By Nejoud Al-Yagout
Yes, October 7 was abominable. No human being would support the killing of another human being. It goes against our universal spiritual principles. But October 7 has been happening every single day to Palestinians since the actual October 7, but nobody saves the date of October 7, October 8, October 9, October 10 and every single day since (and before) that day to today.
In fact, Palestine has had so many October 7s in the last century that people around the world, no matter how frustrated and anguished, have become almost hopeless in the face of Zionist atrocities. It seems as though the Zionists will keep up their justifications for protecting their security until the world realizes that something is amiss.
Let’s ponder for ourselves who needs more protection from whom: How many Zionist refugees are there in the world? How many Zionist refugee shelters are there? How many Zionists have had their homes invaded by Palestinians? How many Zionists need proper documentation to travel from one part of the land to another? How many Zionists rely on donations to keep their families afloat?
How many Zionists have had their farmland stolen or their source of welfare stripped from them? How many Zionists have had their homes bulldozed?
How many Zionist children face snipers or are maimed? How many Zionist children have been killed? How many Zionists are afraid to go to school out of fear of being bombed? How many Zionists are arrested at checkpoints? How many Zionist protestors are killed through a fence? How many Zionists are not allowed to return home from abroad? How many Zionists face enforced exodus from their country? How many Zionist journalists have been shot at or killed? How many Zionists wake up to settlers from other countries taunting or harassing them?
When Zionists run away from their country, they run away out of choice, to protect themselves from the instability of the region or potential terrorism or because they want to live elsewhere. Many have dual citizenship or relatives in other countries. They have the privilege to come and go whenever they choose.
Palestinians and Lebanese, however, do not have a choice. They leave because their houses have been reduced to rubble, their relatives have been slaughtered, and bombs go off continuously, day in and day out. And many Palestinians are not allowed to return to their land once they leave. Can you imagine not being allowed to return home by someone who is not even from your homeland? Palestinians leave because they cannot handle yet another funeral or more hospital expenses for the wounded. So, let’s ponder once more: Who needs more protection from the other? Who?
And as the Palestinians run away from a life of horror, we watch in disbelief as Zionists close borders so that food and aid and medicine cannot reach the needy. We watch in disbelief as they warn people to flee only to bomb them while they do. The Zionists claim that they are after terrorists. But more than 42,000 people have been killed since October 7. More than 42,000 people! That is more than the entire population of Liechtenstein! Who needs more protection, one asks...
It has been a year since the attacks, and the Zionists keep bombing, killing, maiming, fighting and invading. They keep finding ways to justify murder and retaliation against retaliation, even when their neighbors agree to a ceasefire. When more of us realize that Palestinians deserve a way out of their endless cycle of "October 7s”, the region can finally know peace. It’s beyond time.
local@kuwaittimes.com