Hello again. We’re in pretty tumultous times, and we may, in fact – be witnessing one of, or a combination of things: genocide on our very phones, or another regional conflagration. The final third of 2023 had Israel attempt to get its regional neighbours to accept the ‘old normal’, which they de facto already had after five decades of conflict, with a new set of accords which ensured that on paper as well as in reality, the Arab nations recognise the legitimacy of Israel. During that time, other than the daily killings of Palestinians, Israel had kept roughly 5,000 people from the occupied territories without trial with no guarantee of their release. It was in this context that the militant organisation Hamas launched their assault on Israel – which is said to have killed over 1,000 people, and took dozens of hostages*. There’s been a war of information regarding the nature of the assault, and the extent to which Hamas deliberately fargeted civilians (that is to say, Hamas did strike at areas populated by civilians, but prioritised striking military bases and the personnel within them). Almost immediately afterwards, a consensus was reached among the Israeli leadership that Gaza needed to pay for Hamas’ defiance – and using its powerful arsenal: lies, control of the energy, water and the borders of Gaza, and the barrage of missiles which combined, provided greater destruction than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. Gaza is nearly completely rubble. 11,000 people have been killed as a result of Israel’s bombing campaign – nearly half are children. 1.4 million Palestinians are displaced. To conduct their operations, Israel is even willing to kill the very hostages they demanded Hamas to release.
Given their demand for the citizens of Southern Gaza to leave their homes in 24 hours on the 13th October 2013 for Egypt as they prepared for a ground invasion, it should be clear enough to anyone that Israel at the very least, is engaging in ethnic cleasing. And they’re not just content with Gaza – reports of settler assaults, and even airstrikes on the West Bank have come about in the past week. Make no mistake – Israel is engaging in genocide as we speak. So I felt that it’s important to make this declaration: If you are not for the Palestinian resistance, you are for their elimination. It’s as simple as that. There is no other moment than right now where the slogan “to exist is to resist” expressed the reality of life as a Palestinian. If you come out with this, “Israel has a right to defend itself”, or “Will you condemn Hamas” shite – get the fuck off my blog. I’m not here for that horsehit.
If you consider yourself on the left, a progressive, for human rights or any of that and you read this blog – now’s the time to put that into action. Almost certainly, you’re a reader whose government is supporting Israel in their genocidal campaign. Use your voice to say no. Join any nearby marches to end the massacre in Palestine in your city. Stand up and be counted.
Nearby events (specifically to Croydon, UK):
- Croydon4Palestine demo, 18th November 2023 in North End, Croydon.
- National March for Palestine, 25th November 2023 in Central London.
As for this blog, I can’t make any promises but this is a brief list of things I plan to write about in the near future:
- 2023 Israel-Palestine “war”
- Hamas
- Why I refuse to condemn Hamas (and you should as well)
- Is Hamas the same as ISIS?
- Obama, Palestine and Israel
- “Israel has a right to defend itself”
- Two-state solution
- “From the river to the sea…”
In other news, to be perfectly honest, I’ve been extremely busy – if not with marches, then certainly with assignments from my studies. I’ve been reading a lot of books that I can’t wait to write about them. Anyway, see you soon.
Notes:
Initially, it was widely reported that Hamas had killed 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped over 200 of their citizens, however the Israeli Ministry of Defense have since revised the number to 1,200 Israelis killed – the number of citizens taken hostage remains about the same. It is worth nothing that what is charitably called “the fog of war” makes it difficult to glean accurate information over any event and especially the initial event of the conflict. Especially considering the possibility that the IDF have taken a “kill everything that moves” approach, which undoubtably risks the lives of civilians – Israeli or Palestinian, and even that of their own soldiers.
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