Dear Mr Rahm Emanuel,
As we have seen over the past few days the clashes and the tensions between the Israeli Defense Forces and the people of Gaza; how the Israeli Defense forces are fighting a war which claims that was initiated by Hamas. As we all are aware, that the Gaza Strip has been under a military blockade since 2007; with Israel controlling the borders and the airspace of Gaza. This has also led to the fact that the ordinary civilians of Gaza have been unable to enter nor exit the Gaza Strip, regardless of the reasons - such as seeking employment abroad, visiting family and friends, being unable to care for family members, and many others. In other words, they have been living in a concentration camp as virtual prisoners.
As all Human Rights Organizations around the world have iterated that the citizens of Gaza have been living in extremely deplorable and humiliating conditions as they have no means of employment, nor any hopes of leaving the 45 sq km land, no access to medical treatment, hardly any electricity; food and water being in scarcity, people being killed due to the Israeli air strikes and so on.
I strongly believe that as an Occupied Territory, Israel should at least protect the civilians or allow any means to let the civilians to exit the Gaza Strip, where they can be given access to medical facilities, be provided with food, water and shelter; the orphans who have lost their parents, relatives and guardians due to the bombing be given adequate care and protection. These children will have no one to look after them if they are abandoned.
This is a humanitarian crisis and a genocide. Where exactly are the Gazans supposed to go, given the fact that Israel has imposed a severe and brutal blockade on them for over a decade? The Israeli military is razing the whole Strip to the ground, and the citizens of the Strip are trapped. They cannot even leave via the Mediterranean Sea. If a genocide is committed on a helpless civilian population, history will never forgive its perpetrators nor those who stood by the aggressors. Do you want to be remembered as a nation that fully supported and aided an aggressor in committing a mass genocide on a helpless population that does not have the military strength to fight on equal terms?
Now you may be tempted to blame Hamas, as many media sources especially the Western ones have been doing so. Does it even occur to those who wish to pass the buck to Hamas, that Hamas cannot be equated with the civilian population, who have no hopes for the future? What should be expected from people who have been living under a brutal and cruel blockade for over a decade? Does it not bother the consciences of those who stand by Israel, that a population of over 500,000 living in a very dense area are living in what human rights organizations call the world's largest open-air prison? Not to mention that Israel has confined these people and refuses to let any international aid to reach them without its permission. These people are at Israel’s mercy. Isn't Israel required under international law to protect and provide for those living under its jurisdiction? Israel is a developed nation that claims to be the only democracy in the Middle East. Does freedom and democracy not apply to those living in the occupied territories? How long is Israel going to subjugate the population of the Occupied Territories? The life of an average Palestinian in the Occupied Territories is no where near as equal to an average Israeli citizen.
It is my strong urge to the United States of America to pressure Israel to lift the blockade and allow the Gazan civilians to gain access to safety. Each and every nation is required to abide by international law. The citizens of Gaza are human beings who are entitled to a life of freedom, dignity and honor, just like anyone else. The United States of America has always been the staunchest ally of Israel and as your president Joe Biden has made it very clear that he stands in full solidarity with it, not to mention the aid and military support that your country has been providing it over the decades.
I have read about your background and I understand that you are Jewish. I want to iterate that The Holocaust, which no doubt was a terrible war crime should serve as a lesson to humanity - that no one has the right to be persecuted, tortured, massacred and ethnically cleansed due to their belonging to a particular race. Each and every human being is entitled to dignity and honor as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Holocaust should teach us humanity and compassion for those who are suffering, empathy for those who are defenseless, a sense of justice and morality, to stand up for those who cannot defend nor protect themselves. The Gazans will be ethnically cleansed if the blockade is not lifted and if Israel, with its advanced military and weapons continues to bomb and decimate the Strip. Think of the future of the people trapped in this gigantic prison which is the Gaza Strip. Think about the soldiers. Has it ever occurred how PTSD will forever scar and haunt those engaged in the genocide? Will you be content with that fact your staunch support of Israel will be seen as and remembered as a nation that assisted in massacring a population that was unable to defend itself? Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East as claimed. Doesn’t this right apply to the Palestinians. They, along with Israelis are entitled to live a life of justice and equality. Justice is a right for the Palestinians as well as the Israelis. If Israelis are entitled to live a life of freedom, dignity and honor and without any fears of any future holocaust; then Palestinians are equally entitled to live a life of freedom from oppression and tyranny. The apartheid that the Palestinians have been living under is extremely abominable.
As you are the representative of the United States, it is my strong request to you and your government to please help to end the blockade, end the bombing of Gaza, to respect and honor the human rights of the civilians and end the genocide. Protect the helpless and the defenseless; be just and fair to the Palestinians. Hamas does not equal the civilians of Gaza and the civilians should never have to pay the price of what Hamas has done. There are old people, women, mothers, children, unemployed men who cannot get married, nor gain access to a job in order to provide for their families. There are people who are living without electricity, clean water, proper food, malnourished children, and people living in immense poverty, who have no hope unless and until those in power set them free.
Thank you for taking the time to consider the points that I have raised,
I sincerely wish that your government will take the steps to put an end to the suffering of an already subjugated population;
Alburr Al Hameed
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