Over 10,000 Palestinians killed. 4,000 of whom were innocent children. Where is our humanity? Political arguments aside - we need to mourn the victims but we can't because the Israeli army is set on a genocidal mission in their attempt to erase Hamas. In seeking vengeance for the October 7 attacks the Israelis have bombed schools, hospitals, mosques and refugee camps. Yes, Israel has a right to defend itself but not by massacring innocent men, women and children. This approach to warfare is known as collective punishment which is illegal under international law. As I write this piece I feel helpless, powerless and depressed and I shed tears for the innocents in the Gaza Strip as they are being constantly bombed day and night. I also feel for the Palestinians living in the West Bank where there is no Hamas presence. Settlers and the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) have killed at least 144 Palestinians since October 7 and new settlements are created every day. Such settlements are illegal. According to the Guardian, in this time frame, 900 adults and children have been forced out of their homes by extremist settlers. I am ashamed to call myself a Muslim or even a humanitarian for standing by while such atrocities are committed. Yes the Hamas attacks were indefensible as they targeted civilians and took hostages but the crisis didn't start on 7 October but rather in 1948 when Israel was created. If you look at a map showing Israel and Palestine since 1948 you will be shocked by the Israeli occupation and land grabbing that has taken place since the Nakba (Catastrophe) when over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their ancestral land. There are Palestinian refugees to this day who have kept the keys to their homes in the hope that they will return one day. What can we do as British citizens? Our government's policy can only be described as giving the Israelis a green light to attack the 25 mile coastal enclave which is referred to as an 'open air prison'. The government and the opposition are not even willing to call for a ceasefire. On a positive note however, 50 Labour Councillors have resigned in protest at Keir Starmer's stance on the Gaza assault when he suggested Israel had a right to cut off water and energy from Gaza although he later clarified that this was not his position. Therefore, we need to pressurise our local MPs to speak up or lose our votes. We can also boycott Israeli products and Israeli - linked brands. There are many trustable charities on the ground in Gaza such as Global Relief Trust so we can donate funds to them. Very importantly, we have to keep protesting and demonstrating regardless of intimidation by the police and Suella Braverman - the Home Secretary - who referred to such peaceful demonstrations as 'Hate marches'. There have been unprecedented demonstrations all across the world which shows that people do care for the Palestinian cause although our leaders may not, so we need to keep up the pressure and show the valiant people of Palestine that we are with them. We should never forget the Palestinian cause and our government's complicity in the siege of Gaza. Finally, it is imperative that we educate our friends, colleagues and acquaintances about the history of Palestine and Israel. But to do so we have to read and learn history ourselves. I recommend reading the writings of Professor Ilan Pappe and Norman Finkelstein. They are both Jewish scholars who speak the truth at great personal cost.
