75 years of ordeal carries along a trauma the Palestinians suffered inflicted by arch enemy Israel, history cannot be wronged
Mobilenews 24×7 Bureau
Israel-Hamas war cannot be seen in isolation without taking into the account the untold humanitarian devastation which had forced the creation of Palestine whose irony is as old as 75 plus years.
The people how have been battered with most brutal ways of mental and physical annihilation and rundown with ruthless isolation in human history.
What Hamas did was unpardonable but what the short history of Palestine of which Hamas later became an off-shoot, was shockingly unacceptable.
The Gaza strip how turned to become a victim of a catastrophe resulting in being an eye of blitzkriegs for over decades.
And today the common cry that resonates across the Strip is ‘ the beginning of an end’.
Never had been there any precedence as the IDF’s warning to vacate Gaza city within 24 hours that undisputedly smacks of a mind set to usher in a plunder unleashing a “humanitarian devastation” as the UN has construed the diktat from Israel.
The pensive notes emanating from Gaza today started ranting the air world over and protests against such a diktat have started in the US and in India as well.
It is not about the notoriety that either Israel or Palestine resorted to in the past but the pain which is being inflicted upon the innocent over a million civilians in the Gaza strip, started suffering a kind of asphyxiation in their own homes.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said that this was a “Second Nakba” that would affect over one million Palestinians who called north Gaza their home.
What exactly is Nakba and why is the fleeing of Palestinians being termed the ‘Second Nakba’? “al Nakba” is catastrophe that had made Palestinians refugees.
History should not ignore that six day war in 1967 followed this exodus. As a result, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
Palestinians became refugees in the Gaza Strip and in other Arab countries.
Well it has been 75 years now. And the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) estimates that “there are today 6 million Palestinian refugees living in camps in these areas, relying on UNRWA medical and education facilities as well as humanitarian relief,” The Conversation said in a piece.
After the war, barely 1,60,000 Palestinians were left in the region, less then 10 percent of the original population.
“Those who remained were rapidly reduced to a minority, becoming second-class citizens in their homeland – cut off from the rest of their fellow nationals. Once detached from their land, Palestinians effectively became an unskilled cheap labour force for the Israeli economy.” Marwan Darweish, for The Conversation
While narrating the excesses on Israel by the Hamas, a recall of trauma of Nakba continues even after over seven decades leaving a population who suffered three to four generations.
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“The forced displacement from their homes and land to become refugees in other countries – or even in what had once been their own country – is central to the Palestinian collective memory. The events of 1948 and the years that followed fragmented Palestinians – their identity, communities, and whole families. The familiar social structures and relationships were broken down” noted Marwan Darweish, for The Conversation
It was only in 1964 that the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was formed too.
In the meantime, the Palestinians became lost, unrepresented, and virtually invisible to the world, wrote Marwan Darweish, Associate Professor, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University .
And now
In the past week, since the war began, at least 1,300 Israelis have lost their lives, according to the country’s military.
On the other hand, the Palestinian health ministry has said that:
• 1,400 Palestinians have been killed, which includes at least 447 children
• Over 6,000 Palestinians have been injured
In response to the IDF’s directive, CNN on Friday, 13 October, reported that Hamas told Gaza residents not to leave their homes, accusing Israel of “psychological warfare.”
“The occupation is attempting to spread and circulate false propaganda through various means, aiming to create confusion among citizens and undermine the stability of our internal front.” A Hamas source was quoted.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) sounded the alarm on Israel’s directive. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric warned that the evacuation order was “impossible” to implement without “devastating humanitarian consequences”.
With the warning signed, this could be Israel’s “free pass” to kill any civilians in north Gaza as they possibly plan to attack Gaza through a ground invasion now.
Use of white phosphorous in Malitary operations has come to the light, specifically on October 10 and 11
(With inputs from The Conversation)
The videos show multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border, Human Rights Watch said in a statement released on Thursday, 12 October.
BREAKING: Israel has used white phosphorus in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, putting civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries. White phosphorus causes excruciating burns and can set homes afire. Its use in populated areas is unlawful.
Pic courtesy The New York Times
