The recent Zionist Israeli regime’s serial attacks on defenseless Palestinians in Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, is an issue of s...
The recent Zionist Israeli regime’s serial attacks on defenseless Palestinians in Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, is an issue of serious concern that should never be swept under the carpet. The gory pictures making the rounds on social media platforms are horrifyingly disturbing to say the least.
What was once a shelter for homeless Palestinians- courtesy of the Israeli regime’s act of terror on the former- is now turned into a slaughterhouse. According to the Director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), all the 36 shelters established for Palestinian refugees in Rafah are now empty. People have either been killed or fled. Since the beginning of this heinous act, the hashtag #AllEyesOnRafah has been trending, and has been shared by millions of people across social media platforms to highlight the imperative of putting an end to the continued suffering of the Palestinian people.
The attack on Rafah is a continuation of decades long act of usurper-terrorism, settler-colonialism, aimed at pushing for the heinous agenda of Zionist Imperialist expansionism right at the heart of Palestinian land, a holy place for Muslims, Christians and orthodox Jews alike. Since July the previous year, the illegitimate state of Israel has ruthlessly intensified its attacks on defenseless Palestinians this time in particular targeting hospitals, schools, worship centers, and refugee camps.
The United Nation’s office on Palestinian affair has put the death toll from this heinous crime to around 34,000 people. But according to a report from the Gazan Ministry of Health (MOH) no fewer than 36,756 were killed since the beginning of the operation. Nevertheless, the figures underscore the true extent of the ongoing Israeli genocide in various Palestinian territories.
According to another report from the UNICEF, children account for over 40% of the mass casualties. This is to say for every 100 people killed, over 40 of them are children. Indeed, Palestine is a grave for women and children. Nowadays, few children live to witness their first birthdays, courtesy of the murderous Israeli regime.
It is worth noting that the deafening silence of the international community on this issue of magnanimous human rights violations is a shame on us all. Under our watch, the Illegitimate state of Israel is waging an all-out-war against innocent Palestinians- on their own land- in a bid to expand their settler-colonialist agenda.
We all have a responsibility toward the oppressed people of Palestine. Now that the Israeli regime has shown that it has no regard for international laws, as it continued its terrorist operations in complete disregard for all known such laws and provisions, here are some ways we can help the people of Palestine:
We can engage in demonstrations/rallies/sit-ins in our workplaces, worship centers, schools, streets and etc to show our solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine. This should also send a clear message to the Israeli regime and its allies that the teeming world of humanity is watching them, and will no longer sit idly as innocent Palestinians are massacred in cold blood.
In addition, we can demand and mount pressure on our governments to cut all diplomatic ties and stop all economic dealings with the murderous, illegitimate Israeli regime; and to officially recognize the regime as the terrorist state that they truly are! Our countries should borrow a leaf from such countries as Spain, Norway and Ireland who have recently follow the footsteps of other dozen countries that cut off all ties with Israel and officially recognize the Palestinian state.
We can also demand that the International Community impose sanctions against Israeli officials for their unspeakable war crimes against innocent Palestinian civilians. In the same vein, economic blockade should be enforced to the very organizations that fund the activities of the terrorist Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Furthermore, we can boycott all products produced by Israel and the companies that support or fund their act of terrorism. This will cause a huge economic blow to the murderous regime, and will hamper their ability to locally produce or buy arms with which they use to kill innocent and defenseless Palestinian civilians.
At individual level, we can contribute to the Palestinian struggle for freedom and right to self-determination by sending relief aids either directly (through reliable #GoFundMe projects) or through their representatives in various countries. We can also help raise awareness by joining campaigns on social and print media regarding the flight of the Palestinian people.
What is happening in Palestine is arguably the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Our silence is giving way for more Israeli genocide. We are enablers of this very crime against humanity, until we wake up and do the needful. As the South African anti-apartheid movement leader, Nelson Mandela, rightly puts it during his Presidential inaugural speech in 1994 that: “We know too well that our Freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people”.
- Najeeb Maigatari ( Maigatari313@gmail.com )
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