The second Nakba?

As Palestinians remember their ancestors' stories of being kicked out of their villages and homes in 1948 by the Israeli army -- an event they refer to as the Nakba -- they ask if what they are going through now is the Second Nakba. The UN has reported that there has been mass displacement from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip since last Friday when Israel ordered Gazans to evacuate these areas. The numbers of Palestinian IDPs are rising but those leaving have no idea where to go, and some may be turning back to their homes even with the Israeli threat since Israel has also started targeting those evacuating the areas. Palestinians ask why they should even leave when every sky they are under only sends down bombs.

Pakistan has finally spoken out openly and clearly on the Palestinian issue, Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbasi Jillani talking to the media on Sunday and articulating in plain words that the siege of Gaza has created "a major humanitarian crisis that can be equated with genocide". Reiterating that this is "genocide being committed by Israel against poor people of Palestine" and "there is no doubt that Israel has committed aggression”, the foreign minister asked Israel to respect international law and UN resolutions on Palestine. Encouragingly, and echoing what many progressives across the world have been saying, the foreign minister also said that any "attempt to equate Israel [which is the] aggressor with that of [the] Palestinian struggle is unacceptable for Pakistan". It is good to see Pakistan taking an unequivocal stance on Palestine. With an estimated one million Gazans displaced in the first seven days of conflict with Israel, with water now a “matter of life and death” -- per the UN -- Palestinians need all the help and solidarity they can get, especially as the West has decided to stand with imperialism and colonization. When people ask who bears the responsibility of the blood of the nearly 2500 Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, the answer would be Israel that pulled the trigger but not without open support by almost all of the world powers -- who have pretty much sanctioned a live genocide.

Meanwhile, the official Twitter/X account of the state of Israel seems to be relishing the barbarity it is unleashing. The account has been consistently resorting to not only disinformation but outright glee at murdering Palestinians. In a particularly petty moment online, on Sunday the official Israel account on X (Twitter) posted a petty tweet regarding Pakistan's loss against India in the Ahmedabad World Cup match. Posting that "We were really moved by Indian friends showing their solidarity with Israel", the account seemed to subtweet Muhammad Rizwan's post in a previous match in which he had dedicated his victory to Gaza. Israel's account said: "We are happy that India emerged victorious in the #INDvsPAK match at #CWC23 and that Pakistan was unable to attribute its victory to the terrorists of #Hamas". For a state that is literally executing a mass murder of civilians whose land it has stolen, one wonders at the sheer pettiness and impunity the Israeli government has been allowed by the West. So much so that it cannot even allow a moment of respect and solidarity with its victims. Israel's impunity has also just been added to by some European states that have arrested protestors for merely protesting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Palestinians are under attack. And everyone -- from Israel to almost every Western power to Big Tech that runs social media -- is complicit in these war crimes.