Free Palestine: Ceasefire and Land Back Now

There is a heart-breaking tragedy currently happening in Gaza, Palestine and it has been difficult to witness and I can’t even imagine living through what people in Gaza and Palestine are living through. As I am writing this on October 30, 2023 at 9 am CT the latest update from the Ministry of Health in Gaza is that a total amount of 8,306 people have been killed and 21,048 wounded. Of those killed, 3,457 are children. Who is responsible for murdering all of these people? It is the zionists and the Israeli Offensive Force, the IOF. For the past several decades, the people of Palestine have been under a brutal occupation carried out by zionists. The goal of the occupation is to steal the land in Palestine and replace the people indigenous to the land for thousands of years. During their latest attack, the IOF has bombed Gaza non-stop for 23 days now, since October 7, 2023. It is of the utmost importance that people everywhere demand a ceasefire to stop the unbearable massacres happening, and it is also of the utmost importance to demand the end of the occupation.

Once one instance of colonization is learned, one can immediately understand every single time colonization happened or is happening around the world because it is all the same. The same violence, the same goal, the same brutality. After spending years personally learning about the colonization that took place in the Americas, understanding the issue in Palestine was easy. It’s not a ‘complicated and extremely nuanced issue’, it is settler-colonization through and through. The history of settler-colonization in Palestine cannot be denied or overlooked. There are countless books, articles, documentaries, videos, and photographs that have detailed and shown the world the occupation of Palestine. Some are listed below.

A key factor in the occupation is the support that Israel gets from the United States. Using taxpayer’s money, the US sends billions of dollars to Israel. US taxpayers are paying for the occupation that is happening in Palestine because those in charge of allocating the funds unconditionally support Israel and the genocide being committed. US imperialism benefits from Israel occupying Palestine and therefore US government officials support it. This is made evident by their own statements and the narrative US media has perpetuated about the occupation and genocide. However, more and more people living in the United States are in support of a free Palestine. Since October 7, hundreds of protests around the country, and around the world, have erupted in support of Palestine and demanding a ceasefire.

While it is absolutely vital to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, it is equally vital to also demand an end to the occupation that has been happening for decades in Palestine. The ceasefire must happen because Israel should not be allowed to target an entire city. The IOF is targeting innocent people including children which is absolutely horrifying. Thousands have died and there must be an immediate end to the bombardment. In addition, once the ceasefire has taken place, the occupation must not be allowed to continue. Why should the ceasefire happen only for Palestinians to anxiously await the next attack? The root cause of the violence must be addressed, which is the colonization and land theft occurring. Without addressing what started the slaughter that began not on October 7, 2023 but a century ago, the needless death of innocent people will continue. 

At the end of the day, a great injustice is occurring in Palestine and we have a duty to do what we can to stop it. Especially those who are US taxpayers because those tax dollars are directly funding the atrocity happening. An immediate ceasefire is necessary and then the decolonization process must begin. No more land theft, no more displacement, no more ethnic cleansing, no more apartheid, no more genocide.

Books to Read:

On Palestine

The Hundred Years War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance by Rashid Khalidi

Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History by Nur Masalha

The Ethic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe

On Colonialism

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney

Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon