The Palestinian war vs. Israel has thrown the United States into a battle for who to support. President Joe Biden released a statement a month ago standing together with Israelis in support of their side in this war.
Biden has used the U.S. to support the funds for Israel and the mass genocide they have produced upon Palestinian civilians. Israel has cut the power in Gaza and has left Palestinians with little to no power and internet connection, as well as no medical support for the victims of the strikes that Israel has launched.
The conflict between Palestine and Israel dates back roughly 75 years ago with Israel’s control over the West Bank and Gaza Strip in Palestine when Palestinians forced an uprising against Israel for their control over their land. This resulted in a series of wars until a cease-fire was agreed upon by both sides in mid 2014. This ceasefire held up for four years until Israeli troops killed almost 200 Palestinians and wounded 6,000 more during a protest against the border of the fence and the Gaza strip.
Then in 2021, Hamas, the militant group for Gaza and other Palestinian groups, launched hundreds of rockets into Israel territory, which the Palestinian Authorities condemned. This attack led Israel to release artillery bombs upon Palestine targeting both military and non military structures, killing more than 20 Palestinians. After just short of two weeks, Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire, with 13 Israelis killed, 250 Palestinians killed and more than 2,000 people wounded.
Then on October 7, 2023 Hamas orchestrated an attack on Israel, killing “1,300 Israelis, injuring 3,300, and taking hundreds of hostages,” according to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by the Center for Preventive Action. After this day, Israel formally declared war against Hamas, in which Biden showed much support. Israel gave residents in Gaza a 24-hour warning to evacuate before launching the attacks. But with over 2 million people living in Gaza, the U.N. deemed it “impossible” for all of them to escape.
On November 24, 2023 Israel issued a temporary ceasefire which would only last for seven days before Israel started the attacks again. Within the first seven hours of the war resuming, over 60 Palestinians were killed according to BBC.
These attacks have been conducted for the past three months and continue to this day. As of Thursday, December 5, 2023, at least 16,015 Palestinians, including over 6,600 children have been killed, and 1,400 deaths in Israel have occurred due to this war.
The support of the U.S with this war has left some U.S. citizens to feel betrayed by their president and country. “The president and politics are for Israel while the people are for Palestine,” said senior Taylor Anthony. By having the president represent the citizens, and control what way Western media portrays the war it leaves many citizens only reading about one side of the story. Anthony said, “People want to call it war, but it’s not a war if it’s one sided; it’s a genocide against the people in Gaza.”
“It’s definitely morally and ethically wrong,” concluded Anthony.
