A Century of Injustice and Resistance
What we are witnessing in Palestine is not merely a regional conflict—it is, in fact, one of the longest-running injustices of the modern world. This injustice began more than a century ago with the Balfour Declaration, a letter written in 1917 that changed the destiny of an entire people. Issued by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild, it expressed Britain’s support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” while claiming that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.”
At that time, Palestine was overwhelmingly Arab. Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together under Ottoman rule, sharing a land that was culturally rich and socially coherent. The Balfour Declaration marked the beginning of the Zionist colonial project of usurping the indigenous population of their homeland. Britain later took control of Palestine under a League of Nations Mandate, implementing policies that encouraged mass Jewish immigration and transferred increasing control of land and resources to Zionist organizations, ignoring the protests and pleas of the local population.
The Palestinians, who made up nearly 90 per cent of the inhabitants in 1917, were never consulted. As they resisted through strikes and revolts, their demands for independence were brutally suppressed. By 1947, when the United Nations proposed the Partition Plan (Resolution 181)—granting 55 per cent of Palestine to the Jewish minority—Palestinians saw this as the culmination of decades of betrayal. When Israel was declared in May 1948, more than 750,000 Palestinians were expelled in the first ‘Nakba,’ creating the world’s longest-standing refugee crisis. Over 500 villages were destroyed, thousands of Palestinians were killed, and Israel occupied more than three-quarters of historic Palestine.
Occupation and Ongoing Violations
After the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli War, Israel further occupied the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Syrian Golan Heights, in violation of international law. The UN Security Council’s Resolution 242 demanded Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories, but decades later, this resolution, along with hundreds of others, remains unimplemented. Palestinians continue to live under Zionist colonial rule, facing land seizures, illegal settlements, and collective punishment.
Since October 2023, Israel has waged the most brutal war against the unarmed population of Gaza. According to the UN verified figures, 94% of all hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. There have been 1,424 attacks on health facilities and workers, and over 80% of schools and 57 universities in Gaza have been destroyed. A total of 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, 70 per cent of them women and children.
Tens of thousands of buildings have been demolished, and over 137,000 structures have been reduced to the ground. Today, two million Gazans are internally displaced in Gaza. More than 242 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7, 2023. Attacks on ambulances, clinics, and community health centers have been widespread.
Global Protests and Unfulfilled Promises
Globally, there have been thousands of protests in every country against the atrocities of Israel, demanding an end to the illegal occupation of Israel and its war on Gaza, but despite that, there has been no end to Israeli atrocities, which include an embargo on all aid and relief into Gaza, creating the worst famine there.
Despite all this brutality unleashed on Gaza, the recent political developments are the latest attempt to legitimise Israeli occupation. Ironically, the Trump-Netanyahu “Deal of the Century,” presented as a peace plan, completely disregards the UN framework and the right of Palestinians to self-determination. It proposes formal annexation of large parts of the West Bank and recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided capital,” directly contradicting UN resolutions that declared East Jerusalem an occupied territory. The Trump plan is nothing but a blatant attempt to erase the legal and political rights of the Palestinian people.
No one—not the United States, Israel, or any other power—has the authority to decide the fate of Palestine. Only the Palestinian people have the right to determine their own future. This so-called agreement, which proposes to rule over Gaza through a body “Board of Peace” headed by Trump and others, is illegal. The Trump-Netanyahu plan is based on dishonesty and political opportunism, seeking to normalise occupation rather than end it and offers no guarantees for the Palestinians. It is only an effort to legalise aggression, legitimise settlements, and negate every principle the UN Charter stands for.
The Struggle for Justice and Dignity
The complicity and tacit approval of this proposed agreement in the face of these violations is highly troubling, as the land belongs to the people of Palestine. The Golan Heights legally belong to Syria, and any recognition of Israel’s annexation of that territory is a clear breach of international law. The same applies to Palestinian lands—no nation has the moral or legal authority to legitimise the occupation of another people’s homeland.
Palestinians have lived under blockade, dispossession, and apartheid-like conditions for decades. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers live under civil law while Palestinians live under the Zionist military rule. In Gaza, over two million people have lived under siege for decades, cut off from the outside world. Generations have grown up knowing only conflict, checkpoints, and occupation. Yet their resilience remains unbroken, and their demand is: freedom, equality, and the right to live in peace on their own land.
The essence of the Palestinian struggle is a fight for justice, dignity, and the rule of international law. The Balfour Declaration promised that the rights of the indigenous people would be protected; history has shown that promise to be hollow.
International Law and Persistent Violations
Since 1948, the United Nations has passed more than 800 resolutions relating to Palestine and Israel, which called for Israel to withdraw from occupied territories, end illegal settlement construction in the West Bank, respect the rights of refugees, and cease violations against civilians. Yet, Israel continues to act with impunity, shielded by powerful allies that veto or ignore these resolutions.
International humanitarian law—especially the Fourth Geneva Convention—clearly prohibits the transfer of an occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory. Nevertheless, Israel has built and expanded hundreds of illegal settlements across the West Bank, confiscating land and water resources, while displacing Palestinian communities. The International Court of Justice, in its 2004 advisory opinion, declared Israel’s separation wall illegal, yet it still stands, dividing Palestinian families and isolating entire towns.
The United States’ consistent political and military support and offering one-sided deals such as the current one have emboldened Israel’s defiance. Billions of dollars in annual aid and weapons have reinforced an occupation that the world recognises as unlawful.
Conclusion
This illegal occupation must end, the refugees must return to their homes, and Palestinians must have equal rights—freedom of movement, equality under law, and sovereignty over their land. This is the only acceptable deal for Palestine.
I have visited Palestine and Gaza several times and have personally witnessed the brutality inflicted by Israeli forces on innocent men, women, and children. Until the occupation ends and Palestinians are granted their full rights, peace in the Middle East will remain an elusive dream. The struggle for Palestine is a struggle for justice, and it will continue till the freedom of Palestine.
