This Week in Palestine - 25.03.2024-01.04.2024

June was the 9th month of the Israeli onslaught of Gaza, in this episode we briefly summarise the key events. Most notable is the new status quo emerging in Gaza, a status quo intended to exhaust its inhabitants and to cause maximum destruction to civilian infrastructure. Additionally, we saw tensions flare up along the Lebanese border, with all-out war looking increasingly likely unless a ceasefire is reached in the meantime, another topic of discussion in this episode.

Director of the documentary The Truth: Lost at Sea, and survivor of the Freedom Flotilla massacre, Rifat Odeh, takes us through his experience on the boat that attempted to break the siege and deliver much needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. We begin by asking the question why a humanitarian mission was necessary, before developing into the dark scenes that the Israeli military unfolded on the aid workers, as well as diving into the propaganda machine that attempted to save Israel's image. This comes during a crucial time where a new flotilla looks to leave for the same mission to Gaza in 2024. The Documentary, The Truth: Lost at Sea produced by Rifat Odeh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXgc6hFKqzI&rco=1

On Orthodox Easter, we take a look at this small but significant part of the Palestinian population. From how external forces have shaped the proportion of religious diversity in the holy land, to the role that Christians play in the fight for liberation, we take you on a quick, but thorough deep dive into who Palestinian Christians really are.

As the international escalation between Iran and Israel begins to die down again for now, in this episode we shift our attention back to the reality on the ground in Gaza from the last week. In this time, we saw the uncovering of mass graves containing over 300 bodies, many of which with evidence of serious human rights abuses such as torture and mutilation. We also shortly turn our attention to the growing demonstrations on US college campuses demanding divestment from companies profiting off the genocide in Gaza.

The recent tit-for-tat missile attacks by Israel and Iran have led to the fear that a regional war may very well prevail soon. In this episode, we go through who the two sides are, what the possibility of war actually is, and what the effect thereof on Gaza but also more generally Palestine would be.

For two weeks the world watched anxiously to see how Iran would respond to the attack on their consulate in Damascus, Syria, at the hands of the State of Israel. On the night of the 13th of April, we got our answer. Hundreds of drones and missiles were fired at Israel from Iranian territory for the first time ever. But how did we get into this situation in the first place? In this episode, we break down the context and the Iranian operation itself, in what certainly will not be the end of hostilities between the two powers.

Murdering foreign aid workers and bombing an Iranian diplomatic facility are only two of many despicable acts that Israel undertook this week to mark exactly six months of their ongoing genocide in Gaza. In this episode we take you through these stories, among others such as the significant use of AI in this genocide, the attempt to censor Al-Jazeera within the occupied territories, but also the increasing pressure at the ICJ on countries that are complicit in the genocide such as Germany.

Even during Ramadan and Easter, Israel persisted in its genocide in Gaza and wider war against Palestinians across their occupied homeland. But we did see international developments with a ceasefire resolution passing in the UN Security Council, as well as additional measures made by the ICJ in an attempt to force Israel to comply with international law. Join us for this short episode where we take a look at this and more!

With the genocide of Gaza continuing into almost half a year, it still often feels like we haven't reached the peak of the violence. In this episode we go through the siege of the Al-Shifa hospital, a 'ceasefire' proposal by the US, as well as the decision made by the Canadian government to halt arms exports to Israel.

5 months into this genocide, it may be getting harder for you to keep up with all the developments on the ground and around the world related to Palestine. Last week, we saw changes in the position of the US government regarding the Israeli government, a new policy to allegedly alleviate suffering in Gaza, and Israel's rejection of yet another ceasefire proposal by Hamas. Join us on the first of many weekly updates we will be bringing you.