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ACCORDING TO LIZ - On Monday, Israel welcomed home the 20 living of the 46 hostages that had remained in the hands of Hamas following the terrorist raids on Israel that set off the war in Gaza. The bodies of some of those who died in captivity followed with more – still buried in the rubble of Israeli bomb strikes or lost in the chaos of war – to come.
Two may still be unaccounted for.
Israel’s hostages came home to a country forever changed by the multi-pronged Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the actions of the Israeli government since. But a country largely intact and replete with family members and friends eager to help them assimilate back into a supportive society.
Vastly different from what awaited the approximately 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees heading home to Gaza or to the West Bank or into exile.
Those going to Gaza join tens of thousands of their countrymen and women who had been herded into the south by Israeli forces and are now walking north to find out what has happened to their loved ones, their houses, their livelihoods. Any joy at the official end of Israeli bombing tempered by destruction and almost insurmountable loss.
Whole neighborhoods abandoned by the occupying forces are flattened, infrastructure destroyed. People face a dearth of hospitals, of schools, of places of worship.
No shelter, no heat, no services, no jobs, no food, no potable water. And no money to rebuild.
Lots of promises, but many come with strings attached and all will take time. Time that isn’t standing still as a third winter approaches.
And both groups of victims – Israeli and Palestinian = face uncertain futures due to the toll of the internecine Hamas-Israeli conflict. Physical and mental health issues that even time won’t cure.
But while Israel has a vibrant economy and resilient resources, a worldwide community eager to help those who have suffered, the scope of the rebuilding facing Gaza is overwhelming, with little better than nothing to start from.
No government, no infrastructure, no food or other resources, the uncertainty of a future yet to be decided by outside and sometimes inimical parties.
“There’s nothing to be happy about” mourned one Gazan. “My two daughters were killed, my home was destroyed, and my health has deteriorated.”
In Israel, about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were abducted in the initial attack; a total of 168 of whom came home alive. Some of the hostages who died were killed by their captors, others were victims of Israeli bombs. Approximately 1,000 Israeli soldiers have died in the fighting since.
Gaza health officials estimate at least 67,000 Palestinians were killed over the past two years – more than three out of every hundred human beings living in the enclave. Numbers not disputed by the Israelis; in fact, some of the more virulent Israelis have voiced that there should have been more death and destruction to punish the entire enclave for the actions of a few.
Almost all of Gaza’s two million residents have been displaced, some many times over. They seek shelter in bombed-out buildings and tents. Starvation is rampant, healthcare virtually non-existent. Israeli forces have “defended” Gazans from humanitarian aid for many months.
Some of the Palestinian prisoners being released were serving life sentences for attacks that killed civilians and soldiers; others on lesser charges. However, human rights advocates note that many had military trials that may have lacked due process.
Administrative detention – incarceration for months or even years without trial, is a common Israeli practice to prevent further attacks and avoid sensitive information getting back to terrorist groups.
Some crimes were recent, others decades old. One man has been imprisoned for nearly 40 years.
A number of high-profile prisoners such as Marwan Barghouti, a potential successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, were not included.
Of the 1,700 detainees that went home, most had been held under new laws allowing Palestinians to be detained for months as “unlawful combatants” without judicial review and without access to lawyers.
Routine abuse, including beatings and insufficient food, has been reported in the detention facilities by human rights groups, U.N. observers, and the detainees themselves.
Another 1,300 remain in Israeli custody which means that nearly every Palestinian has or has had a friend or family member jailed in Israel. In particular, the young men needed to help rebuild their homeland.
Many Palestinians consider these prisoners as freedom fighters, resisting the decades-long illegal Israeli military occupation. Although pro-Israel factions fear them as potential terrorists.
On the day of the release, Israel warned people living in the West Bank against celebrating; those who had gathered at viewpoints above Ofer Prison, drinking coffee and discussing the path toward peace promised in the agreement, were dispersed with tear gas and rubber bullets, fired from an armored Israeli vehicle while drones buzzed overhead.
Israeli forces distributed fliers in neighborhoods where prisoners’ families live warning that “anyone who participates in such activities exposes himself to punishment and arrest.”
Some readers of CityWatch have expressed anger at any opinion that does not wholly support the state of Israel and its god-given right to destroy Hamas and obliterate Gaza.
That is wrong.
On the other hand, it’s equally wrong to support the murderous actions of Hamas and other organizations visiting violence on the Jewish people.
But it’s hard to condone Israel’s colonialist approach to the West Bank and Gaza, its support for illegal settlement and its mistreatment of Palestinian residents and prisoners. It’s this mistreatment that has created the anger and backfired against Israelis, the settlers, and their government.
What happened to the Jewish belief that kindness is a pillar of Jewish life? That their world beyond the Torah stands on service and on “chesed,” acts of loving-kindness?
That, as Mihran Kalaydjian points out in a recent City Watch article [[[https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/31604-from-reflection-to-renewal-practicing-radical-kindness-on-yom-kippur ]]], “…radical kindness extends outward, beyond the walls of the synagogue. In a fractured society, Jewish communities have an opportunity to lead by example – by building bridges with neighbors of other faiths and backgrounds, by feeding the hungry, by standing against hate in all its forms… Outward-facing kindness is not charity alone; it is solidarity, an affirmation that our wellbeing is tied to the wellbeing of others”.
What happened to “Do unto others”?
Both the Palestinian people – whether in Gaza or the West Bank or in Israel itself – as well as Israelis of all beliefs have a right to live in freedom and safety in their homelands, with full authority for self-government, and the resources to rebuild all that has been destroyed – both physically and emotionally.
Palestinians must be granted the right to return to their homes and the land from which they were expelled with guarantees of peaceful coexistence. It will be complicated and difficult to work out the hows and whens but it is up to the people living there to find solutions.
Saint Augustin has been quoted as saying: “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”
Well, the resentment between the Israelis and Palestinians that has festered for a century has led to too many deaths, and it must stop. Outside interference from other countries and self-interested politicians must stop.
Palestinians must be free to govern their own land, without further Israeli colonialist activity or foreign intervention. And every perpetrator of this genocide – Hamas and Israeli – must be held accountable in the International Court at the Hague.
Resentment is always self-destructive; it eats away at the soul, at the integral good and kindness all humans are born with, and it is essential both Israelis and Palestinians let go in order to build new bridges to peaceful coexistence.
Both Israelis and Palestinians must let go of bygone history and start living in the present to free themselves from past prejudices against each other. They must join together on issues both share – safe coexistence, a future for all their children, an end to omnipresent fear. Both deserve a homeland in which they can live in peace and prosperity
Both sides must accept that what they cannot change, develop the courage to change what they can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
And the international community must use its collective powers to help all parties to the new agreement create the conditions that will allow every entity in the Middle East find a way to a shared and peaceful future for all.
(Liz Amsden is a former Angeleno now living in Vermont and a regular CityWatch contributor. She writes on issues she’s passionate about, including social justice, government accountability, and community empowerment. Liz brings a sharp, activist voice to her commentary and continues to engage with Los Angeles civic affairs from afar. She can be reached at [email protected].)
