Israel & Palestine
Written by: Vidur Srikrishna
Summary:
After the Hamas attack on October 7th that took many Israelis hostage and killed many more, Israel bombed Gaza violently with the backing of many countries. The main reasons for Israel retaliating are to show that they cannot be bossed around and to have a reason to bomb Gaza. Israel, to put it simply, is bombing Gaza to the ground. Many Palestinians were left trapped in the city, which caused thousands of Palestinian deaths. One of the strongest countries supporting Israel is the U.S. Some countries in Europe also support Israel. In Africa, some countries including Kenya and Zambia support Israel. South Africa and Algeria, however, support Palestine. Africa is surprisingly split on this conflict as they mainly supported Palestine in the past.
According to the UK Parliament, since the 7th of October, over 1200 Israelis have been killed and over 5400 injured as of November 15. Thousands of injuries and over one thousand Israeli deaths are definitely terrifying statistics and the death toll in Gaza is even worse. According to Aljazeera, more than 14500 Palestinians have died in Gaza since October 7th (As of November 22). The number of deaths of Palestinians is going to rise as Israel shows no signs of stopping the bombings on Gaza. Also, according to Aljazeera, on November 5th, Israeli cabinet minister Amichai Eliyahu suggested the use of nuclear weapons on Gaza was an option.
Analysis:
At this point, it’s too late for any policy change to resolve the issue. The U.S seems to be heavily supporting Israel, and such a powerful country would be very tough to stop. A simple policy change will not be able to stop this. Even protesting would not stop this, as protests have occurred around the world, yet not much has changed. Many countries that want to help may not be able to as they do not want to go against the powerful nations that support Israel. This could majorly impact that country’s economy. Also, some countries may not have the resources or the stability to support either side. If any other countries would want to support Israel, they would not be able to unless they are very powerful as riots would most likely occur. The supporters of Palestine are most likely to try to help as they would gain the support of their people and other countries. The UN and its partners have a plan that outlines the minimum necessary to scale up humanitarian operations to support around 2.2 million people in Gaza and 500,000 in the West Bank (November 6th, 2023). This is great as this helps the innocent people caught in the war and trapped in the city. They also have been providing food, water, and healthcare to people affected by this war. This, once again, is great for the people caught in the crossfire
Call to Action:
Many innocent civilians have been caught in this tragic war. You can help by pressing on the donation links below. If you would like to donate, press the links and follow the steps on how to donate.
Palestine:
Islamic Relief USA – There are a few options for different areas to donate to.
Pick which area you would like to donate to (There is a short description on what supporting each does)
Select either a one-time or monthly payment
Select the amount that you would like to donate and press “Add to cart”
Input your personal information and press “Complete My Donation”
Israel:
JDC – There are two options of where to donate to: Jewish lives in Ukraine, and Israelis in the line of fire.
Select where you would like to donate. (Under the donation button, it has a link where you can see how JDC responds to emergency needs in Israel)
Put in your information and the amount you would like to donate.
Press “Donate” and put in the information that it asks for.
Select the payment method and put in your payment details.
This is a one-time donation.
