Like so many of us, I have been deeply heartbroken watching the scenes from Gaza as the occupational forces bombard it with ariel, navel and ground attacks. Gaza is a densely populated strip with over 2 million residents, over half of whom are children (according to Save The Children) living on land that is 41 km long, from 6 to 12 km wide, and has a total area of 365 km² making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world. It has been described by multiple aid agencies, charities and governments as the worlds largest open air prison as all the borders surrounding Gaza are controlled by the occupational forces with the Mediterranean sea to the west. The strip has been under blockade since 2007 and the occupiers control the airspace, shoreline and what goods (food, water, electricity, health supplies etc) are allowed in and out of Gaza. According to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) 1.7 million of the Palestinians in Gaza are refugees

Gaza is of course part of wider Palestine, which is currently being occupied. The map above shows how land has been slowly encroached and occupied from 1947. Before 1918, Palestine was predominantly under Ottoman rule and then it was occupied by the British until 1948. The British, with their long history of colonialism, slavery and dividing up lands that don’t belong to them in order to create political turmoil and instability around the world, made a pledge in 1917 declaring its aims to establish “a national home for the Jewish people” and the land they picked was Palestine. The statement came in the form of a letter from our then foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish Community. Thus was born The Balfour Declaration. Whilst Palestine was home to Muslims, Christians and Jews at the time, the latter made up less than 10 percent of the population. The main goal of the Balfour Declaration was to create a “Jewish National Home”. As such, the British began facilitating the immigration of European Jews to Palestine immediately. The Jewish population grew to 27 percent from 1922 to 1935. The declaration included the clause “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine” however it was set up to equip Jews to establish self-rule at the expense of the other religious communities.

The reason for the Balfour Declaration continues to be a matter of debate amongst academics and historians. There are many reasons cited but the main ones are: the strategic location of Palestine which would allow the British control of the Suez Canal, and the new state would be a powerful ally to the British in the Arab world. The British needed the USA and Russia to continue their efforts in WW1. Some argued that the government of the time were Zionists themselves whilst others state it was out of anti-Semitic reasoning, to deal with the “Jewish problem” in Europe. Whatever the reason, Israel was born in 1948 and since then, has systemically and violently continued in its ethic cleansing of Palestinians and it’s settler colonialism project of taking over all of Palestine. The British, after training armed paramilitary Jewish groups and helping them establish an army, decided to terminate their mandate in 1947 and hand over Palestine to the United Nations. However, before doing so they allowed Jews to establish self-governing institutions setting them up for statehood whilst explicitly forbidding the Palestinians from the same right, paving the way for the 1948 ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

The Balfour Declaration was the precursor the the 1948 Palestinian Nakba or “catastrophe”. The Creation of the state of Israel was a violent process in which more than 750,000 Palestinians, from a population of 1.9 million, were forcibly removed from their homeland to establish a Jewish-majority state. In the next few years Zionist forces would take control of 78 percent of Palestine, ethnically cleanse over 530 villages and cities and killing over 15,000 Palestinians, including over 70 massacres. To this day, Israel continues to oppress and humiliate the Palestinian population.

Israel is a settler colonial, white supremist state, that was established less than 100 years ago. Mainstream media keep peddling lies about Palestinians in order to dehumanise them. The Israeli occupying forces, supported by western governments, has used language such as “beastly people” and “animals” to describe Palestinians and ordered a ” Complete siege” of the Gaza Strip – “no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed” essentially starving an entire population and using collective punishment which under international law is illegal. The Israeli occupying forces rely on misinformation and the complete and unquestioning support of Western governments to be able to continue indiscriminately killing Palestinians. In their own words they have talked about “flattening” Gaza. Senators in America have advocated to “eliminate” and “eradicate” Gaza. In the UK our intellectually challenged home secretary is pushing to ban the waving of the Palestinian flag. Israeli propagation is rife on all social media, while META proactively shadowbans anything pro Palestinian, Youtube is currently running an advert by Israel’s foreign affairs ministry aimed at parents with young children, spreading the now debunked lie that 40 babies were beheaded in the initial attack. Portraying black and brown bodies as savages is a classic colonialist tactic. It’s so ingrained into the white psyche that even today white women will call the police on innocent black men just living their lives as the myth of our men wanting to rape white women continues to live on in peoples imaginations. This is another lie Israel has been spreading and western media outlets, with not a single shred of evidence, sharing.

Palestine is, until its liberation, a human rights issue. While it might be scary looking at the press and media, and listening to the disgusting defence of Apartheid by our governments, commentators and (for some reason) celebrities, we all know these people don’t have an iota of credibility. It might seem daunting going up against what seems an impenetrable plethora of misinformation and hatred, but we can turn the tide. It has always been people power that has propelled change, not ill informed famous people and never corrupt governments. More and more people are waking up to the atrocities of settler colonialism and using their voices and platforms to educate and inform. You don’t have to have a huge social media presence, but if you care about the Palestinian cause I urge you to share, retweet, like and speak out about the misinformation we are continuously bombarded with. Stop reading right wing press and challenge the BBC and other media outlets on their bias coverage. Whenever you see or hear misinformation, if you can, challenge it.

There are not two sides to this, nor is it complicated or a conflict. What is happening in Gaza at this very moment is tantamount to genocide with Israel using chemical warfare and collective punishment on a trapped group of people. They are in breach of International law and have been condemned by leading human rights charities, not that mainstream media will have reported any of that. Before Saturday, Palestine was still an occupied land. If you believe that all people have a right to defend their families, homes and land, you have to be on the side of Palestinians. If you think settler colonialism is wrong, you have to defend the Palestinians. If you think killing women and children is abhorrent, then again, you have to be on the side of the Palestinians. They are trapped in Gaza tonight, but they have been living under military occupation for 75 years. They don’t have the strongest army in the world, in fact they don’t have an army, nor do they have an iron dome or air raid shelters to protect them from the constant barrage of missiles. They are fighting for their freedom with their lives. Be on the side of truth and justice, silence is not an option, its siding with the occupier.

David beat Goliath, and the sun set on the British empire, it might seem against the odds but, Palestine will be free, inshahAllah.