When Israel claimed women were sexually assaulted on a mass scale on October 7, the world exploded. Almost the entirety of Israel’s genocidal war was based on these and other allegations, many unsubstantiated. We all remember the infamous’40 beheaded babies” story, do we not?

This article is not about Israeli allegations per se, neither will it only focus on violations against Palestinian women. This is about a world that is immediately up in arms when one side merely alleges atrocities while it turns a blind eye to actual documented violations against the “other”.

In Gaza, it is painfully clear that we indeed, are ‘the other’. How else can anyone explain the muted cries of women being stripped, raped, starved and murdered practically in real time, on our phone screens, documented in UN reports and described in horrific detail in eyewitness testimonies? There is no other explanation than that Palestinians are what Arundhati Roy calls “Children of a lesser God”. We are the victims of deep-rooted colonialism, one whose geographic demarcations may have vanished but whose insidious, dehumanizing mentality still prevails and manifests in the ugliest of manners.

For nearly six months, Palestinians have endured unspeakable atrocities at the hands of Israel’s occupying army. Today, the Gaza Strip has been reduced to an emaciated shell of what it once was. As Gaza is being systematically decimated and ethnically cleansed, the world, for the most part, looks on. Barring sympathetic supporters and a few well-intended but timid political actors, nothing has been done to stop the carnage. Palestinians once believed there was no way the world would allow Israel to erase Gaza off the map, no way it could see a live-streamed genocide and do nothing. But that is exactly what is happening.

Then, when we thought things could not get any worse, something unfathomable emerged from the deathtrap of Gaza. When this happened, we were certain it would be the turning point in this hellish nightmare. Well-documented reports, corroborated by the UN and eyewitnesses on the ground, told of harrowing stories of sexual assault against Palestinian women in Gaza.

We were paralysed with horror when we heard of women being raped by Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza, assaulted and stripped in front of their families. What’s worse, we all know that in times like these, the undocumented atrocities will far outnumber those documented. Who knows what horrors will unfold once the dust settles in Gaza; no doubt they will be so horrific, our entire nation will be traumatized for years to come.

The real question here is not how Israel’s soldiers perpetrated such gross violations. I think by now we can all agree that this depraved military establishment and its political echelon to boot, has dehumanized and vilified Palestinians so much and for so long, they will justify just about anything. No, the question is more about the moral compass of the rest of the world. While alliances and political interests are always part of the equation, even when the issue pertains to basic human rights, nothing can better explain the blatant hypocrisy, double standards and loss of collective humanity than the deafening silence today.

Our women have not only been killed, starved and displaced, they have been exposed to the very violations that sparked global outrage and a genocidal war against an entire population under occupation, unprecedented in modern history. This is not only unacceptable, it is an indelible stain on humanity. Sexual violence is a crime so heinous it is imperative to condemn and prevent, no matter the perpetrator or the victim. That must always be the baseline in any argument.

Palestinians will never get past this genocide; it is not something you can come back from. However, be assured, this is not only about the Palestinians. The world’s women, the majority of so-called feminists who have remained disgustingly silent, must know this: when you do not stand up for women, all women, no one will stand up for you in your time of need.

I once heard that anger is not a real emotion, but a cover for other feelings such as sadness, disappointment or fear. You need to peel back that outer layer to understand what is really going on inside.

Strange how this has lately resurfaced for me, but I think I know why. Lately, I and surely, millions of other Palestinians, have been filled with a blinding rage -- at Israel, at the United States, and at the world overall. This is a rage that is all-encompassing, the depth of which is palpable at the cellular level, permeating every molecule and every atom of our being. The genocide in the Gaza Strip has grated our emotions raw and we are left stinging and burning from our head to our toes.

Our anger is like a huge magnetosphere and we are all trapped inside, but its walls are translucent and we can see the source of our rage mocking us from beyond. We Palestinians are angry because we are so disappointed and we are angry because we are disillusioned and we are angry because we are drowning in sorrow.

Our disappointment lies in the fact that the world has failed us in the worst possible way and has allowed the unspeakable to be committed against us. Genocide is the ‘mother of all crimes’ and, contrary to the promises, the conventions and the historical lessons the world was supposed to learn, it has been committed over and over again. The Palestinian genocide, however, is unique in at least one way: it is live-streamed, which means no one can claim ignorance and everyone has a responsibility in stopping it. Hence, our disappointment is not limited to countries, Arab or otherwise, or to international and human rights organizations. It has spread to everyone in our orbit; acquaintances and people we thought were friends, but whose silence towards our slaughter is a deafening betrayal. Our sense of disappointment has discolored every relationship it touches because every relationship for us is a dichotomy: you are either with or against genocide and either support Palestine in word and deed, or not.

Our anger is a thin veil concealing our disillusion with the international community and its institutions, supposedly established to protect people in situations precisely like ours. We have confirmed what we knew all along, that these organizations were constructed for some and not all, for colonial powers and not those who suffer beneath them. Even when the highest court in the land rules in our favor, the Global North ensures that its ruling will not be implemented to save us, the oppressed, indigenous brown people whose lives apparently do not matter.

And finally, our anger is a survival mechanism to shield us from our own grief. Our sorrow over the murdered men, women and children, defenseless, homeless, starving and shivering in the cold, is so deep, so immense, we ourselves cannot fathom it. If we dare peek behind this anger and truly feel a fraction of the aching in our hearts, it will paralyze us for sure, because no people can endure the magnitude and scale of such suffering and not lose their minds.

We Palestinians know we cannot let go and that a new day is near. We know we must hold on just a little bit longer, because Palestine depends on it. We are no strangers to oppression, suffering and sacrifice and we know the price of our freedom has and continues to be painfully high. Still, we also know that a life without shackles and the yoke of oppression around our weary necks is the only life worth living.

This may be the hardest article I’ve written so far, for obvious reasons. As the genocide in Gaza grinds on into its fourth month, with winter in full force, the situation is so dire it has been described as hell on earth. To date, some 27,000 Palestinians have been murdered by Israel, nearly 70% of them women and children. Another 70,000 have been wounded and at least 1.9 million people have been displaced. With only 2.3 million in the Gaza Strip to start with, this computes to 1% of its population being exterminated, and in less than four months.

However, in the midst of these horrific times, let us allow ourselves a sliver of hope. The ICJ ruling, announced on January 26, prompted mixed feelings among Palestinians who naturally, wanted to hear a clear and firm demand on Israel to stop its onslaught. However, even without the express demand for a ceasefire, the ICJ offered something to the Palestinians for which they have been demanding for many years: their suffering, their plight and the brutal oppression they live under, was finally acknowledged by the highest court in the world. More importantly, Israel is being called out for its crimes, displayed in real time for all to see. For this, we will be eternally grateful to South Africa and its exceptional legal team for bringing this case of genocide to the ICJ and forcing the world to look straight down the barrel of Israel’s cruel intentions.

Of course, for the Palestinians, we did not need an international court to tell us that Israel is committing a genocide, but it was cathartic to hear this acknowledged on a global platform. While we are aware that the actual charge of genocide perhaps needs years to prove, it only takes hearing the ruling and the case argued by South Africa to surmise that Israel is as good as convicted.

This is not insignificant, and we will cling to any shred of hope we can find in this unjust world. Having said that, this is no time to rest. If anything, it is time to push even harder because now, we have ICJ rulings in our favor and legal backing to claims we already knew were legitimate.

However, while this may have offered us some ray of light in the darkness in which we are all engulfed, the fact of the matter is that things continue to worsen on the ground in Gaza. This genocide is so heinous, not only in the brutality of the Israeli bombs and denial of basic aid to the people of Gaza, but in the fact that its people are suffering from multiple and simultaneous injustices. That is, those who are being starved are the same people who have been displaced and the same people who have been injured and cannot receive medical attention. They are the same people who have lost their homes and family members and the same people who are under the rubble. One atrocity does not cancel out another in Gaza and that is what makes this genocide so unimaginable.

We have reached a point where it is unnecessary to describe the horrors of life in Gaza because frankly, in the past four months, everyone has seen them. It is not a matter of the world not knowing. This may have been the case in other genocides and atrocities, but not this one. It really boils down to two things: The dehumanization of the Palestinians and Israel’s impunity for its crimes, the latter being a direct result of the former.

Shame on the world for accepting Israel’s vile propaganda, hook, line and sinker. Shame on the “western world” in particular, who we will never forgive. Shame on them all for aiding and abetting the slaughter of our people, their displacement, starvation and annihilation. This will not go unnoticed in the annals of history, which will paint each and every accomplice in the criminal light it deserves.

But these despicable powers do not know the lion-hearts of the Palestinians and their fierce loyalty to Palestine. They will never be able to kill us all and my hope is that this thought haunts them day and night.

A sign held up in one of the many protests around the world reads: “Killing the flowers will not delay spring”. Our Spring is coming, without a doubt.

The brooks represent the divisions between squares on the chessboard, and Alice's crossing of them signifies advancing of her piece one square. The situation in Palestine is comparable to this; a designated area of land, divided into different areas and each move made in the game of politics will determine whether you win or lose. The people of Palestine are the unfortunate pawns in their world where everything is distorted and anything but normal.

Talk to any Palestinian or Israeli about the 60 year long conflict that has defined Middle Eastern politics and you will almost certainly get an answer fuelled by anger, passion, bias and loyalty, regardless of which side they are on. The problem with this is that the conflict becomes not only a military and geographical one, but also one of highly-charged emotions on either side. The end result is that the true facts of the conflict blur into obscurity, amongst stories of “all Israelis being murderous and arrogant” and “Palestinians accepting terrorism as a legitimate way of life”.

Of course, any one who visits the country would see this is not the case, and more often than not the view portrayed by the media tends to be one crafted in favor of the Israeli narrative, painting the Palestinians as “moaning, whinging victims of their own misdemeanors”. However, I decided to challenge this distorted view by undertaking an interview with a British tourist who recently visited the conflict-stricken area to establish how the situation comes across through the eyes of someone with no links to the country and with no previous knowledge of the conflict; in other words, going through the looking glass and seeing what’s really on the other side. Toby only stayed here four days, but in that time, his entire understanding and view on Palestine changed.

Just like any other visitor wishing to enter the Occupied Palestinian Territories (Gaza and the West Bank), Toby landed in Israel at Ben Gurion Airport. Little did he know what was awaiting him as he alighted from the aircraft. “As I was walking to the passport control, I was stopped not once, not twice, but three times by whom I assumed were plain-clothed security officers," he recounted to me. "They barked at me, demanding to know why I was visiting Israel, where I was going, where I would be staying and who I would be talking to. This was a surprise to me, especially as I am British and always considered my country to have had good relations with Israel. Frankly, I was given the impression that I simply was not welcome; either they are a country plagued by paranoia or they are just simply very rude. Certainly, from a tourist’s point of view, this is not an experience I would willingly put myself through”.

After leaving the airport, he took a taxi with a Palestinian Jerusalem ID-holder. He explained that as they drove along the well-kept Israeli road to Jerusalem, the taxi driver gestured towards a uniform block of white housing and explained that it was a settlement being extended. “When the taxi driver told me that Palestinian homes had been demolished in order to allow this settlement to be built, I was in disbelief; how could the world stand by and let this happen”. With ease, I told him.

During his visit to the West Bank, in particular to Ramallah, he found people to “be warm, welcoming and very friendly, despite the enormous oppression they are obviously under. My country [the UK] and the world’s media have lied for years about the situation in Palestine and are in turn, helping Israel to suppress the Palestinians.”

You only have to cross one single checkpoint to see how much more socially and economically developed Israel is in comparison to Palestine. In the words of our British visitor, Toby, “Palestine felt like a concrete box, with the walls closing in on you, leading to feelings of suffocation and desperation”. Crossing the Qalandia checkpoint into Ramallah, you can immediately see and feel that you have left Israel; the smooth roads turn into a rough and bumpy ride along pot-holed roads with the smell of waste infiltrating the air. Just as Alice ponders what the world is like on the other side of the mirror, to her surprise, she is able to pass through to experience the alternate world. The same can be said of Israel and Palestine; within seconds you are in another world. Everything is the opposite of what you expect.

So, what about the “terrorism”, which Israel so frequently refers to when justifying its treatment of Palestinians? “I saw no terrorism whatsoever, neither was there any talk of it from the Palestinian people. In fact, perhaps the only terrorism I saw was the way the Palestinian people were being treated, for example, at the Bethlehem checkpoint, where two Palestinian men were forced to stand aside to allow tourists to pass by them. Israel has the military might and the financial backing to be the oppressor”, he said.

It is fair to acknowledge however, that Palestinian society has its failings, as does every society, yet our British visitor went on to say that “if an occupier came to England, appropriated our land, stuck me behind a wall and tried to control my everyday way of life, I’m sure a few frustrated Brits would resort to desperate measures in order to fight back. I don’t condone any forms of killing or terrorism, but now that I have seen what is really going on in this conflict, I better understand the plight of the Palestinians and do not think that those defending themselves against a powerful state should be labelled as terrorists”.

He left Palestine knowing that everything he thought he knew about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was in fact a distortion, shaped by politics and the media. Recognizing and tackling popular fallacies at the time, when it really matters, is one of the greatest challenges that confront not just politicians but each and every one of us. It is particularly important in foreign policy where we risk assuming that other people in other countries share our own attitudes, assumptions and aspirations; or if we impose our assumptions, values and prejudices on others. There will always be misunderstandings between different peoples and cultures; in relation to Palestine, the key is to overcome these barriers so that peace can be achieved one day.