Aida Touma Suleiman: 2024 was a harsh and unique year in terms of the suffering of the Palestinian people and international silence and inaction

Adel Shedid: I see no end to the dark horizon looming over Gaza.. and the internal situation is heading towards further rifts

Dr. Amani Al-Qarm: Three challenges facing the Palestinian cause in the coming period, and an “opportunity must be created” to ensure its survival

Hatim Abdel Qader: The Palestinian people bid farewell to the most difficult and bloody year in light of the international community’s abandonment of its responsibilities

Najah Muslim: Despite all the challenges, opportunities remain available to strengthen national unity and invest in global popular support

Badr Zamaara: The year 2025 holds great challenges for youth that require a comprehensive and immediate response to spread hope and positive change

The Palestinian people are closing in on the year 2024 with a heavier bill than the blood, suffering and pain of their children, homes, institutions and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, and without any signs on the horizon of stopping the war of extermination to which they are being subjected and the catastrophe whose horrific chapters they are living in front of the eyes, ears and silence of the international community and the “free” world that is celebrating the arrival of the year 2025.

More than two million people in the Gaza Strip have been living in fear, death, hunger and homelessness for fourteen months, not paying attention to the preparations that occupy the minds of the rest of the peoples of the world to celebrate the New Year. What concerns them is to get out of the furnace of the Holocaust and stop the torrent of blood that winter adds to the pain, inside tents and shelters and under destroyed roofs, after their homes, schools, hospitals, universities, mosques and churches were turned into a thing of the past by Israeli aircraft missiles, tank shells and bulldozers.

Politicians, writers and analysts who spoke to Al-Quds said that the Palestinian people are bidding farewell to the most severe and bloody year in light of the international community’s abandonment of its responsibilities. They stressed that they do not see an end in sight to the dark reality that the Gaza Strip is experiencing, while the internal Palestinian situation is heading towards further rifts, in light of the ongoing events in Jenin and its camp.

A war of total annihilation that left huge losses and deep trauma.

Arab Knesset member Aida Touma-Sliman said that the year 2024 was harsh and unique in terms of the suffering experienced by the Palestinian people, stressing that the year witnessed a comprehensive war of extermination that left behind huge losses and deep shock.

Suleiman considered that the international inaction and silence on the crimes and fierce attacks led by the Israeli occupation government were among the most prominent features of the year.

She added: "Gaza was the most prominent headline of the year 2024, but the West Bank also witnessed serious events that will affect the future."

Suleiman pointed out that the year 2024 was not only one of violence on the Palestinian level, but also witnessed major regional events, such as the war on Lebanon and the repercussions of the fall of the regime in Syria.

She said: "These developments will have a profound impact on the course of the coming year, especially since the war on Gaza has not ended yet, and the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and Syria continues.

Suleiman expressed her hope that the new year would bring an end to this bloody war and the possibility of rebuilding Gaza, in addition to reaching a political solution that would restore momentum to the Palestinian cause and prevent attempts to bury it by the Israeli leadership.

Palestinian unity and internal challenges

Regarding the internal Palestinian situation, MP Suleiman stressed the importance of healing the rift and stopping the internal bleeding among the people of one nation.

She said: "We hope that next year will be the beginning of unity of the Palestinian people and unity of the Palestinian leadership, because the division has weakened the ability to confront the increasing risks."

Suleiman warned that the coming year carries risks and challenges, as the Israeli government includes within its policies dangerous plans to annex large areas of the West Bank and dismember it with settlements, in addition to considering building settlements in the northern Gaza Strip.

She added: “These policies are not just slogans, but are translated into actions supported by new budgets and plans.”

MP Touma Suleiman concluded her interview with Al-Quds by stressing that Donald Trump's return to the White House will increase the danger of this stage, saying: "Trump will provide unlimited support to the occupation government, more than what Biden was providing it."

2025 will be an extension of the disasters of 2024

For his part, researcher and political analyst Adel Shadid expected that the year 2025 would be an extension of the catastrophic events witnessed in 2024, noting that the repercussions of those events, especially the ongoing massacres in Gaza, would continue to dominate the Palestinian scene for years to come.

"I don't see an end to the dark horizon looming over the Gaza Strip," Shadid said. "The war will continue into next year."

Regarding the situation in the West Bank, Shadid expected a “major qualitative shift” in Israeli annexation policies over the coming year, with intensified efforts to empty Area C of Palestinian residents.

He stressed that these policies pose a serious threat to the future of the Palestinian territories and the continued existence of the population there.

On the domestic front, Shadid expressed his pessimism about the internal Palestinian situation, stressing that the recent events in Jenin increased the state of fragmentation and division.

He added: "The internal Palestinian situation is heading towards further rifts, and I do not see an end in sight to this painful, dark file."

Regional and international developments will overshadow interest in the Palestinian issue

Shadid touched on regional and international developments, considering that the political earthquakes in Syria and their repercussions, in addition to the Ukrainian crisis, will greatly affect interest in the Palestinian cause.

He explained: "In light of these developments, the Palestinian issue will not be the first regional or international event, which further complicates the scene."

Shadid expressed his concern about a far-right administration led by Donald Trump taking over the reins of power in the United States.

He explained that the new team expected in the White House, which adopts right-wing positions that are more extreme than the right,

The religious nationalism in Israel will pose a real threat to the future of the Palestinian people and their national cause.

Shadid concluded his statements by saying: “The year 2025 will be a year full of serious risks and real threats, especially in light of the regional and international changes that are overshadowing the Palestinian reality.”

On the threshold of a new phase in the Middle East

In turn, the writer and researcher in American and Israeli affairs, Dr. Amani Al-Qarm, said that the Palestinian issue faces three main challenges in the coming period: First, the reality of the new Middle East. We are on the cusp of a new phase in the Middle East with geopolitical changes, an imbalance of power in favor of Israel, and a retreat on the part of the forces opposing it, such as Iran and its allies.

She added that this Israeli expansion that we are currently witnessing in the Golan and Lebanon, and it is very likely that it will be in Yemen and Iraq, will create a state of ambiguity in the scene that will make the world turn its attention to what is happening in the region and not in Palestine, even though the center is the Palestinian issue.

“The second challenge is the surplus power that Israel currently feels. It is natural that it will be reflected in the Palestinian interior and the Israeli approach to dealing with the people and the cause towards more encroachment, aggression and oppression in order to achieve the project of complete Israel and to eliminate the existence of the Palestinian cause and its institutions within two tracks: the first, in the West Bank and Jerusalem through the annexation plan to completely tighten control over the Palestinian territories and build settlements. The second is in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli presence and war will likely continue next year even if a truce occurs in order to get rid of the Hamas threat on the one hand and also to divert attention from what is happening in the West Bank on the other hand,” she said.

She added: The third challenge is the existence of an American administration that is completely biased towards Israel, with the decision-making center in US President Donald Trump.

Expect a tough year under Trump

Al-Qarm said: We have seen how the previous years of Trump were, and it is likely that the coming years will be the same, but on the contrary, they could be more difficult due to the repercussions of the October 7 attacks, a Republican-dominated Congress, and a series of appointments to the American president, all of which support Israel and do not recognize the Palestinian state.

“From my point of view, we have to stop waiting for what America will offer us. It will not offer anything, and it will not do anything on our behalf,” she continued, noting that the war on Gaza and the American approach to dealing with the issue proved that there is a very large gap between what American politicians talk about in the media, a discourse full of diplomatic words and rights, and what is actually happening on the ground, in terms of unprecedented support for Israel, which is waging a war not only for its project and interests, but also to protect American interests.

Al-Qarm explained that with the aforementioned challenges, I believe that the most realistic expression is how to “create an opportunity” for the continuity of the Palestinian cause and ensure its survival.

She said: Here lies the knot, as we as Palestinians must revive ourselves before the Arab and Western worlds with a narrative other than the stereotypical narrative we are accustomed to.

Al-Qarm stressed the diplomatic approach to invest in the popular and elite sympathy that emerged as a result of the rivers of blood in Gaza, to transform it into political convictions among others, to consolidate the Palestinian narrative with a new, humane spirit.

Al-Qarm concluded her statement to Al-Quds by saying: “This will not come about except by activating and supporting the channels of popular diplomacy and abandoning empty slogans and racist fanaticism.”

Successive chapters of Israeli brutality and terrorism

Former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Hatem Abdel Qader, said that the Palestinian people are bidding farewell to the most severe and bloody year, as its months witnessed successive chapters of Israeli brutality and terrorism.

He added: "While the world celebrates the arrival of a new year, the Palestinian people are facing unprecedented massacres in history, including mass killing, destruction, hunger, siege and settlement, in addition to targeting holy sites, in a scene whose ugliness cannot be described in words."

Regarding the suffering of the people of Jerusalem, Abdul Qader pointed out that the year 2024 was a very painful year for the city, considering that what happened there was the other side of the crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.

He added: "Jerusalem is witnessing a silent expulsion of Jerusalemite citizens, and attempts to impose a new reality on the ground through terrorist measures and violations that affect all aspects of the city, whether demographic, social, religious, or urban."

He also pointed out that last year witnessed unprecedented rates of home demolitions in Jerusalem, considering this part of Israeli policies aimed at resolving its battle within the city.

Palestinians alone face the greatest crimes of genocide

Abdul Qader stressed that the Palestinians, during the current year, stood alone in confronting the greatest crimes of genocide, without the international community assuming its responsibility to stop this destruction.

He explained that the burning of hospitals, and the killing of medical personnel, patients and the wounded, did not provoke the anger of countries that claim to defend democracy and human rights.

In his speech, Abdul Qader called for the new year to be a turning point in which the human conscience awakens to bear its moral and humanitarian responsibility, demanding the establishment of legal mechanisms to hold war criminals accountable for their crimes and achieve justice for the Palestinian people.

In a message of optimism despite all the challenges, Abdel Qader stressed that the Palestinian people enter the new year with a stronger will to cling to their land and national rights, and with a stronger determination to stand firm, resist, and defend their land and holy sites.

Abdul Qader said: "The occupation must realize that no matter how brutal and terrorist it is, it will never enjoy security and stability unless the Palestinian people obtain their full legitimate national rights, including freedom, independence, and the establishment of their state on their occupied land."

The genocide continues in the Gaza Strip

Professor of International Relations and Media, Najah Muslim, said that with the beginning of the new year, the Palestinian scene is renewed under the pressure of the continued genocide in the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian tragedy is growing without any indications of reaching a swap deal or a temporary truce.

She stressed that the continued Israeli intransigence reflects a policy of erasing the political horizon by rejecting diplomatic initiatives and relying on military force and the killing machine.

Regarding Palestinian prisoners in occupation prisons, Muslim stressed that this file remains one of the most prominent humanitarian and national issues, with the continuation of systematic Israeli violations against them, including solitary confinement, medical neglect, and collective punishment policies.

On the West Bank level, Muslim warned of a dangerous escalation in Israeli settlement projects, especially after the statements of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in which he threatened to erase the Green Line through new agricultural settlement projects.

A direct threat to international efforts to revive the two-state solution

She pointed out that this escalation represents a direct threat to international efforts aimed at reviving the two-state solution, and places the Palestinians before a double challenge to preserve what remains of their lands and confront the ongoing Israeli attacks.

Muslim also drew attention to the occupation's ongoing attempts to undermine Palestinian institutions and exert pressure on Palestinian citizens through displacement and land confiscation policies.

Despite all these challenges, opportunities remain available to strengthen Palestinian national unity and capitalize on the growing global popular support for the Palestinian cause, Muslim said.

She added: There is an urgent need to adopt a comprehensive political vision based on popular resistance and effective diplomacy, while exploiting the progress in digital media to expose Israeli violations.

Muslim pointed out that the Palestinians can benefit from regional variables, including popular opposition to normalization, to strengthen their position on the international stage and continue the struggle to achieve their legitimate national rights.

Unemployment rates rise to unprecedented levels

For his part, Badr Zamaara, a specialist in international law and youth rights, said that the year 2025 holds great challenges for Palestinian youth, requiring a comprehensive and immediate response.

He pointed out that the serious violations and ongoing restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation, in addition to the unprecedented rise in unemployment rates, as a result of the war in Gaza and the continued military measures and closure in the West Bank and Jerusalem and the ongoing state of closure, lead to the aggravation of the economic and social conditions, with an increasing daily feeling of frustration and disappointment with any acceptable horizon for the continuation of life.

He stressed that the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza are unprecedented as a result of the destruction and genocide, which raises legal and political questions about the future of the region and what the coming days may bring in light of the ongoing Israeli threats and the youth's lack of a sense of security.

Zamaara pointed out that Palestinian youth suffer from a continuous deterioration in living conditions, with a lack of opportunities to participate in decision-making, as a result of the absence of democratic elections. In addition, many youth issues suffer from a severe lack of resources and development horizons.

He stressed that the new year brings with it many challenges that require different thinking and action than before.

He said: "Youth issues are no longer just clichés repeated in conferences and forums."

He added: "We must devise new solutions to deal with the challenges facing Palestinian youth, and launch initiatives that enhance their resilience and preserve hope in Palestine."

Zamaara concluded by stressing that the coming year should be a year of hope and positive change for the youth of Palestine.