On October 7th, Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel by land and air, killing 1,400  Israelis. The deaths of these Israelis are tragic, having led to a war declared by Israel, but what’s with pro-Palestinian demonstrators yelling “Free Palestine!” across the world? Why has this event sparked these pro-Palestinian demonstrations? 

If you do not know the answer to those questions, then that tells me you do not know the century’s worth of history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has preceded Hamas’ attack. If you don’t know the full history and context, you probably don’t fully understand what it means to be pro-Palestinian. Therefore, to put everyone on the same page, a history lesson is needed. 

During World War I, the Balfour Declaration issued by the U.K. Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour promised Great Britain’s role in the establishment of a Jewish homeland in the holy land located in Palestine. By the end of the war and with the fall of the Ottoman Empire who had control of Palestine, European Jews started to settle in Palestine, escaping persecution from the Nazis.

At the end of World War II, the United Nations (U.N.) passed a resolution in 1947 to divide Palestine into two states: a Jewish state and an Arab State. Despite the resistance by the Palestinian Arabs, Israel declared itself a state in 1948, leading to the Arab-Israeli war that included Arab countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Syria against the new state of Israel. Israel not only won the war against these Arab nations but also gained more Palestinian territory than the U.N. proposed. Egypt and Jordan took control of the remaining Palestinian territories: Gaza and the West Bank.

The creation of the Israeli state displaced 600,000 Palestinians in two years; this is referred to as the Nabka. The 1967 Six Day War started by an Israeli attack on Egyptian and Syrian forces gave more territory to Israel. In 1973, the Egyptians and the Syrians launched a surprise attack against Israel on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur; U.S. forces provided help to Israel, and the conflict ended in negotiations between Egypt and Israel called the Camp David Accords. In addition, this led to Palestinians self-governing themselves after a long time of being under the Egyptians and the Syrians.

From 1987 to 1999, Palestinians from a refugee camp in Gaza started a rebellion against Israel. To settle this, the Oslo Accords provided the idea of the two state solution and the removal of Israeli control in a few cities in Palestinian territory. The uprising led to the deaths of 1,300 Palestinians and 200 Israelis. Another uprising in 2000 led to deaths of 4,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis; Israel responded by creating a barrier between the West Bank and Israel despite the International Court of Justice’s disapproval.

In 2006, Hamas won the elections in Gaza. The outcome of the elections was not recognized by Western states who saw Hamas as a terrorist organization that was started in 1987. Tensions between Hamas and Israel escalated over the killing and kidnapping of Israel and Palestinian teens, which led to an air strike against Israel and an Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2014. 2,200 Palestinians and 70 Israelis were killed. Over the next few years, both groups tried to reach an agreement with the Trump Administration, but in 2021, Israel allowed the annexation of Palestinian territory in East Jerusalem where the holy site of Al-Aqsa Mosque is. Palestinians protested against the Israeli police, and Hamas attacked Israel, with Israel attacking back. 

Now, we have caught up to the present. In reaction to Hamas’ recent attack, Israel has announced a  “complete siege” of Gaza and has blocked off food, water, fuel, and electricity to Gaza civilians. The current death toll of Palestinians with the Israeli invasion reaches 8,000. Israel has also called for 1.1 million Palestinians to leave or be killed by the ground invasion.  

This is what pro-Palestinians are protesting against: genocide. 

What makes Israel’s so-called defense against Hamas a genocide? According to international law, genocide is recognized if there is an “‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,’ and then the attempted destruction of that group.” The intention of the Israeli siege is not only to stop Hamas but also to punish all of Gaza as Israeli President Isaac Herzog believes, “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible.” Punishing Palestinian civilians is against international law as it is a war crime to target civilians. 

Israel’s actions also fall under the internationally declared 10 stages of genocide. Forced displacement of Palestinians now and in the past is a stage of genocide. The dehumanization of Palestinias by not providing food and water and by calling them “human animals” is a stage of genocide. Falsely labeling Israeli invasion as “counter-terrorism” is a stage of genocide. 

This is what pro-Palestinians are protesting about, and the French football legend Eric Cantona says it in the best way possible, “‘Free Palestine’ means free Palestinians from the Israeli occupation that’s been robbing them of their basic human rights for 75 years. ‘Free Palestine’ means stop caging 2.3 million Palestinians in the world’s largest open air prison, half of whom are children. ‘Free Palestine’ means end the apartheid imposed by the Israeli government. ‘Free Palestine' means give the Palestinians control over the basic infrastructure in their land.”  

Cantona also says what pro-Palestine does not mean, “Defending human rights of Palestinians does not mean you are pro-Hamas. Saying ‘Free Palestine’ does not mean you are anti-Semitic or want all Jews gone.”  

Now that the meaning of pro-Palestine has been established, you can look at the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. and tell yourself that these are protests in favor of human rights of Palestinians. They are not rejoicing about the Israeli deaths on October 7.  

As an American who is pro-Palestinian, I condemn the United States’ stance on the war. President Joe Biden has provided America's support to Israel in the form of military aid. I would like to ask what this support is actually for? Is it to help Israel, one of the most powerful countries in the world, against a militant group and unarmed civilians, or is the military aid for helping the genocide play out?  

Many pro-Palestinians, including American Jews, share the same thoughts, leading to protests at Capitol Hill on October 18th. The protests resulted in the arrest of 300 people because of being charged with violence towards police officers. 

I condemn the action of the police as well. To protest is a right. The American government is not only fuelling human rights violations overseas but also taking away the freedom of speech of Americans at home. 

American lawmakers supporting Israeli victims is not a problem but letting genocide against Palestinians continue is a problem.