She was treating a protestor struck by a
tear gas canister when the Israeli Defence
Force (IDF) sniper’s bullet ripped through
her white medic’s jacket and slammed
into her chest. 21 year old Palestinian
nurse and volunteer medic, Razan Al-
Najjar died in a cloud of tear gas outside
the Palestinian town of Khan Younis on
the Gaza Strip. She was murdered on the
same day the U.S. vetoed a resolution at
the U.N. Security Council demanding
an end to Israel’s “shoot to kill policy” of
firing on unarmed demonstrators in Gaza.
Israel has again accelerated its violence
against Palestinians in the face of a
widespread non-violent protest campaign
titled “The Great March of Return.” For
more than two months the campaign has
consistently mobilized thousands leading
up to May 15, which marked 70 years since
“the Nakba” (Catastrophe), when the state
of Israel was proclaimed on Palestinian
land and the ethnic cleansing of 750,000
Palestinians began.
The situation became even more drastic
on May 14, when U.S. President Donald
Trump’s daughter and son-in-law held
a ceremony to mark the provocative
relocation of the US embassy from Tel
Aviv to Jerusalem. Unarmed Palestinians
protested at an Israeli-enforced, armed
border and were massacred by the IDF.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported
that the Israeli army had murdered 60
Palestinians and injured 2,771 in less than
24 hours.
In total, 111 Palestinians had
been killed and 12,733 injured
by the IDF during the campaign.
Despite massive violence,
Palestinians have continued to
mobilize. Israel has responded
by killing more Palestinians,
including Razan.
Why Gaza?
A 2012 U.N. report predicted the
Gaza Strip would be “unliveable” by 2020
if nothing was done to ease the blockade
– which Israel imposed ten years ago
after the citizens of Gaza democratically
elected the political party Hamas. Israel
totally controls all land, air and sea entry
to Gaza and severely restricts access to
even food and construction materials.
The Norwegian Refugee Council
Reports that, “Gaza is described by many
Palestinians and humanitarian actors as
the world’s largest open-air prison, where
1.94 million Palestinians live behind a
blockade and are refused access to the
other occupied Palestinian areas and
the rest of the world...1.6 million, or 84
percent, of the population in Gaza need
humanitarian aid.”
What Does Israel Mean When it Says
“Peace”?
The Israeli government has blamed the
unarmed protestors for their own murders,
calling the demonstrations at the border
“acts of war” and self-exempting itself
from human rights.
The idea that a few
thousand unarmed
Palestinians pose a
military threat to
a nuclear weapons
holding state which
spends $21.6 billion a
year on the military is
indeed a cynical spin.
In equally cynical
maneuverings, Israeli
Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu continues to say
Israel will “welcome, as always” peace
negotiations with Palestinians. This
happens as he also pledges to advance and
approve 3,900 new Israeli settler units in
the West Bank and destroy Palestinian
villages to make the room.
One State and 1948
The only real solution to the ongoing crisis
is based in fundamental human rights.
The hundreds of thousands of Palestinian
refugees who were driven out in 1948, who
have now grown into millions of displaced
families, have the recognized “Right of
Return” to their houses and homeland. It
is also clear that the Zionist state of Israel,
which is explicitly based on the rights of
Jewish citizens above all others, comes at
the direct expense of the human rights of
Palestinians. A “two state” solution will
never be viable because it is unable to solve
those two huge human rights violations on
which Israel is based.
Razan Al-Najjar and the tens of thousands
of especially young Palestinians that risk
death daily are proving that Israel cannot
shoot its way out of the human rights crisis
it has created for the past 70 years. One
state, with equal rights, is the only viable
solution. Those who say this is unrealistic
must ask themselves what kind of sick
status quo they are upholding, and what
kind of demented peace they are really
building. Palestinians have not given
up their struggle for dignity and selfdetermination,
and neither should we.
Follow Thomas Davies on Twitter: @thomasdavies59
Back to Article Listing
