A Year of Palestinians Struggle has been 336 days since October 7, 2023, when fighting between Palestinian rebel forces and occupation forces got worse. Today is September 7, 2024. Intense fighting has been going on during this time, and the global media have mostly blamed Hamas for the violence and said that it was caused by Palestinian opposition. To fully understand what’s going on, it’s important to look at what happened before October 7 and the bigger picture of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially from the Palestinian point of view.
Context of the Conflict
There has been constant bloodshed and injustice in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, which is caused by deep-seated historical and systemic problems. A big increase in violence happened on October 7, 2023, which was the start of a new phase of violence. The news has talked a lot about this attack, mostly in terms of what Palestinian opposition groups, especially Hamas, have done. But to understand where the war came from, we need to look at more than just what happened now. We need to look at the ongoing pain of the Palestinian people as well.
Tense times and events before October 7
Displacement and Arrests
People who live in the controlled areas have had a terrible time for a long time, even before October 7, 2023. One important part of this battle is that many Palestinian villages have had to move. In the months before the situation got worse, many news stories talked about how Israeli forces were forcing people to move and arrest people without a reason.
In East Jerusalem, which was a source of conflict, Palestinians struggle were under more and more pressure and had to move. The IDF carried out a big raid in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on July 15, 2023, and forced several Palestinian families to leave their homes. This action was part of a larger trend of moving people around in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. These acts have forced hundreds of families to move, making the humanitarian situation worse and making Palestinians even more angry.
Killings and raids that are against the law
Throughout 2023, there were many stories of killings and aggressive raids by the IDF that did not follow the law. This made Palestinians more angry and tense. On January 26, 2023, Israeli troops raided the Jenin refugee camp, which was one of the scariest events ever. During the raid, at least 10 Palestinians were killed, and many more were hurt. This raid was part of a series of military actions that the IDF said were meant to target terrorist activity but ended up killing a lot of civilians.
Furthermore, raids in February and March 2023 made things even worse. Eight Palestinians were killed and many more were hurt in a raid in Nablus on February 10, 2023. In these operations, which were marked by harshness, Palestinians became more and more frustrated and angry, seeing these actions as part of a larger assault on their rights.
The Nakba and Settlement Expansion
The Nakba, which means “catastrophe,” represents the uprooting and pain that Palestinians struggle have gone through since 1948, when Israel was founded. This terrible event from the past is still felt today, especially since more and more settlements are being built in the West Bank. Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians got worse in 2023 as settlement activity sped up.
The Israeli government gave the go-ahead on May 5, 2023, for the building of new towns in the West Bank, mostly in Hebron and Bethlehem. The foreign community strongly disagreed with this choice, which made things worse on the ground. The growth of settlements takes over more Palestinian land, forcing more Palestinian people to move and making long-standing problems worse. Many people see these kinds of actions as continuations of policies that have long pushed the Palestinian people to the edges of society and abused them.
Blockades and the Effects on Humanitarian Aid
Although it has been in place since 2007, the siege of Gaza has made it very hard for Palestinians to get food and medical care. Because of the lockdown, there were major shortages of basic goods like food and medicine throughout 2023. Reports from July and August 2023 showed that things were getting worse in Gaza. Hospitals were seriously lacking medical supplies, and the power went out often because there wasn’t enough fuel.
The blockade has caused a terrible humanitarian disaster and made it very hard for Palestinians in Gaza to go about their daily lives. Moving goods and people around has been limited, which has made things worse for civilians by causing widespread shortages and worsening living conditions. Not only does the blockage hurt people’s health, it also makes them feel lost and depressed all the time.
Response to Protests and Demonstrations
Along with military activities and the growth of settlements, the way people have responded to Palestinian protests and rallies has also contributed to the rise in violence. In 2023, Palestinians held many demonstrations against Israeli policies, such as ones against the blockade of Gaza and the growth of Israeli settlements.
When Israeli forces stepped in on June 12, 2023, a big protest in Ramallah against the growth of settlements went violent. At least five protesters were killed, and many more were hurt when security guards used live ammo and tear gas. These kinds of actions show how tough and often violent Israeli security forces are when there are peaceful protests. This makes the conflict worse and makes Palestinians more angry.
Effects on everyday life
You can’t say enough about how these events have affected the Palestinian civilian community as a whole. The ongoing bloodshed, displacement, and humanitarian disaster have deeply influenced Palestinians’ daily lives. Families have been forced to leave their homes, neighborhoods have been broken up, and the economy has gotten a lot worse.
It also takes a big toll on the mental health of Palestinian people. People feel unsafe and traumatized all the time because of the constant fear of violence and the loss of homes and jobs. This continuous pain has made people feel desperate and angry, which has led to pushback and strife. The results of all of these problems together show how strong the Palestinian people are in the face of structural problems.
Summary of Casualties
The number of Palestinian deaths has been very high during this time of rising unrest. Several human rights groups have kept records of the people who have died in military missions and violent battles. For instance, on March 7, 2023, there was an attack in Nablus that killed 15 Palestinians and hurt many more. These numbers only show a small part of how things have affected the Palestinian people as a whole.
A lot of Palestinians have been hurt or forced to leave their homes, which makes the humanitarian situation worse. The deaths of these people have made the war worse and made people on both sides more angry. The fact that so many people have been killed shows how bad the war is and how quickly it needs to end so that the real problems can be fixed.
