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Cameron Hryb
Mr. Phillips
English III Honors
1 May 2015
Injustice in Palestine:
Depravity and Suffering in the Holy Land
For over half a century, the region known as Palestine has been embroiled in a bloody
conflict between two opposing factions, The State of Israel and The State of Palestine. Tens of
thousands of Palestinians are left without shelter or access to important infrastructure. The
Palestinian economy barely clings to life. Both sides live in constant fear of bombings by the
Israeli air force, or rocket attacks from Hamas. The conflict has been subject to intense debate in
the international community ever since the inception of Israel following World War II. As
tensions continue to rise into the new year, action must be taken before violence erupts yet again.
The United Nations with backing from the United States must take action to assist in the
rebuilding of Palestinian infrastructure and its economy and issue a mandate stating that Israel
must withdraw from regions of the Palestinian State that it has annexed by military force.
The political climate in Palestine is tenuous at best. In an article published by The
Economist in 2015, the author says: "Gaza has been broken by three Israeli offensives in five
years; eight years of economic blockade; one-party rule by Hamas, an armed Islamist group; and
a distant Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, who has largely forsaken the territory that he
lost to Hamas in 2007" ("Cold misery"). Faced with constant attacks and an ineffective leader,

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Palestine made a dramatic move when it applied to become a member of the ICC (International
Criminal Court). Representatives from Palestine described this move as the "'nuclear option'" and
the possibility of charges of war crimes committed by Palestine or Israel looms ("Palestine and
the ICC"). Though impactful, this strategic move was not without reprisal. The Speaker of the
Palestine National Council Salim Zaanoun declared: "Since Palestine State joined the ICC on 1st
April, Israel works to impose sanctions by freezing the transfer of tax revenues collected for the
Palestinian Authority," ("Israel Imposes Sanctions On Palestine") . Such economic inhibition has
lead to a breakdown of the Palestinian government's ability to conduct business.
In recent months, The State of Palestine has struggled to break even, and is suffering
massive financial losses monthly. Due to Israel's unwillingness to surrender the $100 million it
gathers in the name of Palestine, the Palestinian administration is almost penniless, and is
struggling to pay its workers ("Palestine's finances"). Nearly 160,000 government workers are
without their monthly salary (" Palestine and the ICC"). The financial state of the Palestinian
population is astonishing, an article in America states: "Gaza has an unemployment rate of 40
percent, and 80 percent of its population depends on international aid" ("Reconstructing Gaza") .
As a result of this record unemployment, the Palestinian people are hemorrhaging $3.4 billion
(35% of GDP) annually (Ismail). Financed mainly by donors, the Palestinian economy faces
further retardation due to a declining private sector, and in the long run, its survival is unfeasible.
("Palestinians need access"). A weakened economy paired with a government unable to pay its
dues has created an environment ripe for violence and financial hardship.
Shattered by constant aerial bombardments, critical infrastructure necessary for civilized
life is being destroyed at an unprecedented rate. A recent attack left "34 crumbled schools"
(Reconstructing Gaza). In September, Israel annexed more than 1,000 acres of land in the West

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Bank, where they now dominate highways and key water sources (Reconstructing Gaza).
Coupled with bombardments, public utilities such as electricity, running water, and fuel have
been repressed by the Israeli government, leading to the breakdown of essential services
(Corkery). The elimination of these important components of life has led to a sharp decrease in
the quality of life for Palestinians. Many are painfully aware of the time it will take to return to a
vague resemblance of normalcy, the UNRWA estimates that it will take more than 15 years to
undo the damage caused by the conflict (Corkery).
Many Palestinians have lost their lives in the brutal engagements between Hamas and
Israel. After a series of rocket attacks by Hamas and replies from Israel in the form of bombings
by F-16s, 1,473 Palestinian civilians were killed, with 1,400 children left without parents, and
110,000 people left without homes ("Reconstructing Gaza"). In total, in the summer of 2014,
over 2,000 Palestinians were killed during clashes between insurgents and Israel ("Palestine and
the UN"). The pain of such heavy losses is further magnified by the imbalance of the death tolls,
"when the number of dead is 222 on one side and zero on the other, as it was the day before the
Israeli ground invasion began on July 17, it's a massacre" (Patterson).
The psychological impact of constant bombardment and the loss of entire families is
catastrophic. As a result of the Israeli Operation Protective Edge, nearly 1,000 Palestinian
children are forever disfigured (Strickland). The United Kingdom based organization Save the
Children stated: "'all of Gaza's children, who make up half of the 1.8-million-person population,
need some form of psychosocial support'" (Strickland). A Palestinian man, Issam Abu Mustafa
Joudah, lost his wife and four of his children to an Israeli drone attack. His 10 year old son,
Thaer, was sent to Germany to treat his extreme burns (Strickland). Such horrific devastation

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will only lead to further anger and discontent in the region resulting in a vicious cycle of attacks
by Hamas in retaliation for Israeli bombardments inviting further reaction by Israel.
Despite the atrocious violence eating away at the region, there is still a chance for peace.
The main problem lies in the lack of communication between Israel and Palestine. The former
chief negotiator for Arab-Israeli peace for President Clinton stated: "'The biggest obstacle to
reaching those solutions is the deep distrust that Israelis and Palestinians have about each other's
aims and motives. But distrust is not an unchangeable fact. Trust can be established, and when it
is, peace will be possible'" ("Is mideast peace possible?"). Recently, bishops from around the
world gathered in Jerusalem to discuss the conflict; the group concluded that peace will only be
possible when both factions respect each other's connection with the Holy Land ("Human dignity
in the Holy Land"). In a similar vein, during a recent convention of Palestinians and Israelis
discussing the ongoing conflict, they came to the conclusion that "'we don't know each other.
This is the heart of the issue.'" ("Reconstructing Gaza"). Many have begun to see that a lack of
understanding is the core of the problem.
The best way to end the violence would be for Israel to immediately withdraw all military
presence in the region and to end all economic sanctions against the West Bank government.
Experts estimate that Israeli withdrawal of sanctions from the occupied regions of the West Bank
would boost the Palestinian economy by 33% (Ismail). Currently, the Dead Sea and other bodies
of water are blockaded by the Israelis; however, the opening of the Dead Sea to Palestine would
allow for a $918 million boost from mineral mining and a $126 million gain from tourism.
(Ismail). A move as drastic as full withdrawal would be difficult to stomach for some hard-liners
in the Israeli government, but if the United States were to back Palestine in the UN, it could open
the doors for a probe by the United Nations into probable violations of the conventions of war by

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both Israel and Hamas ("Reconstructing Gaza"). As the war drags on, we can only hope for an
eventual cooling of tensions and the start of a path towards peace in Palestine.

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Works Cited
"Another gambit; Palestine and the UN." The Economist 20 Dec. 2014: 76(US). Global Issues in
Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
"Cold misery; The siege in Gaza." The Economist 17 Jan. 2015: 49(US). Global Issues in
Context. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Corkery, Allison. "Center for Economic and Social Rights : Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis: What
Comes Next?" Center for Economic and Social Rights. 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
http://www.cesr.org/.
"Human dignity in the Holy Land." America 2 Feb. 2015: 11. Opposing Viewpoints In Context.
Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
Ismail, Nehad. "Israel's strangulation tactics." The Middle East Dec. 2013: 36+. Global Issues in
Context. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
"Is Mideast peace possible? The U.S. has tried for decades to get Israel and the Palestinians to
reach a peace deal." New York Times Upfront 27 Oct. 2014: 12+. Global Issues in
Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
"Israel Imposes Sanctions On Palestine in Retaliation for Joining ICC, Says Zaanoun." Africa
News Service 6 Apr. 2015. Global Issues in Context. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
"No cash spells more violence; Palestine's finances." The Economist 28 Feb. 2015: 44(US).
Global Issues in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
"Palestinians need access." America 28 Oct. 2013: 10. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17
Apr. 2015.

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Patterson, Margot. "Gaza again." America 4 Aug. 2014: 12. Opposing Viewpoints In Context.
Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
"Reconstructing Gaza." America 29 Sept. 2014: 5. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16
Apr. 2015.
"See you in court; Palestine and the ICC." The Economist 10 Jan. 2015: 43(US). Global Issues in
Context. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
Strickland, Patrick. "Gaza Fallout: 'I Cannot Understand These Crimes'" - Al Jazeera English. Al
Jazeera, 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. http://www.aljazeera.com/.