May 17, 2018 was among the deadliest days that have taken place on the Gaza Strip since the 2014 attacks from its neighbour and occupier, the state of Israel. Dozens of people were killed in protests that have come to be known as the Great March of Return.
The protests are believed to have been sparked by the United States’ decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a decision that has polarized the conflict even more.
With the use of words like “clashes” in the news coverage of the events, the public has been given the impression that this is a two-sided and equal war, with even casualties and levels of destruction. In reality, this is not the case.
Palestine shares no border with Israel, as Israel never declared its borders. What is found between Gaza and Israeli territory is the Armistice Line of 1949, which was reinforced as a buffer zone in 1967.
Gazans gathered in that buffer zone and protested their displacement and for their right to return to their homes. They also protested the blockade and the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, which represented the U.S.’s acknowledgement that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
In actuality, there were no clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, but between Gazan citizens and protesters on the receiving end of rubber bullet attacks, gas bombs, and other forms of violence.
The protesters, as explained in a CBS News interview by Noura Erakat, a human rights attorney, do not pose true threat to any Israeli civilian, military installation, or Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldier. This is because by comparison, Palestinian protesters do not have nearly the same amount of military might as the IDF.
Relatively, this was violence against non-violent protesters.
The death toll is in the hundreds, and thousands more were wounded by the IDF, according to recent statistics reported by Al Jazeera. These attacks on Palestinian citizens have been justified by some as an outcome of the pressure the protests and attacks by Hamas have put on the IDF.
The problem with this is that the protests are not incited by Hamas. Protests against the injustices imposed on the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation have been occurring for the past 70 years, whereas Hamas was not founded until 1987.
Furthermore, Palestinians are being forcibly removed from their homes in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel, where there is no Hamas, yet there are still protests taking place.
By constantly discrediting any efforts from the Palestinians to resist Hamas’ terrorist activities, we are, as Erakat said, dehumanizing both Palestinians and their suffering.
The discussion should include trying to understand the reasons Palestinians are protesting in the first place, rather than blaming Palestinians for their own deaths and not questioning the actions of the IDF.
The media has a responsibility to accurately portray the suffering and humiliation of the Palestinian people.
This includes not using euphemisms or fluffy titles to muffle the truth—that Palestinians are being attacked for engaging in non-violent protests.
