Palestine: Immortal land of peace and prophets

Palestine: Immortal land of peace and prophets
Dome of the Rock mosque in Palestine

The Israeli occupation of Palestine is a conflict that has taken years for the international community to try to resolve, and it will continue to lead the global scene until it is settled one day. The struggle of the Palestinian people is true, and the loss witnessed by every house and family in this sacred land is endless. 

 

The Israeli occupation started after Britain announced the end of the Mandate and the United Nations suggested dividing Palestine into distinct Jewish and Arab governments in 1947, with international sovereignty over Jerusalem and its surroundings. However, the Arab High Committee opposed division. As the British Mandate ended, Israel proclaimed its independence in 1948, according to the BBC. 

 

Since then, there have been conflicts, escalations, agreements, and attacks between the two sides. The Israeli occupation’s army has launched numerous violent attacks, leading to the death, injury, and detention of thousands of Palestinians. In response, Palestinian Fedayeen (self-sacrifices) have launched attacks against the occupation.

 

Since 2008, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has been keeping an eye on the conflict's fatalities. According to their figures, 5,600 Palestinians died and 115,000 were injured up until 2020. Over the same period, 5,600 Israelis were injured and 250 Israelis died. 

 

When Israel launched Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in 2014 in response to the kidnapping and death of three boys, violence was particularly terrible. More than 2,000 people died as a result of the seven-week campaign, most of them Gazans. In 2018, there were also significant demonstrations at the Israel-Gaza border, which resulted in the injury of more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to OCHA.

 

The history of Palestine is full of heroic examples of Palestinians who decided to defend their land and the dignity of their people.

 

Jusoor Post met in Jordan with one of these Palestinian examples, who asked to be kept anonymous. He proudly told his story.

 

He was born in Al-Khalil, Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, and lived almost his whole life there. He and his three brothers were always defending their land and city.

 

“I used to be a fedayee and my brothers as well. I am proud to be one,” he said, adding, “We left Palestine after executing some operations because we were wanted by the occupation’s authorities.”

 

He went to Egypt and worked as a driver for seven years, and he is now working as a driver in Jordan and cannot return to his hometown. 



“I am an old man now. My sons, daughters, and grandchildren live in Palestine, and they come to Jordan to visit me every now and then,” he said. 

 

When asked about whether he misses his own city, he enthusiastically replied, “I do miss it. I am a Palestinian and I will always be. It is still written in my identity card.” 

 

He showed us pictures of his ID and his family. He affirmed that he still smells and tastes Palestine in the olives that his family brings him from Al-Khalil every time they visit him. 

 

He referred to Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem as magical. “Whenever I went to pray there, I felt something different every time. Something I cannot put in words. It is a spiritual feeling. I sensed there are no barriers between me and God and that I am directly connected to heaven.” 

 

 


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