Idlib, Syria – In a small home in northwestern Syria, Muhammad Haninun sits glued to his mobile phone after the most recent Israeli assaults in Gaza.
For over a month he watched movies of the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and the displacement of civilians attempting to flee the bombardment. In the meantime, the occasions carry again clear recollections of what he endured 75 years in the past.
The 80-year-old can not help however take into consideration the similarities between what he sees in Gaza and what he skilled when he and his household had been displaced in the course of the Nakba, or “disaster,” in 1948, when Israel was based and displaced greater than 750,000 individuals hit. Palestinians had been forcibly expelled from their land and 1000’s had been killed.
“The Palestinian tragedy is going on once more,” Haninun mentioned. “The individuals of Gaza are going through warfare with out receiving the identical assist we acquired earlier than.”
‘A damaged report’
Since October 7, when the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas breached the Gaza barrier and attacked southern Israel, Western nations, led by america, has rushed to sentence the motion that has dominated the besieged Gaza Strip since 2006. .
The condemnation was adopted by Western monetary and army assist for Israel, which has been ruthlessly bombing Gaza, one of many world’s most populous areas, for 35 days. Since October 7, at the least 10,812 Palestinians, together with 4,412 kids, have been killed in Israeli assaults on Gaza. Greater than 1,400 individuals have been murdered in Israel.
Equally, within the first half of the twentieth century, Britain supplied army assist within the type of safety and weapons to the Zionists, inspired Jewish immigration from Europe to Palestine, and allowed them to expel lots of of 1000’s of Palestinians from their properties whereas they constructed a brand new nation. stands for itself.
In November 1948, Israelis used planes to bomb the northern village of Tarshiha in rural Acre, destroying three homes – together with Haninun’s house – and killing seven of his family members.
“Earlier than that, we had evacuated our properties a number of occasions for 2 or three days and returned. We did not take something with us,” he remembers. “We thought we might return, particularly since we had been unable to take away the useless from the rubble.”
However they by no means might.
Haninun, then 5 years outdated, and 4 members of his household had been pressured to maneuver between seven cities in Lebanon and Syria earlier than being allowed to remain in a refugee camp in Aleppo, a “tragic” surroundings with a small room for every household. no kitchen, rest room or operating water and shared bathrooms.
He remembers Arab radio stations and governments promising Palestinians a fast return — after seven days, then after seven weeks, then after seven months, till greater than seven a long time had handed.
“This cracked report has been enjoying since 1948, when individuals fled from one village to a different, solely to be confronted with massacres as a result of the enemy regarded ‘others’ as animals and killed them identical to killing cattle – and this logic remains to be the identical in the present day.”
Haninun moved to the Syrian capital Damascus to check historical past. He then labored as a trainer in Aleppo and lived within the camp there, till the Syrian warfare pressured him to flee to Idlib in 2014. However what he nonetheless longs for is the possibility to at some point return to Palestine – and his roots.
“There may be nonetheless hope,” Haninun mentioned. “If I die earlier than returning to Palestine, I’ll inform my kids and grandchildren that you’ve got a proper to that land and that we’re its true homeowners.”
Strengthening the Palestinian trigger
On Thursday, the Ain Jalut Scouts and the Syrian Personal Scouts marched by central Idlib, simply considered one of many actions held within the space in latest weeks in assist of Gaza.
Ayman Muhammad, 40, a displaced Palestinian dwelling within the northwestern Syrian metropolis and the scout chief of the Ain Jalut group, advised Al Jazeera that the injustice suffered by Palestinians for 75 years is the motivation for organizing protests, elevating cash and offering assist. by social media.
The Israeli warfare on Gaza has strengthened the Palestinian trigger, Mohammed believes. “In the present day the West and the East, from one finish to the opposite, stand with the Palestinian individuals towards the aggression.”
In October, main cities world wide witnessed demonstrations involving lots of of 1000’s of individuals to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and freedom for Palestine.
Palestinians in Idlib can not stand by, Mohammed mentioned. Regardless of tough financial and safety circumstances in Idlib, he added, members of the Palestinian group and Syrian supporters right here have managed to boost about $400,000 in donations for Gaza.
Syrian activists additionally took half in demonstrations in assist of Palestine, regardless of bombardments by authorities forces and Russian warplanes focusing on rallies within the nation’s final insurgent stronghold.
For the Palestinians in northern Syria who’re experiencing the Syrian warfare, the Syrian revolution and the Palestinian trigger are actually inextricably linked, Mohammed believes. “Victory will come for each causes, as a result of the proper won’t be misplaced so long as we demand it,” he mentioned.
