The Gaza Strip is being wiped out and destroyed. Innocent people, including women and children, are dying. Is this really happening? Pictures of dead bodies, people bleeding to death, people becoming paralyzed and losing their family members (not to mention their homes). I ask if this is really happening because it seems like a horror movie.
It has now been two weeks since Israeli air raids and ground forces have been massacring innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. According to the latest U.N. statistic, the Israeli Army has left more than 800 Palestinians dead and upward of 3,000 wounded, many among them women, children and civilians. And the numbers continue to increase.
Whatever little economic activity the Palestinians had has been destroyed and more than 1.5 million Palestinians are running short of food, fuel, medicine and basic supplies needed to live. The Israeli government has rejected a cease-fire plan, preventing the possibility of a quick end to the violence and bloodshed. In fact, for the last 18 months, Israel has blockaded Gaza, starving its Palestinian residents, depriving them of fuel, medical supplies and basic humanitarian aid. Israel’s refusal to accept a cease-fire must be condemned in the strongest possible way by all people globally. Israel must be compelled to an unconditional cease-fire, and to lift the blockade of Gaza.
I find it so inhuman and disgusting that Israeli officials stated that the rejection to the cease-fire was justified in order to maintain pressure on Hamas, the democratically elected government of Palestine. One should ask the Israeli government how dropping bombs on innocent civilians (including women, children, and the elderly) constitutes putting pressure on Hamas? It only makes the situation worse. Israel’s strategy of changing the model of the Palestinian government by killing innocent civilians is not only counterproductive, it is inhumane and barbaric.
It is evident that the mentality of the Israeli government to use violent force has only created more victims who are reacting in a hostile manner. By hurting the entire population of Gaza, Israel produces more hatred toward itself and its ally, the United States of America. This cycle of hatred and the atmosphere of revenge make it impossible to sustain any sort of diplomatic negotiations.
We as both UCLA Bruins and Americans (regardless of our ethnicity, religion, gender, level of education, profession, or socioeconomic backgrounds) must stand up against this injustice ““ these inhumane acts ““ and demand dignity for the Palestinian people who, just like all human beings, have the right to live and to live peacefully. The occupation continues to brutally kill, oppress and starve the Palestinian people, and we must not wait silently for change.
Palestinians are desperate for what we as Americans cherish the most, which is freedom and the right to live.
Ahmad is a second-year graduate student in Islamic Studies.