Today I have been in contact with one of my Palestinian friends in the West Bank (what Israel calls Samaria and Judea).
Street demonstrations have been organized in several cities to show the people’s outrage over the Israeli attacks against worshipers praying in the al-Aqsa mosque.
They are also protesting Israel’s massive bombing campaign in Gaza now killing men, women, and children.
The fact that Israel claims that Hamas has launched over 1,100 missiles into Israel demonstrates how amateurish and ineffective the Hamas rockets
really are. They lack targeting abilities and the vast majority explode in unpopulated areas.
I asked my friend if he thought these tragic events were the beginning of another Intifada (Arabic for “uprising.” Since the 1980s, there have been two intifadas in Israel-Palestine.)
He said, “Yes. I think it’s already begun.”
Israeli soldiers are attacking and arresting many unarmed, peaceful demonstrators. But this is standard fare in the Occupied Territories.
Palestinians have no civil rights whatsoever.
My friend asked me why the US president won’t tell Israel to stop the Gaza bombings.
You can read his words for yourself:
People here are fed up. I hope this will be over soon. Lives are lost. This seems like the only route for us to get attention. (Israel’s) persecutions and more grabbing of lands and rights are unbeatable now. They (Israelis) keep pushing and killing and we are asked to keep quiet and peaceful. They push and kill but our lives don’t matter to the world, and this so-called civilized country (the US) is calling us the terrorists and poor Israel has the right to defend itself. The US administration calls the security of Israel a matter of American national security. Isn’t there a courageous journalist to ask the speaker of the house, “Why is that so?”
I wish I could tell him that Palestinian lives DID matter to the United States.
But, then, I would by lying.
