street.

I was terrified of losing any of my family members, especially my younger sibling, who was coughing intensely and couldn’t breathe. We had no choice but to surrender to the possibility that we might die.

At one point, however, first responders showed up at our door to find out whether we were still alive.

We heard a paramedic shouting: “Al-Rantisi family! Hello! Is anyone in the house? Anybody injured? Anyone been martyred?”

“We’re all alive! Help us! We can’t breathe!” my father responded.

None of the responders could believe the miracle they saw: all of us alive, and nobody hurt by the broken glass and fallen walls.

My uncle came rushing to take us to his house. Our relatives experienced terrible panic when they heard the news that our neighborhood had been bombed. Hours went by before they were able to find out that we were alive.

T

he International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has published the results of its new survey on how Gaza’s youth see their future in light of the ongoing siege and closures. Nine out of 10 young people surveyed said they find their life to be abnormal in Gaza after 15 years of siege, and experience an accumulated feeling of hopelessness.

The survey revealed that nearly 30% of the Gazan youth are dependent on their families while 40% said they have no hope of finding a job in the next 15 years.

In 2012, the United Nations published a report which claimed that Gaza would be unlivable by 2020—a humanitarian catastrophe that is currently taking place.

The population in the Gaza Strip is considered to be young with 20% aged between 18 and 29. Most of the young people who participated in the survey noted that they believe they will continue to face the same challenges, which have been shaping their lives thus far, for many years to come.

After 15 years of closure and siege, it has become nearly impossible for young people to find a job. The humanitarian situation has deteriorated significantly, and scores of young people are leaving the coastal enclave, many of them educated but jobless.

Needs of the Gazan youths

“The needs of youth go beyond the economic dimension in Gaza, as half of the young people say that they have endured significant mental health issues and one-third of them face social problems. Youth residing in Gaza desperately need a pathway towards hope and opportunity, away from pain and suffering driven by hostilities and movement restrictions,” said Nicolas Geeraert, the deputy head of the ICRC’s sub-delegation in Gaza.

“All we ask for is to live normally like others worldwide. We want to be able to move freely, travel, and have decent jobs,” Nouran Al-Zaeem, 23, told the ICRC.

The online survey, which aims to measure the impact of the restrictions imposed on Gaza on young people, was participated by 385 Gazans aged between 18 and 30.

Fading hopes

Suhair Zaqout, the spokesperson of the ICRC in Gaza, told Aljazeera that wars and restrictions imposed on Gaza have contributed to the deterioration of the situation including limiting access to opportunities and jobs outside the Gaza Strip.

According to the survey, 39.2% of young Palestinians in Gaza have lost a job opportunity due to their inability to travel, and 12.9% of students have lost scholarships for the same reason.

Due to the deteriorating situation, many young people in Gaza face psychological problems, in addition to economic and social ones.

The ICRC survey revealed that 95.6% of young Palestinians have been impacted negatively by the restrictions imposed on Gaza, while 49% reported feeling anxiety and depression, and 12.9% have not married due to the economic situation in the coastal enclave.

The Gaza Strip has been under a tight Israeli siege from air, land, and sea since 2007. Three major Israeli military offensives have left behind extensive destruction, with Gaza’s economy spiraling into a free fall. The youth in Gaza feel hopeless about their future, with many embarking on risky routes of migration and dozens losing their lives on the way to Europe.

The photo of my favorite chocolate is topping the news websites. When I checked my phone to read the news, I wondered why a bar of chocolate is being mentioned on news sites. It might be rotten or contain something unhealthy, I thought. But what I didn’t expect to read is that Israel is preventing chocolate from entering the Gaza Strip. “What nonsense!” I muttered. “Is it a joke?”

The Israeli occupation intercepted a shipment of 23 tons of chocolate bars headed to Gaza. Israel claims that chocolate revenues go to support Hamas. But this claim doesn’t make sense. I wonder if I travel through the Erez Crossing, connecting Gaza with Israel, and an Israeli soldier asks me how much I love chocolate and how many bars a day I consume, would I be blamed for funding terror?

I expect anything from Israel, as it imposes such unfair and illogical decisions against us. It doesn’t only block chocolate: it also prevents importing many types of goods, including laptops, cleaning materials, clothes, and cars.

My younger brother, Rafat, is a university student. He was studying for a summer course, but COVID19 forced him to study online. He needed a laptop to attend his online lessons. So, one laptop was not enough for a family with three university students. He was forced to buy a laptop to continue his education remotely, but he could not find one as those available were above his budget. Electronic stores in Gaza had a shortage of laptops, so they were forced to raise prices. The increase of laptop prices deeply upset him and put his educational future at risk.

Electronic stores in Gaza had a shortage of laptops, so they were forced to raise prices.

Not only did my brother Rafat face such a problem, but also my friends Noura and Basma. We attended a freelance translator training course at the university, which required us to have our own laptops.

Noura shared one laptop with her two brothers who studied at the university as well, while Basma’s laptop was broken and there were no spare parts available. Both of them wanted to buy new laptops, but the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza deprived them of being able to satisfy this need. All Gazan families face the same problem.

Part of Our Life

The Gaza siege is part and parcel of our daily conversations. A conversation took place between my older brother, Ismail, and my sister Nihad, who resides in Kuwait, on cars that are allowed into Gaza.

Nihad said that she bought a new 2020 Honda Civic. Ismail responded, “How lucky you are! Israel does not allow this type of car and many other types entering Gaza.” Israelis use the fear of terrorist intrusion and suicide attacks as an excuse – in actual fact, though, they want to kill life in Gaza.

The Gaza siege is part and parcel of our daily conversations.

Our neighbor, Abu Yasin, has another issue with the siege. He owns clothes shops and imported clothes from China for the Eid season. His cargo has been detained at the Karim Abu-Salem border crossing. He had to pay for each night of detainment at the crossing. Abu Yasin has faced great losses, especially as the Eid season is now over. Even if his goods are released, he is obliged to sell them at a cheaper price to compensate for his losses, and to make a profit in order to pay off taxes and accumulated debts.

Shutting Down Businesses

A seller of cleaning materials in our neighborhood was forced to close his shop due to the lack of necessary goods. He rented a place and was never able to use it. These are only two examples of Gaza workers and traders’ misery under Israeli siege. Most merchants have been forced to close their shops due to the lack of goods and raw materials.

The Israeli occupation has forced Palestinians to live 54 long years of hunger and poverty. These years have been tough for us. We have lived four destructive Israeli wars in 13 years.

After every war, we hope that we might have a better life in the coastal enclave. But the opposite always happens and things only get worse. We pay a heavy price for just being Palestinians who want to stay on our land.

All these unfair and racist policies led the Palestinian youth of Gaza to protest near the eastern borders of Gaza on August 21, 2021. It was a peaceful protest calling for ending the unjust siege. The demonstrators decided to revolt against the 16-year-long siege, but the Israeli occupation army attacked them randomly, shooting at them without mercy. The demonstrators were only demanding their rights and yet were confronted with violence.

The Israeli army and snipers shot 41 Palestinians, most of whom were children. This prompted a Palestinian with a pistol to shoot one of the snipers as he approached the wall separating Gaza from Israel. As a result, Israeli warplanes launched several airstrikes against Gaza at night. The world, and especially international institutions, ignore these crimes against us. They do nothing to stop Israel’s crimes. Israel feels free to terrorize us with their missiles and guns.

In late June 2006, and soon after Palestinian factions captured the Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in an attack against an Israeli military outpost southeast of Gaza, Israel started a destructive military operation in the coastal enclave to bring its solider back. One of the main infrastructures destroyed by Israel’s military operation in Gaza at the time was Gaza’s only power plant, located in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp where I grew up.

Israel’s F-16s destroyed the power plant with a dozen missiles as my family gathered in the middle of the night to seek some sort of protection. I remember that night vividly as my mother brought us together while Israeli warplanes fired their missiles at the power plant a mile away from my family’s house. The house would shake and the screams of children at night would be heard even clearer, breaking the relative silence of the night which was violated by the sonic sounds of the Israeli warplanes.

In the same year, my youngest brother Omar was born. Today, he is 15 years old – the number of years of Israel’s siege on Gaza – and he has probably not enjoyed a single full day of electricity in his entire life in Gaza. The year 2006 saw the start of the power outages crisis in the coastal enclave, which has only got worse over the years. At the start of the crisis, electricity was cu off for four hours a day. As the demand for more electricity increased with Gaza’s population doubling by some 70,000 a year, and as fewer people were able to pay electricity bills due to the lack of jobs, the crisis has only got worse.

For years, Israel has prevented the entry of materials needed to fix the damaged power engines and the oil tanks destroyed by its warplanes. In many instances, Israel would link allowing shipments of manufactured fuel to run the Gaza Power Plant to ceasing hostilities. Meanwhile Gaza’s power plant, which produces 140 MW of Gaza’s total need of 450 MW, has rarely been able to function at full capacity. Gaza depends on other sources to cover the rest of its needs including two Egyptian and Israeli supply lines. In many instances, these two lines have gone down, and Israel has used the pretext of the security situation in the Gaza Strip to postpone fixing the Israeli supply line.

The electricity crisis has impacted all aspects of life in Gaza. From 2006 to this day, dozens of patients have passed away due to the lack of electricity in the intensive care units (ICUs).

As forest fires continue unabated in many parts of the world due to the recent heat wave, one can only imagine what this heat wave means for the people of Gaza. In a place like Gaza, where green areas are limited, and where thousands of people live in tin houses in ever-crowded refugee camps, the heat is even worse. The only place people can escape to is the Mediterranean Sea, much of which is polluted by untreated sewage water that is pumped into the sea because the only desalination treatment in the Gaza Stirp was also destroyed by Israel in 2008/9.

The electricity crisis has impacted all aspects of life in Gaza. From 2006 to this day, dozens of patients have passed away due to the lack of electricity in the intensive care units (ICUs). It has become nearly impossible for students to sit their exams or study due to the lack of electricity. Many factories and industries have stopped working due to the lack of electricity which is crucial to their functioning. All the people living in Gaza have had to change their lifestyle including when to cook, use the washing machines, or sleep, based on the power outage schedule.

So far, the international community has failed to provide tangible solutions to Gaza’s ongoing electricity crisis. First, it has failed to make Israel accountable and ensure it does not target Gaza’s already fragile electricity infrastructure. The international community has also failed to pressure Israel to allow the implementation of long-term projects in the Gaza Stirp that would solve the issue of power outages in the coastal enclave such as the proposal by Turkey to send a floating power plant; the proposal by Qatar to convert the power plant so that it operates on gas and to establish a gas line to provide Gaza’s power plant with the needed gas; or Algeria’s proposal to send fuel to operate the power plant.

The Palestinian division between Hamas and Fatah has added fuel to the fire in this regard. In many instances, the Palestinian governments of Gaza and the West Bank would exchange accusations over who is responsible for the crisis. Meanwhile, Israel, the occupying power, which should provide Palestinians with all needed services according to international law, acts with impunity.

The international community should hold Israel responsible and make sure that it provides Palestinians, who live under its tight siege in Gaza, with electricity.

The people of Gaza, who have experienced four major Israel offensives – the latest of which was in May 2021 and which resulted in the destruction of more infrastructure in the Gaza Stirp – deserve to live in dignity and to enjoy full, basic services. The international community should hold Israel responsible and make sure that it provides Palestinians, who live under its tight siege in Gaza, with electricity.

The denial of basic rights to the Palestinians has created a Palestinian generation that sees no hope in achieving a just solution to their plight. Meanwhile, the continuing electricity crisis in Gaza means that it is only a matter of time before another Palestinian family dies in a fire caused by candles.

Israel and the international community should fear the reaction of people like my youngest brother Omar. The situation in the Gaza Strip is unsustainable, and if the dignity and freedom of Palestinians there are not respected, regional security will always be at stake, and it will be a matter of time before another conflict breaks out, bringing even more destruction to Gaza’s infrastructure.

Whatever I write will not match in the slightest the horror my family and I felt on May 16, 2021 in Gaza. Yesterday was pretty good compared to the horrifying days we lived earlier. We even felt somehow “safer” and got some sleep.

Two days earlier, on May 14, I was terrified, praying for the safety of my family, who I care about more than myself. We didn’t have many children in the house – just two young girls, a two-year-old and a four-month-old. My niece Sahar is two and a half, and this is her first experience of war. We tried to convince her that all the bombs were just the sound of Eid fireworks. She didn’t buy it, but she insisted on wearing her flowery pink Eid dress, as the Israeli bombs fell all around us and the sky became filled with the unwelcome orange color of air strikes.

It was 3:00 a.m., when normal people living under normal circumstances, with no Israeli occupation, would be serenely sleeping in their warm, lovely beds. My family was sound asleep. It was only my brother and I who were awake. I was trying to write a short story about the situation, with my little niece, Sahar, as the main character, premised on the notion that that “she doesn’t want any of these games.” Ahmad, like any Gazan, was following the latest news. Ten minutes later, the phone rang, and it wasn’t a Palestinian number. Ahmad trembled. “Reem, look, this is an international number. I don’t want to answer.” I insistently replied, “Please, answer. If they want to destroy our house, we could have a chance to get away!”

In many videos I’ve watched, the Israeli military calls to warn people, giving them five minutes so that they can run and save their lives. In other cases, they do not make such calls – they just bring down the house on the heads of its residents. Ahmad refused to answer the call, and it rang again. A moment of silence and fear. Again, he refused. I hate to cry in front of others, or to insist that he answers when he clearly does not want to. I suppose it is 3:15 a.m. He texted the number. It was an ambulance.

The ambulance was on its way with my grandmother, my uncle, and his family – his wife, and their four boys and two girls. All the children were under eleven years old. For more than ten minutes, Ahmad tried to describe the road to the driver. It was very dark and dangerous for the ambulance to go out. Actually, it is dangerous in daylight as well.

Out of panic, my uncle’s family could not recognize the road for more than an hour, roaming the dark roads trying to reach our house, which they had visited countless times before.

Out of panic, my uncle’s family could not recognize the road for more than an hour, roaming the dark roads trying to reach our house, which they had visited countless times before. They were with us last week, to celebrate Ramadan. Their faces had been so bright, and the kids’ smiles so wide as they had just bought new clothes for Eid. The kids had run towards us, bragging about their clothes. Their faces looked different now and full of fear. Finally, it was dawn, we hardly even tried to feign sleep.

I knew then that I did not want to become a mother. I am already a mother figure to my 12 nieces and nephews, but being a mother to little children under these circumstances is the most difficult thing. My friend Rozan had a baby boy a week ago. I saw him; his body was so tiny and I really feel sorry for those tiny bodies. How will their small bodies and innocent hearts afford all these bombings and the loud sounds of air strikes? Rozan sighed. “All I need is to return him back to my belly; it is safer there.” Another friend of mine had a baby girl about a month ago, and she said something similar, “The louder the bomb, the tighter I hug my daughter.”

It was May 15. Our house has more than seven children, all of whom are less than eleven years old, and more than nine women. We all had our own goals in life. During the war, life stopped. I stopped my hobbies such as watching the sunset and photographing it. The sky’s beautiful color was gone. It was dark or lit with airstrikes and flames. All we sought was to survive, not to lose any of our relatives and beloved ones.

At noon, Saturday, May 15, the kids wanted to have a shower. Unfortunately, they ran away, escaping death from their houses without taking any of their clothes. What shall they wear? We don’t have children their age, and there were no clothes shops nearby.

At noon, Saturday, May 15, the kids wanted to have a shower. Unfortunately, they ran away, escaping death from their houses without taking any of their clothes. What shall they wear? We don’t have children their age, and there were no clothes shops nearby. So, unfortunately they had to wait until their clothes dry. What is more, being in the bathroom for a long time during the war is not a good habit – you might experience the raw fear of hearing loud bombings while bathing. The kids wore my 29-year-old brother’s shirts instead.

Night was about to fall. I was not sure what time it was. I sat in my room. It’s not my own room anymore, for it is housing another family. I opened my notes and read a piece of poetry I wrote back in 2019, which talks about a child called Ameer during an Israeli escalation in Gaza.

My name is Ameer, a Gazan martyr,

A kid.

Our stories, laughs, roars no longer heard

Look on my face, and despair

Of taking my soul, my dreams, my Palestine.

It was midnight, May 16. Every night we say, “No, this is the worst – let’s just wait and survive till the next day!” But, I admit, this night was really the worst. We feared sleeping. We all gathered in “my room,” the center of the house. We all sat together, so if we were bombed, we might die together. A few hours earlier, Aseel Wadiya, a friend of mine from Gaza, wrote on her Facebook page, a heart-touching text in Arabic.

Now

I am absorbing our ceiling. I need to befriend it, so it will be cool with me if it falls.

Okay, my lovely home’s ceiling, let’s make a deal!

Please, forgive me for the many times I bothered you with the balloons to surprise my mom.

Forgive me for the many times I kept looking pointlessly at you at night.

Forgive me for distancing you from the floor so much.

Forgive me for choosing your color on your behalf.

What should I do now, so you may forgive me?

There is no time.

You have to get ready for hugging me tenderly, gently.

The entire night, I looked pointlessly at the ceiling, asking myself the same question: what should I do?

It was five a.m. in Gaza, Monday, May 18, 2021. Five of us were catatonic under our blankets. Five percent battery is left on the only mobile device we had in the house. Five missiles had fallen near my house since dawn. Five times per minute, I begged the ceiling of this room, “Don’t fall on our heads this dawn.” I was filled with regret and ended up looking at the ceiling of my room. I recalled the many times I stuck balloons on it. I wished that my ceiling would understand me and I could ask it to fall on our heads softly, so that it wouldn’t wake up my little sisters and scare them.

It is still five a.m. My mind is awake, but my body is lost. The only sensation is the heat of a fresh tear streaming down my face. Even this sensation is stale because this tear reoccurs regularly as I relive this nightmare for the fifth night. This tear is a reminder that it is time to say goodbye to everyone dear to my heart.

It is time I have to respond forcibly again to the continuous calls of an unwelcome visitor called “death.” Today is the 10th day of the war and I have slept limited hours. I woke up after two hours of sleeping to the sound of a bomb exploding nearby. This has become a daily routine since the first day of the war. I stretch my shoulders with my half-opened eyes, feeling so lucky the pillars of my house are still standing. The small bag where I have collected my ID, certificates, and pictures of my siblings and myself, my kindergarten graduation picture, the first stories I ever wrote, all the letters written by my friends, and 40 shekels I was given this Eid stays close to me, within sight.

Luckily, I can collect these concrete things, but there is no way to collect all the insignificant fights with my younger sisters, the giggles that filled this house, the tears we shed, and the prayers my mom said to make the pillars of my house stand. These warm memories are hidden in the corners of my house, between the empty spaces, and are held tightly in the hearts of everyone here. Like every morning in Gaza, I start my day by counting: I count five souls; I count five minds with an endless number of dreams that have never been fulfilled; I count five mouths that tell stories of evading imminent death for the thousandth time.

My little sister, Malak, 4, clings to my trousers asking me to stand by the bathroom door, to guard her. Shivering in fear, she begs me not to leave the doorway; she begs me not to leave her. This fear is all she knows. She will never know of the everyday luxuries that Gazans cannot afford to experience since the first day of war. My youngest brother, Ahmed, calls out that my sister’s milk has been boiled and is ready. Even a simple cup of milk carries with it the connotation of death in Gaza.

I lost my dad at the age of four; the same age Malak is today. To this day, I do not allow myself to remember the sound of his voice, or his laughter, or even his anger.

I remember the 2004 military operation in Rafah, which most people I know have never even heard about, let alone lived through. I recall sitting in my aunt’s lap, drinking a cup of milk, trying to cover with my gulps the nearby tank shell sounds. My aunt ordered me to cover my ears so I wouldn’t hear my father’s screams as he fought for his life right before my eyes. I lost my dad at the age of four; the same age Malak is today. To this day, I do not allow myself to remember the sound of his voice, or his laughter, or even his anger. The only recollection I have of my father is the murderous scene, and his pain, that I witnessed at four. To this day, I refuse to drink milk.

Many people, even those closest to me, do not understand the pain that I hide behind my eyes, behind my smiles, and my laughs. I have lived with a brutal pain since the age of four. I lost my dad in Operation Rainbow, during a barbaric Israeli assault carried out exclusively against the camp I lived in, Tal al-Sultan.

I have created unforgettable memories with my dearest friends, having forced a smile onto my face to hide the great loss I’ve witnessed all my life. I’ve fooled my teachers, my colleagues, students, and strangers with these forced smiles and hollowed laughs. Behind my face of painted content, I hide the face sculpted by an ugly occupation. I am sorry to all who know me, but I am not sorry to the world. This is the brutal reality of occupation.

I used to spend my day during wars glued to news channels, reading mystery and crime books, tweeting, and making sure my dear ones are still alive.

Sometimes, you can’t afford to speak. Pain is born secretively within us, and sometimes a pain is so big it can only be handled individually. Speaking about it requires bravery.

I used to spend my day during wars glued to news channels, reading mystery and crime books, tweeting, and making sure my dear ones are still alive. It’s evening now. Evening has been the ghost that Gazans fear. The evening collects souls in their homes. But now, the daytime is no different. Bombs drop day and night.

The only difference is the morning is more trusting. “Sahar, don’t forget to wear your abaya before you sleep,” my mother and every mother in Gaza repeats every night. I wear my abaya with my hijab, and put the slippers in a way that makes it easy for us to run away if needed.

It was two a.m. when the Israeli occupation forces shelled Kullab’s family house in Tal al-Sultan camp located in the city of Rafah without any warning, only 20 meters from where I live. The sound of the barrel bombs fire cannot be described in words. I can still hear the ominous sound buzzing in my ears and my mom yelling to us to evacuate immediately. Here in Gaza, we are not being bombed because we are engaging with the enemy or because a rocket was launched over “Israel.” We are bombed and wiped from history simply because we exist in Gaza.

I counted the souls again, wore the backpack, and retreated downstairs in a blink of an eye. We were not alone running in the streets, all of us heading to the unknown. Fortunately, we could see the roads clearly enough because the bombs in the sky gave the illusion of daylight.

After a quarter of an hour of being lost in the chaos, we found a place to stay at a friend’s house. Our eyes did not even blink that night; none of us were able to sleep till the sound of bombs temporarily stopped. Two hours later, we returned to our home. “We shall meet soon, dear friends,” I said.

When I returned back home and turned on my laptop, a barrage of messages flooded my screen and eyes. Sahar, are you okay? Sahar, I heard your name on the radio reporting the latest shelling! Sahar, I’ve been trying to reach your mom since yesterday! Dozens of messages that could be reduced to the same question: are you alive? I was counted dead for more than 10 hours as a result of the misspelling of my last name. I burst into tears and was torn into millions of unseen shadows. I responded to the first message I saw in my inbox: Survivor Number Five.

Twelve years ago, on December 27, 2008, I was sipping a cup of coffee as I took a short break from my university assignments. I was an undergraduate student preparing for my final exams when the Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out more than 60 air strikes against Hamas-run police stations, buildings, facilities, and military sites, killing approximately 200 Palestinians in the first few hours of the intensive air offensive.

Palestinians in Gaza are used to hearing sounds of explosions as they became part of their daily life routines – just like growing up under siege and occupation. They are used to the sounds of explosions and the buzzing of drones; helicopters and fighter jets hovering above their heads, day and night; missiles fired at targets in Gaza; or Israelis just killing their boredom by producing sonic bombs, breaking the sound barrier and smashing some windows.

Gazans’ Shocked

But the bombing I heard in 2008 was unusual even for Gaza.

The electricity went out, and I turned on my cell phone’s built-in radio only to discover that the signals of many local radio stations were no longer working. I went out to try to find out what happened as rumors had started to circulate: some said Israel had targeted the Hamas-run Al-Abbas Police Station in Gaza city.

Others claimed the target was the Abu Middain Police Station, east of Nuseirat refugee camp, while others yet said it was the building of the Ministry of Interior. It turned out that all these sites were targeted along with many more.

The intensive bombing campaign, which Israel later named “Operation Cast Lead,” was shocking even for Palestinians for two reasons. The number of sites targeted at the same time was unprecedented with nearly 60 sites simultaneously targeted by air strikes that caused huge explosions.

The second reason was that the military offensive started on a Saturday; Saturday is holy for the followers of the Jewish faith and a symbol of peace. Despite this, Israel chose a Saturday, violating the holiness of the Jewish Sabbath, to take the lives of hundreds of Palestinians.

The Israeli offensive lasted for 23 days, claiming the lives of more than 1,500 Palestinians, injuring some 6,000 others, completely destroying 4,100 houses, and partially destroying 17,000 others.

One of the victims was my neighbor Ahmed Altawil, an eight-year-old child whose family had evacuated their house following a rumor that the mosque next to their house would be bombed. While playing football near his uncle’s home, an Israeli strike killed him, ending his short life way too early. In 2014, the very same mosque was leveled to the ground, which caused a serious damage to Ahmed’s family house.

One of the victims was my neighbor Ahmed Altawil, an eight-year-old child whose family had evacuated their house following a rumor that the mosque next to their house would be bombed. While playing football near his uncle’s home, an Israeli strike killed him, ending his short life way too early.

One of the stories that Israel’s Operation Cast Lead left in the collective memory of Palestinians in Gaza is that of the Al-Samouni family. An Israeli officer asked the Al-Samouni family to stay in one room in their house in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza after the Israeli army occupied the entire area.

Following this, the Israeli forces bombed the house while they were still inside, killing 29 people of the same extended family. To add insult to injury, the Israeli Prosecution decided to close the investigation against the military officer who ordered the bombing. Justice for the Al-Samouni family and thousands of other Palestinian families is still to be served.

Will Justice be Served?

Today, Israeli leaders, such as Tzipi Livni and Ehud Olmert, who are responsible for the alleged crimes committed against the Palestinians in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead are still free. The chances of bringing them to justice for killing Palestinians are minimal.

At the same time, preserving the memory of Palestinian victims is equally important. It is important to tell the stories of Palestinians who lost their lives because of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

A child like my neighbor Ahmad Altawil is not a mere number: he had a family and his death was deeply mourned. There are many stories that deserve to be told about Ahmad: his great love of football, for one, cut short by an Israeli strike that took his life in 2009, or the other air strike that destroyed his family’s house in 2014.

Preserving the memory of Palestinian victims is important, so is to tell the stories of Palestinians who lost their lives because of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

Preserving these memories is essential for the victims, their families, and for any future justice for the Palestinian people.

A War on Memory

In the same context, Israel’s war on Palestinians, including Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008, is a war on memory and narrative as well as a war on the psychical presence of Palestinians, who are projected as the opponents of Israel’s settler colonial project, a master plan built on the notion that Palestinians are the unwanted Others.

Preserving this memory feeds into what Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish spoke of as “the invaders’ fear of memories,” keeping the Palestinian memory alive despite all attempts to erase it is a form of resistance too.

The world has to remember that as long as justice is not served in Palestine, the entire Middle East cannot achieve peace and security- even if governments claim otherwise. The youngest Palestinian children whose parents were killed in 2008 would turn 11 today, which means that the feeling of being oppressed has become generational and Israel will come to a point where it can no longer maintain a reality, the backbone of which is oppressing Palestinians.

One lesson from Israel’s Operation Cast Lead and other military onslaughts in Gaza is that using excessive force against Palestinians has only made them more determined over the years.

The brightest example of this determination is the Great March of Return, where Palestinians in Gaza, 75% of whom are refugees, following three destructive Israeli onslaughts, took the initiative and called for their return to their homes and towns according to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194.

Israel needs to understand that it can’t continue its denial of the reality in Gaza, and that the Palestinians’ memories of their lives, the wars, and the lives of their ancestors in historic Palestine will continue to serve as fuel to the fire of their memories.

These memories will continue to live until the historical injustice in Palestine is addressed.