Palestinians deserve the same security, equality and right... as the Israelis CNN opinion by Dean Obeidallah

 

Palestinians deserve the same security, equality and right to a homeland as the Israelis

Opinion by Dean Obeidallah

Mon May 17, 2021

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/16/opinions/middle-east-palestinians-israelis-right-to-security-obeidallah/index.html

(CNN)There are no winners in the current battle between Hamas and Israel. The loss of life on both sides -- while unequal -- is heartbreaking. As of Sunday evening, 197 Palestinians had been killed, including eight children who died Saturday when an Israeli airstrike destroyed their home in a Gaza refugee camp. At least 10 Israelis, including a 5-year-old boy, have been killed by Hamas rockets. 

If history serves as a guide, however, after a ceasefire is reached, the conflict will slowly fade from the headlines, the world will go back to its business and the Palestinians will largely be forgotten -- yet again. For those who sincerely want to see a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, this time must be different. The world, and especially the Biden administration, cannot look away but must engage on the question of Palestine. It's 2021 -- a homeland for Palestinian Christians and Muslims is long overdue, as is safety and equality for Palestinians. 

 

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My Palestinian father, born in the 1930s in what was then Palestine (controlled by Britain until 1948), but now the West Bank, would tell me stories about it when I was a child in the late 1970s. This wasn't a political discussion, rather it was one focused on how my relatives and other Palestinians navigated daily life under Israeli military occupation. The limited freedom of movement, the myriad of Israeli military checkpoints that denied personal self-determination, my grandmother's land being stolen by Israeli settlers, etc... READ MORE, AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE ORIGINAL LINK TO READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL