The Plight of the Palestinian People

A Cruel and Unjust Reality

Jun 10, 2023

Palestinians in Ramallah West Bank crossing the Qalandia checkpoint to go to al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to perform third Friday prayers for Ramadan being harassed by Israeli police forces. (Imagine being harassed like this every time you wanted to go to religious services).

ISSAM RIMAWI / ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

The Plight of the Palestinian People: A Cruel and Unjust Reality

The US establishment—almost without exception—from politicians to the captured media are all pro-the Zionist/apartheid/colonial entity, AKA, Israel. It doesn’t matter if the person is left/right/middle; liberal or conservative, all the Garbage People are in favor of the oppression of the Palestinian people by the Garbage government of Israel, AKA, Palestine.

The above is one of the reasons I am so distressed about RFK, Jr’s stance on Israel: He has infamously, and recently, lauded and supported Israel and only says that he is in support of the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians,” as long as the permanent, paranoid state of Israel is “secure within its borders.”

The main Garbage People will never allow a candidate like Kennedy to win, so why won’t he go full renegade? He has rightly said that he would end the blockade of Cuba, which I applaud; and “free” Assange, which I am in favor of, but it’s time the lives and security of the Palestinian people also get a fair airing on the national stage. Even long-time Palestinian rights’ activists are looking aside and/or justifying kicking the Palestinian people to the curb by Kennedy, Jr.

When I traveled to Israel with my church in 1999, I was terrified of the Palestinian people because of all the rancid propaganda I heard my entire life. However, for the 10-days I was there, I never met a “terrorist,” I was happily welcomed and whenever we were in a mostly Palestinian area, I felt warmth and love. That visit began to open my eyes to mainstream propaganda, like my trips to Cuba and Venezuela did, as well.

I promised we would chat about Palestine today.

Brace yourself for a bitter pill. For seven decades now, the Palestinian people have been subjected to tragedies of unfathomable proportions - all under the guise of "security" for a particular state. From the Nakba in 1948 to the current blockade on Gaza, Israel, with moral and material support of the US, has used all forms of oppression and violence to subjugate the Palestinians and maintain its hegemony in the region.

Let's start with Gaza, which has been under a crippling blockade since 2007. The UN named Gaza the "world's largest open-air prison." It's a tiny strip of land, where 2 million Palestinians live with minimal access to food, water, fuel, and basic medical care. The situation is so dire that the UN had estimated that Gaza will be uninhabitable by 2020. All this, while Israel continues to enjoy diplomatic and economic support from countries around the world, especially from, us—your tax dollars. What kind of a moral yardstick do we use to justify this?

Of course, Gaza is just one facet of this cruel reality. The Palestinian people living in the West Bank are also hosts to a range of human rights abuses. European settlers to the West Bank routinely harass, physically assault, burn down schools, homes, crops, olive trees, etc, with almost complete impunity. There are checkpoints that have even prevented pregnant women from getting to their hospitals, or birthing places.The Israeli military, which polices the West Bank, regularly arrests and detains Palestinians without trial or charges. This means that Palestinian men, women, and children can be held indefinitely, without any legal recourse. Meanwhile, the Israeli settlements in the West Bank continue to expand, encroaching on Palestinian land and properties.

NEARLY TWO DECADES before Israeli forces killed Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, shooting a single bullet into her head while she was reporting from the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, an Israeli soldier drove a bulldozer over American peace activist Rachel Corrie, crushing her to death.
Both killings left little real doubt about the dynamics at play. Abu Akleh was standing with a group of colleagues, wearing a vest clearly marked “PRESS,” nowhere near the fighting that had taken place earlier that morning. Corrie was nonviolently protesting the demolition of a Palestinian family’s home in Gaza. She was wearing a fluorescent orange jacket with reflective stripes and had been on the scene for several hours, at times speaking into a megaphone. From: No Path to Justice, Israeli forces keep killing Americans while the US officials give them a pass. Alice Speri, the Intercept.

But wait, it gets worse. The Palestinian citizens of Israel also face systemic discrimination on a daily basis. They are not afforded the same rights and privileges as Jewish citizens of Israel. For instance, Palestinian citizens can't buy or lease land in certain areas. They also face a range of restrictions when it comes to employment, education, and political participation. In other words, they are second-class citizens in their own country.

I know that talking about Palestine can be a contentious issue, but we cannot afford to shy away from this topic. It's crucial that we acknowledge the cruelty and injustice that the Palestinian people have been subjected to. We need to keep talking about this issue, advocating for their rights, and holding the Israeli state accountable for their actions. This is not about choosing sides; it's about recognizing what is right and what is wrong (then choose life, and the Palestinian cause). The Palestinian people deserve better, and it's high time we start doing something about it.

The collusion between the Israeli state and the movement to illegally colonize the West Bank was on full display on April 10, when the Israeli military guarded a large group of settlers and ultra-nationalist politicians as they marched on an illegal and recently abandoned settlement under banners declaring Palestinian lands near the occupied city of Nablus to be the property of Israelis. Meanwhile, occupation forces shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian teenager during the latest raid of the Aqabet Jaber refugee camp in Jericho. Mohammad Fayez Balhan was shot in the head, chest and stomach on Monday, according to reports. At least three Israeli women are dead after an attack on a West Bank settlement last week.

From: Settlers Get Away With Terrorizing Palestinian Children Under Israeli Apartheid

Under a militarized legal system, Palestinians face mass incarceration and torture as settlers attack with impunity.

Mike Ludwig

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April 12, 2023

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