Innaha Filastin: It is Palestine
Brief history of the so-called Israeli-Palestinian conflict
انها فلسطين
The concept of conflict is based on the presumption that both parties are equal. As we keep hearing about the so-called Palestine-Israel conflict, we need to use the right definitions, because words do matter. As a starter, both parties are not equal. This is not a conflict. It’s propaganda, it’s genocide, it’s the falsification of facts, and it’s the smearing of good people that have nothing to do with this.
What inspired me to write this is a friend telling me they don’t know much about the situation that unfolded. It’s not uncommon; the world is full of “conflicts”, and it’s impossible to keep up with all of them. However, when a particular issue comes under the spotlight, then we have to do it justice. We do that by looking at things objectively and letting people form their own conclusions.
“Nearly every war that has started in the past 50 years, has been a result of media lies.”
- Julian Assange
RAMALLAH - A busy Ramallah alleyway, 1900
Jews & Muslims اليهود والمسلمين
This has never been about Jews vs Muslims. It’s simply Zionism vs The people of Palestine. Historically, Jews and Muslims have always coexisted and lived together. This is not my opinion, it’s a historical fact. In fact, with the rise of Islam, the Jewish communities prospered and flourished. Read this article.
Islam saved Jewry. This is an unpopular, discomforting claim in the modern world. But it is a historical truth. The argument for it is double. First, in 570 CE, when the Prophet Mohammad was born, the Jews and Judaism were on the way to oblivion. And second, the coming of Islam saved them, providing a new context in which they not only survived, but flourished, laying foundations for subsequent Jewish cultural prosperity - also in Christendom - through the medieval period into the modern world.
Let’s discuss more examples: The Jewish and Muslim people who lived in Palestine, prior to the founding of the Israeli state, used to babysit each others’ kids. Entrusting your baby to someone is the highest form of trust. That’s how life was back then.
It wasn’t the Arabs nor the Muslims who prosecuted the Jews throughout the centuries, nor were they the ones who caused the Holocaust.
Zionism الصهيونية
A lot of orthodox Jews nowadays refuse the state of Israel. Why? Because the zionists deviated from their Jewish teachings and went for a secular, nationalist, supremacist ideology. Did you know that in the Jewish belief, it is forbidden for them to establish any state? So the fact that the zionists claim they’re doing this for the Jews is rather ridiculous, and further proves their separation from the true Jews and their teachings.
Criticizing the Israeli state is not anti-semitism. Now of course they love gaslighting people into thinking that. The truth of the matter is, if you have a state that terrorizes people, then we should call it as such. I’m deliberately using this term since they love throwing it around nowadays. Being critical is being critical, there’s nothing more than that. The state of Israel is a terrorist state.
The ideology of Zionism is skewed. Their whole movement can be summarized in 2 points:
“For a people without a land, a land without a people” - Zionist literary
The willingness to create a primarily Jewish state
The phrase “a land without people” is inaccurate. Palestine had people in it, and millions that is. So… now what? Will you kill tens of thousands and displace almost a million people out of their homes? Wait a minute, you already did that.
Regarding the second point, aside from this being a very racist and supremacist motive, I don’t think anyone would disagree if a group of people wanted to create their own VIP exclusive club or town. But that shouldn’t be at the cost of others. You cannot go to another country or another place, kill, slaughter, and occupy the land just so you can have your own state. The fact that I have to say this common sense shows how ridiculous the position of Israel is.
Haganah members, 1948
Nakba النكبة
1948, The War of Independence, as the zionists call it, is the war that they won and emerged as the pioneers, heroes, and founders of the state of Israel. On the other side of the coin, to the Palestinians, they call it the Nakba, which translates to catastrophe, or disaster. They call it as such because Israel destroyed over 500 Arab villages, slaughtered over 15,000 people, committed 28 massacres (including the Deir Yassin and Tantura massacres), which all were non-combatants, raped their women, and displaced and forced over 750,000 people out of their homes.
Imagine this happening in 2023, 2 terrorist gangs (Irgun & Haganah) go into another country as refugees, and that country accepts them, then they start getting military help from the world superpowers (Britain and the US), and they start invading the whole country, forcing all of their citizens out. Then they celebrate this achievement and brag about it. And then to close off, they start calling themselves the victims who are surrounded by predatory Arab countries. It’s so outrageous, that it’s become a little bit funny now. I’m laughing while writing this.
Arab refugees in northern Israel on the road to Lebanon, November 1948
Jaramana Refugee Camp, Damascus, Syria, 1948
The expulsion of Palestinians, 1948
A dying puppy or a few thousand numbers
Have you ever seen John Wick, the first movie? The plot goes as follows: his dog dies, he goes insane, and then he kills everyone. The scene of his dog dying was truly sad. People nowadays would cry over a scene like that, but not over the thousands of innocent people who are being slaughtered. We all have been desensitized. These kids are just numbers to us.
Fun fact: did you know that the average age in Gaza is 18 years old? Oh boy, their life expectancy sure is high, for a bunch of Hamas sympathisers!
Close your eyes
Let’s do this exercise, on the count of 5, I want you to close your eyes and cover your ears. Ready? I’ll count: 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… go.
(silence…)
What? You wanted to know when you were supposed to open your eyes? I don’t know, just keep going…
Now whether you did this silly exercise or not, this is what happens to the victims of the bombing. They don’t choose to close their eyes and cover their ears, their heads usually disintegrate from the explosion or squashed by the ceiling that falls directly on them. Too harsh? Well, as I said, language matters, and words do matter. This is not fiction, this is real life. Every number is a person, an innocent soul, that had dreams and goals, had their friends and family, had their hobbies and lifestyle, and had their neighborhood. These are not numbers, these are people.
Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 26, 2023
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, October 31, 2023
A right to defend
Some might say Israel has the right to defend itself. Before breaking down this argument, let’s state the obvious once again: the death of any innocent civilian, whether it’s an Israeli, Palestinian, Jew, Christian, or Muslim, is not acceptable in any way shape, or form. Having said that, when you claim that Israel has the right to defend itself, you can apply the same argument to the oppressed Palestinian Christians and Muslims by the Israeli state. They have been oppressed, killed, occupied, humiliated, and tortured, for 75 years. According to this logic, won’t the Palestinians also claim that they have a right to defend themselves?
The Israeli state has always had the means for peace, and they still do. But they decided to occupy more land, gain more power, commit more war crimes, break more international laws, oppress and terrorize the Palestinians, and completely erase their identity. The notion that Hamas fell out of the sky is rubbish. Israel nurtured and caused the creation of Hamas.
Bombing a hospital? Or maybe a thousand-year-old church, which is the 3d oldest church in the world? How about the most densely populated refugee camp in Gaza? Israel has done it all. Unimaginable atrocities that are absolutely despicable and disgraceful.
But what’s the truth
Listen to statements from Israeli hostages who were released, or civilians from both sides. Some of these are completely the opposite of what the media portrays. Listen to statements made by Israeli officials. Look at the evidence provided by the people who are living in this war. Read, and look into the historical facts.
Thinking back on World War II, I always wondered how people committed these atrocities, and now I know. You dehumanize the victims and treat them like animals. When you dehumanize a group of people, anything you do to them is acceptable. Just like what happened during the Holocaust. The Nazis called the Jews rats. And now Israeli officials are calling people in Gaza human animals, and some say that they’re even worse than animals.
This article is not written to justify what happened, nor is it to support or push a certain agenda. But we must look at the objective truth of what happened and try to understand that this is not simply a fight between good and evil. It’s a complex issue, and the only way out is to lay down the historical facts, look at the evidence, look at the current situation objectively, and based on that formulate a solution.
The simple truth is: The Palestinians have always lived under the occupation and apartheid of the Israeli state. They live in an open-air prison, where they’re not allowed to leave, are deprived of normal life necessities, and are living in the most harsh environment. It doesn’t matter which political side you’re on, all lives are precious and equal, and this should be our ultimate goal.
Videos and links
If you don’t like reading, here are some informative links and videos to watch:
Palestinian-Israeli Conflict for Beginners
https://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/Story725.html
1948: Creation & Catastrophe (1h25m)