The Significance of Palestinian Life in the Gaza War

posted on: Jan 24, 2024

By: Ghassan Rubeiz, Arab America Contributing Writer

Negotiations continue to free Israel’s remaining hostages, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. When freed, Israel’s hostages will receive overwhelming attention, and they should. I wonder how much public attention will be given to the released Palestinian prisoners. We know of no concrete plans for the protection of the devastated people of Gaza, who have been living in equally dangerous conditions as both the hostages and prisoners. 

The fatality toll in Gaza has surpassed 25,000. The Washington Post reports: The War in Gaza is making childbirth a nightmare. (Wash. Post, 1/22/24) The continued dehumanization of Palestinians induces generational anger. Humiliation is among the strongest of our emotions.

In a moving piece in the Guardian, Owen Jones asserts that our political and media elites are complicit in Gaza’s nightmare. “What is the value of Palestinian life?” Jones laments. He adds: Life is cheap, they say. It is meaningless if you are a Palestinian. Jones wisely asserts that there are consequences for this level of contempt for the life of an occupied and oppressed Palestinian nation; he holds the “political elite” of the Western world responsible for this lack of sensitivity to Gaza’s carnage. To be fair, one has to recognize that significant positive contributions are coming from Diaspora Jews, especially the youth, who do recognize the value of Palestinian lives. These young people are speaking up – and face heavier attacks from many Israelis and right-wing groups – for their voices to criticize Israeli politics at this time. Their existence is potentially key (as are their arguments) to finding a way through to some solution

In my opinion, contempt for Palestinian life is a deeply rooted political reality in Western society. It is not simply a moral abdication of responsibility. Underlying this reality are a variety of old and new factors: The October 7 events, the Iran connection, Israel’s miscalculation, US- Israel’s symbiotic relations, and the recent worsening of interfaith relations between the Arab and the Jewish communities.

Impact of the Hamas October 7 Events: 

Hamas’ October 7 attack alerted the international community that there will be no peace in the Middle East as long as the Palestinians are denied justice. However, this needed message has been achieved at a heavy humanitarian cost for both the Palestinian people and for Israel. The brutal attack on Israeli civilians and their kidnap gave Israel the excuse to retaliate disproportionately. As it stands now, the immense humanitarian consequences in Gaza and elsewhere are likely to outweigh the political gains made on any side of the conflict.

Many in Israel have unfortunately used October 7 as a political opportunity. Some in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government claim that the people of Gaza are responsible for Hamas’ acts of terror; some say the Palestinians are “not suitable partners” for peace; they “cannot be trusted”; they do not deserve to have a “state of their own”. Time will tell if Hamas has served the Palestinian cause with its October 7 attack. Israel has privileged access to the Western media; the image of Palestinians has not been improved by the politics of Hamas.

The Iran Connection:  

Iran’s partnership with Palestinians reinforces Western apathy to Palestinian suffering. Iran’s support of the Palestine cause has made it difficult for the US (and the wider Western world) to look favorably toward a Palestinian nation seeking political liberation through the support of Tehran’s autocratic regime. Western irritation with Iran is not a new development. The US has had a troubled history in Iran since the early 1950s. For the past 45 years, Tehran and Washington have been in a bitter conflict. Both sides see the devil in the other.

Israel and the US share enmity with Iran. Over the past three decades, Israel and Iran have also become increasingly adversarial. Israel considers Iran an existential threat; and Iran considers Israel a central evil in the region. The Islamic Republic of Iran has always been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause since the Khomeini regime in 1979, but Tehran has been supporting Palestinians militarily, through Hamas, only during the last few years. So many in Israel and the US are emotionally predisposed to look the other way as the IDF tries to ruthlessly dismantle Hamas and its host community.

Israel’s Miscalculation:  

The third factor contributing to the contempt of the West for Palestinian life is Israel’s campaign to justify its aggression by blaming the victims. Just asHamashas mistakenly assumed that October 7 attack would, in solidarity, mobilize Hezbollah and the wider “axis of resistance” against Israel, Netanyahu has naively assumed that the Israeli military would easily dismantle Hamas and punish its supporters in Gaza and the West Bank. It did not take long for Netanyahu’s war cabinet to realize that they have fallen in a quagmire in Gaza. Hamas is not destructible with sheer force. As a result, Israel has launched a public relations campaign to portray the Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere as terrorists. The Western media have fixated on the “barbaric” events of October 7 while describing Israel’s war in Gaza simply as a natural “defense” strategy.  In support of Israel, many ask this rhetorical question: what did you expect Israel to do to protect its people from facing another October 7?   

Special US Relations with Israel:

Israel’s symbiotic relations with the US partially explain Washington’s distancing itself from the Palestinian cause. The largest Jewish Diaspora is in the US, a community of disproportionate influence. The two countries are economically and strategically interconnected.  While the US burdens the Arab world with its heaviest military presence, Washington offers Israel the most significant political and economic privileges. It is no wonder that when there is any conflict between Israel and any Arab country, Washington passionately takes the side of Israel.   

The War Has Fuelled Suspicion between Arabs and Jews: 

On both sides of the conflict, extremists have exploited the tension in Gaza to stir hatred between Arabs and Jews. Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have risen sharply since the Gaza war started. Interfaith relations affect political attitudes. It is hard for many on either side of the religious divide to see the agony of the other. Western media are not immune to sectarian bias. Many in the Arab world feel that there is an informal, historically-rooted “Judeo-Christian” alliance works against the interests of the Muslim world. Arabs may wonder if the world would have been as oblivious to Gaza’s suffering if it has not been an Arab community.

What have the Israelis and the Arabs learned from this war? It is hard to imagine a free and united Palestine under Hamas leadership, and it is equally difficult to imagine a secure and democratic Israel under the growing influence of the religious right.

Palestinian life is as precious as any other national group. History will not forget the war crimes in Gaza.

About the author: Ghassan Rubeiz is the former Middle East Secretary of the World Council of Churches. Earlier he taught psychology and social work in his country of birth, Lebanon, and later in the United States, where he currently lives. For the past twenty years, he has contributed to political commentary and delivered occasional public talks on subjects related to peace, justice, and interfaith. You can reach him at rubeizg@gmail.com

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Arab America. The reproduction of this article is permissible with proper credit to Arab America and the author.

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