The Zionist regime wants to eliminate Palestinians.

History is replete with examples of its ethnic cleansing spree, where it has sought to uproot generations of Palestinians through a deliberate, systematic campaign. Whether it was Golda Meir denying the existence of a Palestinian people or Ariel Sharon bearing personal responsibility for the Sabra and Shatila massacre, resulting in the killing of thousands of Palestinians, there is little denying the fact that Zionists need an excuse to destroy Palestinians regardless of the circumstances.

Part of this deliberate strategy also involves muzzling out the voices of reason, intellectuals, and change makers who can and have influenced global discourse. The latest casualty in such harrowing, deliberate operational techniques includes figures such as Fatima Hassouna, with her death following a long list of intellectual destruction which the Zionists have deliberately perpetrated against Palestinians.

Hassouna’s death; reminder that truth will always be noosed

Fatima Hassouna, a Palestinian photojournalist who featured in the new Cannes documentary titled ‘Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk,' was mercilessly killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home in northern Gaza. The vile act prompted the occupation forces to state that the attack targeted a Hamas Gaza City Brigade, which is a false narrative lacking veracity or credibility in the international community. Hassouna, though, was a heroine who successfully documented civilian life in Gaza under "Israel’s" barbaric genocide for eighteen months and shed light on the plight of families fleeing airstrikes, the aftermath of demolitions, and the displacement of thousands of people. Had she lived on, Hassouna’s life in Gaza since the genocide began would have been featured at a French independent festival, which would have been concomitant with Cannes.

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However, the glory and fame that she earned for telling the truth were short-lived as she, along with her family members, including her pregnant sister, were murdered at her residence. Clearly, her death was caused by her success in calling out "Israel’s" bluff, with the cold-blooded nature of her killing constituting yet another example of "Israel’s" deliberate attempt to silence a Palestinian torchbearer of facts. It also follows a long list of intellectual destruction that the Zionist regime inflicted on the Palestinian people, regardless of whether they are normal citizens or change makers, innovators, artists, medics, or trend setters. "Israel" has simply sought to kill any Palestinian voice that it views as a threat to its apartheid regime and state-sponsored oppression, which has gone on for decades.

Precedents set in time, history

Alongside oppression and apartheid, the killing of intellectuals by Zionists also goes back decades. Think of Ghassan Kanafani, a trendsetter in Palestinian literature and one of the greatest Arab authors the world has ever seen. His excellent works, including the Return to Haifa in 1970 and Umm Saad in 1969, eventually led to his assassination in 1972 by Mossad. Back then, "Israel" once again covered up its egregious crimes against humanity by claiming that the assassination was in response to Kanafani’s alleged role in the Lod airport attacks of 1972. In reality, however, his demise was caused by his appeals to Palestinian nationalistic sentiment against the prevailing status quo inflicted by "Israel", while literature galvanized Palestinians to rebel against prevailing injustices.  

Also think of Professor Refaat Alareer, who taught literature at Gaza’s Islamic University and was inhumanely attacked by the occupation forces. Alareer’s views and works, including ‘Gaza Unsilenced’ of 2015, documenting reactions to "Israel’s" onslaught in Gaza in 2014, resulted in him having to contend with far-right Zionists on social media platforms who issued death threats and used derogatory language to discredit him and label him as a "terrorist". When the moment was ripe, however, the occupation forces eliminated him, given that his voice reached the international community and his exposure of Zionist war crimes was witnessed on global media.

"Israel’s" deliberate targeting of Palestinians who have groundbreaking achievements to their name or have been internationally recognized has become the standard modus operandi of the Zionist regime and its occupation forces. The list of victims is not limited to literary figures and photojournalists alone, but includes physicists such as Khitam al-Wasife and Sufyan Tayeh, doctors such as Adnan Ahmad al-Bursh, and artists such as Muhammad Qraiqea.

International standards being deliberately raised

"Israel’s" actions of uprooting Palestinian intellectuals present a problem for the international community.

This community claims to value diverse schools of thought, views, and change in the post-colonial, post-Nazi environment. It has also sought to uphold, value, and honor intellectuals who have contributed to global peace and harmony. This includes many Palestinian intellectuals who prior to being razed by Zionists, received numerous international accolades and awards. These intellectuals, doctors, physicists, and trend setters have also played a key role in highlighting the Palestinian cause and have only vindicated the stance of the International Court of Justice and the consensus view of the global community regarding "Israel’s" war crimes.

Maintaining silence as Palestinian intellectuals are being attacked deliberately would constitute a glaring loss of moral conscience. It would present a case whereby certain intellectuals would be valued while others holding scholarships, journalistic acumen, or medical professionalism would be vilified. This is not a good sign for equity in the international community, and the only way to prevent such destruction of intellectual traditions is to penalize "Israel" for its crimes against humanity, including crimes against Palestinian change makers.

Here lies the solution.