Gaza... Patience that surpassed the patience of the prophets

The patience of the people of Gaza was not ordinary; it was legendary, exceeding the limits of human endurance, to the point that it seemed like the patience of the prophets and saints. It was patience in the face of oppression and betrayal, in the face of killing and famine, and in the face of a war of extermination unlike any war in modern history. What the people of Gaza experienced was something humanity had never experienced before: under the relentless bombardment, amidst hunger, thirst, cold, and the massive destruction that devoured everything, while the world remained silent or complicit, and did not take any serious action to stop this massacre throughout its long and bitter months. Despite this, the people of Gaza clung to their land and refused to submit to attempts at displacement, even if nothing remained for them but rubble as a shelter. They chose to stay and endured everything that happened and is happening, and did not weaken, while the world, which chose to be a spectator to the massacre of the century, weakened.

The demonstrations that took place yesterday and swept the streets of the devastated Strip, demanding an end to the genocide and war crimes, came after the people of Gaza endured what no human being could endure. It is a natural right that must not be distorted for purposes here or there, nor must it be ignored or circumvented, lest the consequences of matters turn into something with undesirable consequences. Therefore, words of doubt and speeches of treason are a source of discord and a deception of the reality, and will be of no use; rather, they constitute a grave danger with undesirable consequences.

Yesterday, people in Gaza took to the streets, saying, "Until when?!" The displaced stood in front of their dilapidated tents and shelters that housed nothing but their pain. They raised their voices against everyone who had the ability to stop the bleeding but did not. They demanded that everyone shoulder their responsibility to save what could be saved. These demonstrations were not just protests; they were the final call of every conscience and everyone who has the ability to stop the carnage.

The people who took to the streets yesterday demanding an end to this massacre, and at the same time demanding that every Palestinian shoulder his or her responsibility, especially the leaders, factions, and parties, because the dire reality in Gaza is no longer tolerable, and every moment of delay means more suffering, more bloodshed, and more children sleeping without a roof, without food, and without life. These voices that demonstrated yesterday deserve urgent and immediate intervention, and that some people should not bury their heads in the sand and then come out with a statement here or there.

The people of Gaza have the right to demonstrate to stop the war, and no one has the right to blame them or question their actions, because what they have endured and endured is unbearable for anyone before them. What they are experiencing is unlivable, amidst a reality that has lost everything. Therefore, the attempts of some to fish for positions and distribute accusations are disgusting. It is unacceptable for someone to deliver patriotic speeches from his home in one of the capitals, among his family, while living a normal life, and then, in his free time, sit in front of a computer screen issuing statements and distributing patriotism to people who have lost their homes and families, and are living loss every minute, without food or drink, without security or safety, in squalid tents and displacement centers that have become health hazards.

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The people of Gaza have the right to demonstrate to stop the war, and no one has the right to blame them or question their actions, because what they have endured and endured is something no one has endured before.