For the safety and privacy of the interviewee, the following article will refer to them under the name “Nimer A.”
Jan. 15, 2024, marked 100 days since Oct. 7, meaning it has been more than 100 days of continuous bombings, killings, starvation, and collective punishment of Palestinians by the Zionist regime of Israel.
This is the first televised genocide in history, yet there is no ceasefire in sight.
This recent aggression is worse than any of the other aggressions Palestinians have experienced — with at least 25,500 people killed and 63,000 wounded.
But has it really been 100 days? For Palestinians like Nimer A., it’s been nearly 76 years since the ongoing occupation, killings, and dehumanization of Palestinians and their land. Before the Nakba, Nimer and his family lived a normal life.
“We lived a good life. We owned land and a house; it’s still there until now, but we were forced to leave; the settlers blew it up, then took it over,” Nimer said. “Once you leave Palestine, you can’t come back, and if you choose to stay, you can’t leave.”
The Nakba, which took place between 1947 and 1949, is the horrific event where at least 750,000 Palestinians were forced to leave Palestine. Zionist military forces stole almost all Palestinian land, killed around 15,000 Palestinians, and destroyed over 400 villages. As a result of this, there are now over 7 million Palestinian refugees around the world.
It didn’t start on Oct. 7; this genocide has been ongoing since 1948. Palestinians have been forced to endure decades of systematic killings and oppression, and it’s only now that people have started to see the truth. But even then, the killings haven’t stopped; they have only intensified, with areas like Khan Younis being faced with constant bombardment.
As of now, there are six ambulances and 15 barely functioning hospitals left in Gaza for over 2 million people. Not only is forced displacement of civilians forbidden under international law, but so is collective punishment in all circumstances. In fact, it’s considered a war crime to impose collective punishment on people.
The question of why Israel is not being held accountable for its war crimes remains unanswered. It could be because it’s protected by Western countries like the United States and Canada or because of the fact that Western media has a history of demeaning Arabs and Muslims to excuse the death of thousands of Palestinians. From repeating debunked misinformation to platforming Zionists who label Palestinians as “animals,” it all serves the Western agenda.
In hopes of holding Israel accountable for its war crimes, South Africa has opened a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for its genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. This is the first time any country has stood up to Israel in this capacity.
Most recently, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented on the South African appeal to the ICJ, stating, “Our wholehearted support of the ICJ and its processes does not mean we support the premise of the case brought forward by South Africa.”
This statement is not only a denial of the ongoing genocide of Palestinians but a commitment to Israel while ignoring their war crimes. His statement further proves Canada’s complicity in the 25,500 Palestinians killed in the last 110 days.
“Before the Nakba, we [Palestinian Arabs and Christians] lived peacefully with Jewish people,” said Nimer.
He describes Palestinians before the Nakba as one big family of people who helped each other, “We all knew each other; it was our duty to take care of each other.”
So, while momentum has slowed down and the conversation begins to die down, innocent children, women, and men are still being brutally killed. This is the reality for Palestinians; they can’t move on with their daily lives. They are forced to endure massacres of their own people, starvation and forced displacement. People like Nimer wake up not knowing if another loved one in Palestine has been injured or even worse.
“Palestine has lived longer than the Nakba, longer than anything, and it will continue to live on no matter what,” said Nimer.