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Mosab Abu Toha "If you are celebrating Christmas, please make sure to decorate your Christmas tree |
Saturday, December 23, 2023
Mosab Abu Toha "If you are celebrating Christmas, please make sure to decorate your Christmas tree🎄 with some slices of watermelon to honor Palestine and some strawberries to honor Refaat... And never stop demanding a ceasefire!"
All I want for Christmas is a free Palestine- Josh Mayfield an artist for Palestine
"" If
Christ were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble and
Israeli shelling," Reverend Munther Isaac, Lutheran Church in Bethlehem
Churches
in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, canceled Christmas because
Israel is slaughtering Palestinians.
Let that sink in.
How can we have a holiday celebrating the birth of the "prince of peace" when there is no peace in his historic homeland?
How can we celebrate the coming of the
"bread of life" when 9 out of 10 Gazans are going without food every
single day?
Want to keep Christ in Christmas? End the slaughter
of Palestinian men, women, and children. Allow aid trucks to enter and
administer much needed care. Allow Palestinians to live with dignity in
their historic homelands, not subjected to apartheid and colonialism."
Josh Mayfield
Another artist against apartheid
%20%E2%80%A2%20Instagram%20photos%20and%20videos.png)
Susan Muaddi Darraj: "Thank you, @ensarasbookcorner , for including BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA 🌊 in your "most anticipated releases of 2024"! And thanks for this gorgeous graphic!"
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Susan Muaddi DarrajThank you, @ensarasbookcorner , for including BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA in your "most anticipated releases of 2024"! And thanks for this gorgeous graphic! |
Friday, December 22, 2023
Up on the border of Israel (actually occupied Syria) and Syria with Lebanon, is the ancient site of the Hellenistic era town... the source of the river Jordan
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| Caesarea Philippi also known as Banias; the source of the river Jordan. |
St.George's College Jerusalem
Advent Calendar Day 17
Caesarea Philippi also known as Banias; the source of the river Jordan.
Up on the border of Israel (actually occupied Syria) and Syria with Lebanon, is the ancient site of the Hellenistic era town. Its beauty and historical significance means this is often a highlight for pilgrims. As well as the place where Jesus said that he would build the Church upon St Peter as the rock, this may also have been the place of Jesus’s transfiguration.
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’” Matt 16:13
https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/16.htm
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, b and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades c will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be d bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be e loosed in heaven.” 20Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Banias does not appear in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
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| Banias Waterfall |
Banias or Banyas (Arabic: بانياس الحولة; Modern Hebrew: בניאס; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.;[2] Ancient Greek: Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek god Pan.
Etymology
In the Bible, Golan is mentioned as a city of refuge located in Bashan: Deuteronomy 4:43, Joshua 20:8, 1 Chronicles 6:71.[27] 19th-century authors interpreted the word Golan (Hebrew: גולן) as meaning "something surrounded, hence a district".[28][29]
The Greek name for the region is Gaulanîtis (Γαυλανῖτις).[30] In the Mishna the name is Gablān similar to Aramaic language names for the region: Gawlāna, Guwlana and Gublānā.[30]
The Arabic names are Jawlān[30] and Djolan (Arabic: جولان) and are Arabized versions of the Canaanite and Hebrew name "Golan".[31] Arab cartographers of the Byzantine period referred to the area as jabal (جَبَل, 'mountain'), though the region is a plateau.[32][dubious ]
The name Golan Heights was not used before the 19th century.[27]
"Christ In The Rubble" By artist Kelly Latimore of Kelly Latimore Icons... hoping to create "more dialogue among Christians in the United States during this holy season about the ways our beliefs and actions - or lack thereof - contribute to the violence we're currently witnessing in Gaza"
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"Christ In The Rubble" by artist Kelly Latimore of Kelly Latimore Icons |
"Christ in the Rubble," illustrates the prophetic message that if Jesus was born today, he would be born "under the rubble."
Kelly wants his art to be a ‘holy pondering’ - a process that potentially brings about a new way of seeing.
Our hope is that this icon, "Christ in the Rubble" will create more dialogue among Christians in the United States during this holy season about the ways our beliefs and actions - or lack thereof - contribute to the violence we're currently witnessing in Gaza.
How can we shape a culture of Christianity where love truly has no boundaries?
How do we create a world where our poor, homeless, refugee, Palestinian Savior - born to a teenage mother and later condemned to death - would be cherished had he been born today.
Historical photo of the day: In 2011, thirteen thousand Palestinian children smashed a Guinness World Record on a beach in northern Gaza for the largest number of people flying kites simultaneously.
Thanks to Mike Hanini Odetalla (born in Palestine) for posting this comment & photo on social media this morning
Americans in Jerusalem Are Helping Kick Out Palestinians... What is a guy from Virginia doing building a fence around a Palestinian home in Jerusalem?!
U.S. based charities for Israel are funneling $$$ to Israel's illegal settlements.
1,631,512 views May 1, 2022
What’s a guy from Virginia doing building a fence outside a Palestinian family’s house?
In exclusive footage obtained by AJ+, a group of Americans were filmed installing wiring and a fence around the land just outside the Salem family home in occupied East Jerusalem.
The incident happened just days after the family was served an eviction notice by settlers who are linked to U.S. charities.
In this report, we explore how the effort to displace the Salems has been decades in the making.
Subscribe for more videos: https://ajplus.co/subscribe
Sign up for subtext, our newsletter about the people and movements driving change in our society: https://ajplus.co/ekdv4
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The plight of Gaza’s ‘WCNSFs’ – wounded child, no surviving family: "The numbers of Gaza’s dead, wounded and orphaned children are uncertain but there is no question they have borne the brunt of the war"
"“We had a 14-year-old girl [on Wednesday last week] just walk out of some war zone of Gaza City, stunned, mute, bloodied, and she absolutely had no one,” he said. “How many other children are like that right now? We simply don’t know.”"
"For Gaza’s children, there is no end in sight to the horror. Even the relatively lucky ones – those who have not been wounded and still have their parents – are at increasing risk from disease, starvation and exposure as winter approaches. Many of them are in vast camps of makeshift tents that have sprung up in Rafah and elsewhere in the south."
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The plight of Gaza’s ‘WCNSFs’ – wounded child, no surviving family |
A chilling acronym used by aid workers reflects the reality of a conflict in which 40% of casualties are believed to be minors
by Nedal Samir Hamdouna and Aseel Mousa in Gaza, and Julian Borger in Jerusalem
Fri 22 Dec 2023 00.00 EST
When Yousef al-Dawi tries to go to sleep in his aunt’s house in Rafah, he thinks about resting his head in his mother’s hands, his father taking him on outings, and most of all, learning to swim with his brother, Mahmoud – taking himself away to a world that no longer exists.
The bomb that fell on his family’s house in Jabaliya at midnight on 23 October killed his whole family and left the 10-year-old pinned under the rubble. It was three days before he regained consciousness in a hospital bed, and his surviving relatives tried to put off breaking the news to him, telling him the rest of his family were in another hospital. Eventually they had to tell him they were all dead.
Since
then... READ MORE
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES or quotes or watch videos IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Don't let our tax dollars pollute the Holy Land with more bullets & bombs... & racist hate
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| A Palestinian Couple with their baby by artist Ismail Shammout |
Dear Biden, Casey, Fetterman, Perry, & Gov Shapiro
Weapons for Israel bring a few jobs to America by escalating war in the Holy Land.
Help create a just and lasting peace for all people (here & there), regardless of supposed race or religion: Don't arm Israel's sky rocketing religious extremism and its relentless persecution & displacement of the native non-Jewish men, women & children of historic Palestine.
Religion should be a personal, private choice, not a state funded project.
I do not like or support HAMAS, but I do understand why they exist, & why HAMAS will not go away even if all HAMAS fighters are killed this week by Israeli snipers & bombs: You simply can not stop people who are seriously oppressed from doing all they can to shake off their oppressors.
Every young person in Gaza and the West Bank
today, plus many
outsiders on social media, are witness to racist Israel's crimes,
and they will- we will- find a way to Free Palestine.
Don't let our tax dollars pollute the Holy Land with more bullets & bombs... & racist hate.
If you are addicted to violence please just go play a video game or watch an action adventure movie- don't hurt real people.
Sincerely
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
A Christmas Message for our World from Rev. Imad Haddad: "As we sing “silent night holy night” this Christmas let us remember the nights in which the silence was shattered by the sounds of bombs..."
More than 90% of the Gazan population have been recently displaced
Dec 17, 2023 MECA Video with Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha speaking to us from Cairo about the situation in Gaza, some of his friends & relatives who have been killed in Israeli attacks & reading some of his poetry and the work of his friend Refaat Al-Areer.
Donia had lost her parents and two siblings in an Israeli strike. She was getting treatment in the hospital after she lost her leg in a previous Israeli strike when she was killed by yet another Israeli shelling.
Palestine demands investigation into reports of Israel burying victims alive in Gaza
"Caption's yours, write freely" Ibrahim Ghunaim
Christmas 2023 for Palestinians
"My hero Wael Eldahdouh. If he wasn’t Palestinian, he’d be the most famous face in the world decorating the covers of every magazine as person of the year"
Gazans find themselves completely isolated - cut off from their loved ones and from the rest of the world.
Why is a foreign country so free to swindle and trick America into supporting religious tyranny and rampant injustice?!
Always remembering Palestine, no matter where we are, who we are, or what we are doing ... #Flag #FreePalestine
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel "indifference to evil is worse than evil itself..."
Israeli sniper murdered two Palestinian CHRISTIAN women inside The Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where many of Gaza's Christians have taken shelter
Star of Bethlehem Quilt circa 1845 & Susan Muaddi Darraj's friendly annual reminder that this symbol you see everywhere this time of year is *not* a snowflake.
Christ was a Palestinian ... a small collection of (older) poems by Anne Selden Annab in Growing Gardens for Palestine #Christmas
My elderly relatives first fled for their lives in 1948. In Gaza right now they are walking the Nakba again- Ghada Ageel in The Guardian
TikTok isn’t creating false support for Palestine. It’s just reflecting what’s already there.
106 years ago (11 December 1917) the #Crusaders returned, led by England's General Allenby- his name now a bridge where Palestinians wait to be harassed by racist Israel's minions
With the children of #Gaza on my mind and forever in my heart 💔 Moonlight...By Mike Odetalla
If Americans Knew- The number of motherless, fatherless babies and children in Gaza is skyrocketing.
An American Muslim student’s perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli crisis in the Stanford Daily December 8 2023
Speak Up For Those Who Cannot Speak for Themselves, for the Rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and Judge Fairly...
Our Congress created a storm of news condemning "anti-Semitism", a storm of news that totally ignores the very real plight and suffering of the native non-Jewish men, women, and children of historic Palestine (who also happen to be Semites)
The sacred between mother and child captured in two images across time... Palestine past & Palestine present.
The Little Prince and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - both 75 years old & And both impart messages of hope and dignity that are available for all.
An Ongoing Displacement- The Forced Exile of the Palestinians since 1922
Invest Time & Money in American Ideals - NOT ISRAEL ... letter to my elected officials
The UN Mediator for Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, believed that the Palestinians displaced had a right to return to their homes and wrote several UN reports to that effect.
"It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees who have been rooted in the land for centuries."
Bernadotte was assassinated on Friday 17 September 1948 by members of the group Lehi, a Zionist terrorist organization, commonly known in the West as the Stern Gang
sliman.mansour "A cover i painted for Al-Awda magazine in the 1980’s, depicting the settlers attacks on olive groves during olive picking season, mixed media on paper, 1980’s"
A Christmas Message for our World from Rev. Imad Haddad: "As we sing “silent night holy night” this Christmas let us remember the nights in which the silence was shattered by the sounds of bombs..."
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| Holy Family art work is by the Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour |
Rev. Imad Haddad
As we sing “silent night holy night” this Christmas let us remember the nights in which the silence was shattered by the sounds of bombs, gun shots, and aircrafts.
The only silence people in Gaza can hear these days is the horrendous silence of death.
There is nothing holy in the nights or the days in which human life is desecrated. The only holy thing during those days are the sound of prayerful cries that comes out of a broken heart rising up to disturb the evil silence of death.
As we sing “Away in a manger” this Christmas let us direct our attention to those kids in Gaza whose only manger is a coffin, and their crib is a tomb under the rubble. The “stars in the sky” cannot “look down where [they]lay” for the smoke of bombed and shattered houses cover the scene of the sky.
This Christmas, as we celebrate reading from Luke: “Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” Let us think of those who take refuge in Churches, mosques, schools, hospitals, or in the open air for the only thing that shines around them are light bombs. They try to find life away from home but even their shelters are bombed. The only words that speak to them from this reading is the status of the shepherds who were terrified. For terror and fear describe the story of the present days in Gaza.
As we sing “let every heart prepare him room” remember to see the face of Jesus in every refugee so we can accept, serve, and protect them as we would do for Jesus. Remember that Jesus was a refugee too. His family was first forced to leave their home in Nazareth due to the orders of the empire, then they were also forced to escape and take refuge in Egypt due to political tyranny.
This Christmas as we pray for those who are afflicted in our world, and as we pray for Justice and peace, let us remember that Jesus was incarnate in our world during a situation that does not differ much from our own. The “Word became flesh and dwelt among us” to bring justice and peace to a world that is torn apart. He dwelt among us to be with us, to be one of us, and to free us from the bonds of oppression. The dwelling of the Word among the people has transformed the incarnation to be “intra-carnation.” This is the message of hope that we give to the world as we go through these times of injustice, oppression, and ethnic cleansing: Jesus is with us, he is one of us, he chose to unite himself to us
Christ is born…Halleluiah…. The savior is born…. Halleluiah…. “Let earth receive her king” …. Halleluiah
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
More than 90% of the Gazan population have been recently displaced
Over 60% of the infrastructure in #Gaza has been destroyed or damaged.
More than 90% of the Gazan population have been displaced.
This is a staggering and unprecedented level of destruction and forced displacement, taking place in front of our eyes. https://www.unrwa.org/
18 December 2023
The humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has cast a long shadow over international events to mark 75 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, serving as the starkest illustration in decades of the failure to implement these rights fully for Palestine Refugees.
“Human rights apply to everyone, without distinction, whoever they are and wherever they are. But for Palestine Refugees the promise of universal rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has rarely seemed so distant, and the challenges to realising these rights seldom so daunting,” said Stephanie Case, Chief of the Protection Division at UNRWA.
“It is disregard for human rights that has led us to where we are today. Adherence to human rights is crucial to for an alternative future where stability, peace and justice prevail.”
Amid international outcry about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the war in Gaza, it is essential to bring back to the centre of all policy and public discussions the baseline for human dignity that the international community agreed to in 1948: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The 75th anniversary of this landmark accord, marked last week, coincides with the 75th year since the Nakba – the mass forced displacement of Palestinians.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October, the Israeli Authorities have forcibly moved up to 1.9 million Gazans from their homes, in the largest forced displacement of Palestinians since 1948.
Although different in scope, both international human rights law and international humanitarian law provide protection to persons during armed conflict. Human rights apply at all times, both during peace and in war. They are universal, inherent in all individuals, and include the rights to life, food, health, housing, education, and freedom of movement
UNRWA, founded in 1949, has worked since its inception to safeguard the rights of Palestine Refugees, notably to health and education, by providing essential services. In Gaza, this has been completely derailed by the war.
Conditions in Gaza are catastrophic. Under relentless bombardment, thousands of civilians have been killed, the majority of them women and children, with 136 UNRWA staff among those killed, the highest in the history of the United Nations.
An entire population of 2.2 million people are being denied food, water, medical supplies, and other basics of survival, as diseases loom large. Whole neighbourhoods have been destroyed and emptied of their inhabitants. Nearly 1.4 million people are now sheltering in 155 UNRWA installations – mostly schools transformed into overcrowded emergency shelters – seeking safety under the UN flag. This has not stopped UNRWA installations from being hit, resulting in further loss of life and injury – to date, 115 UNRWA buildings have been damaged in bombardments, resulting in almost 300 deaths and over 1,000 injuries.
In the West Bank, meanwhile, escalating violence has reached levels not seen in two decades. Palestine Refugees are leaving the camps where they live in growing numbers, driven by fear and insecurity. More refugees have been killed in the last two months than in any single year since the UN started documenting fatalities in 2005.
The attacks by Hamas on 7 October were abhorrent and an assault against human rights. Taking civilians as hostages, including women and children, is prohibited under international law and unacceptable.
There must be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. International law
must be upheld, and there must be accountability for violations.
Humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter Gaza and delivered throughout
Gaza in a safe, rapid, unimpeded, and sustainable way to those in need.
And the human rights we acknowledge today for all human beings must be
respected and protected for Palestinians.
19 December 2023
More
than 13,000 displaced people from around Gaza City and northern Gaza
have taken refuge in one of the UNRWA schools in Deir al-Balah, living
crammed in its 80 classrooms. Of the many children in this emergency
shelter, 400 are less than a year old - and 42 of them were...
12 December 2023
Despite
Israeli military orders to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip, Dr. Hasan,
an UNRWA doctor at the Fakhoura Health Centre, remained. Dr. Hasan
joined an Area of Responsibility (AoR) team for the north area, while
simultaneously evacuating his home with his family
12 December 2023
Despite
Israeli military orders to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip, Dr. Hasan,
an UNRWA doctor at the Fakhoura Health Centre, remained. Dr. Hasan
joined an Area of Responsibility (AoR) team for the north area, while
simultaneously evacuating his home with his family
21 October 2023
We
ran out of water, and we haven’t had electricity for the past 12 days.
We started using water we use for plants for washing up, laundry and
cleaning the dishes. We boil water for drinking and cooking, but the
issue now is that we are also running out of cooking gas.
18 October 2023
In
the midst of dire circumstances brought about by the escalating Israeli
bombardment in Gaza City, Azmi Diab, an eighth-grade student, faced
numerous hardships.
14 October 2023
In
UNRWA’s crowded Khan Younis Training Centre (KYTC) shelter, among
22,000 terrified displaced people, Abu Rami Abdraboh, a weathered yet
dignified man, sits in the midst of a circle of his wide-eyed grandsons.
The yard is filled with the hushed whispers of other displaced...
27 June 2023
The
16th anniversary of the blockade on Gaza – marked throughout the month
of June - reflects profoundly throughout the small enclave. The blockade
has cast a dark shadow over the lives of Palestine Refugees,
perpetuating a state of chronic crisis.
Dec 17, 2023 MECA Video with Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha speaking to us from Cairo about the situation in Gaza, some of his friends & relatives who have been killed in Israeli attacks & reading some of his poetry and the work of his friend Refaat Al-Areer.
Hear from poet Mosab Abu Toha speaking to us from Cairo about the situation in Gaza, some of his friends & relatives who have been killed in Israeli attacks & reading some of his poetry and the work of his friend Refaat Al-Areer. Mosab's book is "Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza"
Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA: www.mecaforpeace.org)... MECA is a nonprofit organization working for the rights and well-being of children in the Middle East.
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Donia had lost her parents and two siblings in an Israeli strike. She was getting treatment in the hospital after she lost her leg in a previous Israeli strike when she was killed by yet another Israeli shelling.
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| Donia Abu Mohsen |
The young Palestinian who was killed by Israel's shelling of another hospital in Gaza is Donia Abu Mohsen.
Donia had lost her parents and two siblings in an earlier Israeli air strike on her family home. She was getting treatment in the Naser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis because she lost her leg in a that Israeli strike on her family home in Gaza.
This young girl and her family deserved to live, to love, to laugh and run and be free. Instead they were trapped in Gaza- victims of Israel's genocidal war on Palestine.
UNICIF: She dreamed of becoming a lawyer. "I feel injustice; when I grow up, I will be a lawyer so that I can enjoy my rights and the rights of all children"
Children urgently need a lasting humanitarian ceasefire. Now.
Palestine demands investigation into reports of Israel burying victims alive in Gaza
December 17, 2023 at 10:47 am
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| A view of destroyed roads and Kamal Adwan Hospital after Israeli attacks on Beit Lahia, Gaza on December 16, 2023. [Mahmoud Sabbah – Anadolu Agency] |
“Information and testimonies from citizens, medical crews, and media indicate that the occupation buried living civilians in the Kamal Adwan Hospital courtyard, and that some of them were seen alive before being besieged by the occupation,” according to Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila.
“The world should take serious action to uncover the details of this file and not tolerate or remain silent about the information coming from the Gaza Strip,” said al-Kaila as she urged an international inquiry into the reports.
READ: Israeli forces detain over 70 Palestinians near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza
Al-Kaila explained that “the Israeli occupation deliberately expelled the wounded from Kamal Adwan Hospital into the open air in extremely cold weather and attacked medical personnel, posing a serious threat to the lives of the wounded and patients.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also demanded an “immediate international investigation into preliminary reports of the occupation committing heinous and horrifying crimes in the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital.”
Director-General of the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, Munir Al-Bursh, told Anadolu that “the Israeli occupation committed a humanitarian catastrophe, turning Kamal Adwan Hospital into a military barracks and deliberately humiliating medical staff and the wounded.”
Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif wrote on X after visiting the hospital following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, that “what the Israeli occupation did inside Kamal Adwan Hospital is a heinous crime against the residents and medical staff.”
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES or quotes or watch videos IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
"Caption's yours, write freely" Ibrahim Ghunaim
%20%E2%80%A2%20Instagram%20photos%20and%20videos.png) |
| Caption's yours, write freely- Ibrahim Ghunaim @mcgazaofficial on Instagram |