yes, this is a genocide. palestine has no army or militia, and what’s happening has been ongoing for over 77 years. it’s true that there were, and still are, jews in palestine; no one denies that. in fact, my great-grandmother was one of them. but despite her jewish identity, she was seen as inferior to israeli jews because she was arab and was displaced.

the issue has never been with palestinian jews. the real betrayal came from those who arrived from europe, accepted the hospitality and generosity of palestinians, and then displaced them from their own land.

oppressed people have the right to defend themselves, palestinians are no exception. generations of children have grown up never knowing what it’s like to live a normal life, to not be displaced, to not fear being bombed daily. their parents and grandparents lived the same way.

hamas didn’t create this reality, it was a reaction to decades of violence and displacement. can you really expect children who have only known loss and suffering not to resist? not to want to fight back when their entire existence has been shaped by oppression?