Free Palestine
GEOGRAPHICALLY located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, Palestine has historically been around for almost 3200 years. The religious importance of this area has stemmed from the holy city of Jerusalem and Bethlehem which are sacred to the believers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Unfortunately, over the last two centuries, the State of Palestine has delved under constant geo-political/religious conflict and its people continue to be subject to one of the greatest human rights violations to date akin to ethnic cleansing.
After World War 2, with the rising anti-Semitism in Europe and the Holocaust (Nazism) – the movement for a State of Jews gained increased traction. Rather than being relocated in other areas of Europe or America, the Zionist Movement seeking a sovereign State of Jews; sought out the place of Palestine in the Arab side of the world. This sparked the 1948 Palestine War (Arab-Israeli War)— an estimated 720,000+ Arab Palestinians out of 900,000 who lived in the territory at the time were forced to flee and were expelled forcefully from their homes against the Zionist Movement who claimed the land as their own. It is pertinent to mention that the religion of the Judaism and the Zionist movement do not go hand in hand, although it has been painted as such.
While the Jewish religious belief holds that the Land of Israel is a God-given inheritance based on the Torah – the Zionist Movement twisted this belief into forcing Palestinian territory to be the homeland for the Jews. The United Nations, rather than protecting the people already living on the land, adopted a Partition Plan for Palestine – creating an Independent Jewish and Arab land, with a special international regime for the city of Jerusalem. 62% of the said land was allocated to the Jewish state of Israel despite the already situated Palestinians who were double the population of the Jews.
Needless to say, the indigenous Palestinian people and the people of the Arab world vehemently opposed such a resolution. In response, fighting broke out with the Palestinian Arabs and the Israeli’s – one hoped to prevent the forced establishment of a Jewish state on their land, while the other hoped to gain the territory allowed to them by the UN and more. Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco and Saudi Arabia have all been in official wars against the state of Israel due to the Israeli’s increased encroachment over lands they were not granted. Interestingly, some of these countries have legitimately recognised the state of Israel.
No religion advocates for war let alone war over different religious beliefs – but this war was justified and seen as an invasion of peoples homes by an outsider. Till date, attacks have been carried out on a massive scale by the Israeli Defence Forces on the Palestinians who refuse to abandon their homes. First was to violently uproot people from their homes, second was to erase the Palestinian history/connection to the land and third was to ensure they never return back to their land – all signs of ethnic cleansing which persists till today.
A Palestinian was asked how many prayers they conduct in a day – the answer is 5 but the Palestinian answered with 6 – the prayers of Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha and the funeral prayer known as the Janaza. While the Muslim world prays for the freedom of Palestine, the West continues to neglect the pleas of the Palestinians and the constant warfare they are surrounded in. They have raised more for Ukraine and taken harsher steps (sanctions) against Russia over the last year than they have for Palestine against Israel for the last 76 years.
—The writer is Lawyer, Businessman.
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