In recent days, President Trump has overturned some of the small restrictions that the Biden administration had placed on Israel, garnering high praise from Israel’s far-right.
The Palestinian Authority’s deadly military operation in Jenin continues to fan the flames of internal tensions in the West Bank. Meanwhile, Israeli leaders are calling for ‘Gaza-like’ operations in the West Bank, and to cut all ties with the PA.
Even now, in moments of joy, all we think about are the things we lost, like celebrating a child’s birthday, celebrating the new year, or even the simple pleasure of gathering as a family without fear of the Israeli death that hovers around us.
The expansive territorial ambitions of creating a “Greater Israel” once seemed only to be a right-wing Zionist fantasy. Today, current events in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria show it might be closer than many ever thought possible.
The Palestinian Authority is in the midst of a deadly operation it says is to ‘restore law and order’ in the Jenin refugee camp, home to the Jenin Brigade. But as the PA seeks to assert its control, it could risks undermining itself in the process.
Residents of a number of Gaza City neighborhoods received evacuation orders from the Israeli military, fueling fears that Israel may be extending it’s military operation, ‘The General’s Plan’ from the northern areas of Gaza to Gaza City.
Israeli forces moved further into the Syrian Golan, forcing entire towns to evacuate. While Netanyahu celebrated what he says will be an “eternal” Israeli presence in Syria, U.S. officials insist Israel’s occupation of Syrian lands is “temporary.”
Over more than a year of war, I have volunteered to help my people in Gaza, wrapping friends and family into shrouds, but also helping bring new life into the world.
Despite being the victims of an attack on our own land, we now face the possibility of imprisonment. It’s not a normal way of life, but it has become the normalized reality under Israeli occupation.