Shoshana Karsenty, at the ripe age of 85, was escorted from her residence at Kibbutz Be’eri by Hamas fighters on the 7th of October. The scene was captured solely as small, distant movements on the security footage of the settlement; a poignant and tragically silent recording of a woman being guided towards her end. People can do little but cry at the sight, and even though one might wish to escape this heart-squeezing narrative, one can find a flood of such hard-hitting images on various Telegram channels and news platforms. These terrifying moments resonate deeply within the psyche of this locale, shaping its historical and societal narratives, impacting all aspects of life here, particularly for survivors.
Just a fortnight ahead of the tragic occurrence on October 7th, Israel’s Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, addressed the United Nations General Assembly, painting a picture that extended from Dubai to Casablanca, furthermore from India to Europe. However, he omitted to mention any reference to Deir al-Balah in Gaza Strip or Kibbutz Be’eri, located just a few miles eastwards. In his address, he forewarned about potential “AI-fuelled conflicts” and poetically described “domains of prosperity and peace”. The warfare that erupted on the cited date, rendered costly technology irrelevant as budget-friendly drones dominated. The once peaceful lands were transformed into a gruesome battlefield tinted with the red of bloodshed. Netanyahu produced a supposed “map of the Middle East… Here’s Israel in 1948″ during his address. However, this proposition was fundamentally flawed, displaying a distorted representation of Israel regulating the entire region from the sea to the river since 1948. It was a misrepresentation that drastically ignored Palestine and the Palestinians, and any Palestinian attempting to present this would instantly face accusations of planning Israel’s dissolution.
Netanyahu conducted, and still conducts himself in a manner which aims to marginalize the Palestinians in the historical context. The speech given at the UNGA could potentially exemplify the extreme embodiment of this unsavoury outlook, an approach which is highly recognized and largely accepted within Israel. Two weeks following this address, the Palestinians erupted from the blockade of the Gaza Strip, viciously asserting their presence. Viewing this from Netanyahu’s presented map – the one proposed on this critical global platform – one would be clueless about where this wave of retaliation originated. It would seemingly appear to have surged from nowhere.”
The death toll among Israelis and Palestinians is nearing the harrowing figure of 50,000, with casualties possibly exceeding this. Ten times as many have been grievously wounded, and the count of displaced individuals surpasses a million. The aftermath of the devastation is stark, with the Gaza Strip lying in ruins and Israeli settlements in both northern and southern regions laying decimated. The tragedy and sorrow have made a profound impact on almost every person among the 14 million inhabitants from the river to the coast. The scale of the disaster, visible from Dubai to Casablanca, from India to Europe, is of a historic magnitude.
Some Israelis, in a bid to validate their perspective, tend to commence the historical narrative from the horrific events of October 7th. Similarly, certain Palestinians aiming to legitimise their standpoint, act as though the historical narrative excludes the brutalities inflicted on October 7th. Amidst these opposing narratives, stand millions with apprehensive eyes set on the future, aware that the wounds of yesteryears may not necessarily heal, and in dread that the anguish and sorrow could potentially be a catalyst for a grimmer tomorrow.
It is undeniable that history does not begin or end with October 7th, it certainly encompasses it. The happenings prior to and on that day, as well as the bloodshed that followed, can neither be manipulated nor eliminated. Holding onto the traumatic memories, weeping and mourning, inflict pain. But is there an alternative? Similarly, facing the future and continuing to assert the timeless truth and necessity remains challenging: our – that is to say everyone’s – only future here depends on a society where everyone enjoys a comprehensive, just and equal existence.
To envision such a future, we must endeavour to comprehend each other’s agony and hardship, to empathise with the human element and the anticipation: a stark contrast to the strategy of Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar. This does not involve negating anyone’s historical experiences, but acknowledging them. It requires staying connected to our shared homeland, rather than drifting towards unknown territories. Instead of uttering meaningless rhetoric on some distant platform, we should be conveying the truths and realities within Israel/Palestine.
Throughout this year, there has been no respite from grief as conflicts persist. The ravages of Gaza still contain our captive compatriots and their exiles. Anxiety steals in, questioning if this terror represents the daily norm. Regardless, very few things are genuinely everlasting, for better or for worse. The gulf between Kibbutz Be’eri and Deir al-Balah remains unchanged, sparking the memory of Mahmoud Darwish’s phrase: more journeys are yet to be undertaken, further into the future.
Hagai el-Ad operates out of Jerusalem, known for his past role as the chief of B’Tselem, the Israeli hub for Human Rights information about the Occupied Territories. Follow him on Twitter @HagaiElAd.