Editorial note: This Opinion piece is reprinted from the UTech Jamaica student newspaper USight News Vol.1
By Rushauna Mignott
When it comes to war, numerous perspectives are bound to arise. Society seems to think that a neutral stance is the most righteous position however, it is only harming the plight of Palestinian people. While the world clings onto crimes they did not commit and crimes that had no evidence to back up the allegations and villainises them, the Israel Defence Force does far worse with support from the entire world.
History of the State
The foundation of the state of Israel has always been rocky. During World War II, survivors illegally settled . While the Jewish greatly benefited from the end of the British mandate, this led to the displacement of thousands of Palestinians. In 1948, the first Jewish state in over 2,000 years had been established. This greatly disturbed the Arab nation who had been inhabiting the land for centuries. The partitions of the land that the United Nations authorised in 1947 were unequal, the Palestinians getting far less than the Jewish settlers. Tensions rose and the two states fought, with the Arabs seeking help from neighbouring countries like Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. Despite their efforts, the state of Israel was able to be formed and the oppression of the Palestinians began.
Resistance
It seems that Palestinians are not allowed sympathy from the west unless they condemn Hamas for October 7th. Every award show since the start of the year has mentioned it. Every statement put out by US President Joe Biden condemns Hamas. Most European countries condemn Hamas. What these people fail to understand is that there is no such thing as a perfect victim. The very reason Hamas was created was due to Israel’s constant and brutal violence against the people of Palestine. The oppressed do not get change without resistance. We’ve seen it in history many times. It is ludicrous to suggest that accepting Israel’s conditions is the best option. Advising Palestinians to not fight back is futile. It is like saying Sam Sharpe and the slaves of western Jamaica should not have done the Christmas Rebellion. It’s like saying Nanny and her brothers shouldn’t have escaped the slave plantations and created the Maroon villages. It’s like saying the slaves in Demerara should not have revolted. The mulattos in Haiti attempted a nonvolatile protest in the 1700s and failed to receive change.
War Crimes
Both sides are not innocent. The Hamas led attack on October 7th resulted in the death of approximately 1,200 civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian, while 200 hostages were taken. Since then, the IDF has killed over 32,000 Palestinians. Senseless, cold hearted murder of innocent civilians–of a population in which children account for more than 50%. Missiles that are paid for by the United States have been launched on the Gaza strip, leaving thousands homeless. The soldiers flaunt their war crimes, sporting the underwear of the women’s houses they have destroyed, sending videos and pictures of a man they bulldozed to death, and they are not vilified. They went from denying that they would ever bomb a hospital, to destroying every functioning hospital in Gaza. They bombed orphanages, schools and refugee camps. They’ve destroyed historical monuments, including mosques that have existed since the 5th century.
Over 17,000 children have been made orphans. They shoot starving people that were just trying to get some aid. The first flour massacre was such a shocker, and now they do it so often that the world has become desensitised to the cruelty. They are intentionally blocking food from entering the borders, killing paramedics and doctors, and targeting journalists who highlight the atrocities that they commit on a daily basis. They have committed war crime after war crime and they have faced no repercussions. And they won’t have to because no matter what, the people in power will look right past these crimes, all for their ulterior motives, the oil that Palestine possesses. Which, they probably won’t be able to enjoy because they’re all a leg raise from kicking the bucket!
It is not like Hamas is being stubborn, they have been proposing solutions in exchange for the hostages but Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, refuses to accept any. How can the United Nations Security Council vote for a ceasefire until the end of Ramadan and you respond with more bombing? Why is claiming that the ceasefire agreement does not promise the return of the hostages when it is one of the conditions of the ceasefire? Do all the malicious thoughts and schemes he conjures up affect his cognitive functions? Maybe the same can be said about his ally, Biden. The sudden change of heart from the United States, which is clearly a “subtle” attempt to sway the public who have been against the support of Israel due to the upcoming election, is pathetic and desperate.
UNRWA
Benjamin Netayahu had an inkling that some of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) cooperated with Hamas for the October 7th massacre and since then, numerous countries have withdrawn their support. Countries such as Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have suspended funding since the accusations, even though there has been no evidence to back up the claims.
These countries are loyal to the Zionist movement and are more than willing to kill innocent civilians just to support their rich and powerful ally. Why are the Palestinians’ lives at risk because of these countries’ lack of deductive reasoning?
