Last night, the BBC aired a documentary portraying a deadly 2014 protest under the Arab-Israeli conflict. One Day in Gaza, a raw and ground-breaking documentary, highlighted the ravaging effects the battle over the Land of Palestine has had on Palestinian people.
Since President Trump announced the U.S embassy transfer to Jerusalem, a shocking 290 Palestinians in border protests between 2018-19. On the contrary, only 14 Israeli Defense Force soldiers have been killed during the violent revolt. This is clearly a disproportionate war against an occupied territory. Whilst Palestine struggles in life-or-death situations, the western world turns a blind eye by continuing to align with a warmongering Israeli government.
Hamas, who rules over the Gaza strip, has been deemed a terrorist group internationally with clear evidence to back this. However, it is unfair and unjust to excuse the attacks on the Gaza strip as attacks on Hamas. The majority of Palestine strenuously condemn the policies of Hamas, but the Israeli-Egyptian blockade and the fact that most live in poverty means they have little power to usurp their rulers. Their hands are also tied as Hamas assist and offer leadership to Palestinians who are intent on returning to their descendants’ homeland.
Israel is, unequivocally, a hawkish and aggressive nation towards the Palestinian population they displaced 71 years ago. Their militant approach to Gaza and the West Bank has increased now that the conservative stalwart, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been re-elected as the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history. Their coziness with America and Europe has meant they have received large supplies of arms over the years via trade deals, allowing them to carry out militant tactics against their Arab neighbors.
What coincides is America’s consistent but grotesque alliance with Israel through the expulsion of the Palestinians. This decade-old rhetoric has been driven further right by the Trump administration. The president de-funded aid to Palestine and has given an ill-informed advisor the task to outline a peace plan between the countries. It is fair to suggest the peace process will be almost entirely favorable to the Israeli government and its supporters.
Meanwhile, the U.K has not faltered in its bilateral relations with Israel. Israel lobbyists in parliament are proponents of Zionism and continue to ignore the abject horror happening in the Middle East. A new British political party, made up mostly of defected Labour MPs, has blamed the left’s blasé approach to tackling gross antisemitism in its ranks as a reason for breaking away. Change UK, formed by Labour Friends of Israel figures, are valid when debunking antisemitism. But their unwavering promotion of Israel does little to liberate an oppressed ethnic group in Palestine.
The documentary, although harrowing, was a stark reminder to the goings-on of an all-out war with no end in sight. Yes, it’s authentic to label Hamas as a terrorist organization. Yet to tarnish all the inhabitants of Gaza with the same brush is absurd. Internal protests within Palestine have ensued against the Hamas government. The electorate recoil at their increasingly impoverished nation and Hamas’ weakness in alleviating it. The imprudence of Hamas means Palestine is further away from freedom than ever. They have also given British and American politicians the chance to scapegoat terrorism for their failure to encourage diplomacy and freedom for all in the Middle East.
