RAMALLAH: In almost every Israeli assault on Gaza strip, the United States argues that the issue is about Israel's “right to defend itself."It is striking how many Americans are unaware of their contribution in these assaults; indeed, a great portion of US taxes fund and support the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). Israel went as far as using internationally illegal weapons, such as white phosphorus, against civilians in the 2008-09 Gaza massacre. As many political analysts argue, the current crisiscomes as Israeli politicians prepare for the upcoming Knesset elections.Yet, the international community, especially the United States, is not convincingly condemning the brutality of Israeli military actions. But we Palestinians have got used to this international indifference.The only question that remains is for the rest of the world to answer: what about the children of Gaza who are being ruthlessly killed? Israel's tired old pretext about Gaza's rockets does not justify a full-scale military operation and what looks like an impending ground invasion. Hamas and Gaza's armed brigades are not an equal military power; in any form, they are resistance against Israel's long history of ethnically cleansing Palestine. Standard news analysis continually misses the point: ours is the ongoing struggle to exist in our homeland in the face of Israel's continuous aggression and demolition of peace. We have been forced to recognize their right to exist in our homes and on our land time and time again; they have never acknowledged our basic right to self-determination I am well aware of all the political barriers that surround the Palestinian Israeli struggle, but the international community keeps on neglecting and disregarding the fact that Israel is only fulfilling their ideology, culminating with a Jewish state, a state that denies the rights of Palestinians to exist on their historical land. This clearly racist, anti-Palestinian aspiration is not only an explicit violation of human rights and a whole list of UN resolutions; it is also a clear message to the world that Israel does not want peace. The world ought to see the reality of the Palestinian struggle, separate from their political agendas and their own interests. Palestinian children and innocent civilians are being killed without any consideration for the sanctity of their being. My rage as a Palestinian grows as I see influential countries deny our right to defense against the cruelty of the Israeli attacks, as I see that the world remains silent and does not prevent further violence. As the media around the world is trying to portray the ongoing crisis in Gaza, I can't help but to wonder if the final gasps of the dead children from the last five days, along with the voices of kids who were injured, will reach the humane entity of leaders of the free world. Those children are not terrorists. Remember: we are the occupied not the occupier. Najeeb Abu Al Etham is a 27-year-old pharmacist from Ramallah, Palestine. He studied at the University of Jordan.
