Nader Mahmoud Mohammed Al-Thom, from the al-Salatin neighbourhood in Beit Lahia, told Amnesty how his home was attacked without warning shortly after midnight on 15 May;
“There was no warning missile, no warning call, the house was bombed, and we were inside… Thank God no one was badly hurt but we lost our house. We are now in the street; we do not know where to go or what to do.”
Since 10 May, Israeli forces have carried out airstrikes killing at least 198 Palestinians, including 58 children.
The systemic discrimination, dispossession and displacement of Palestinians is at the root of what we see today.
In recent weeks Palestinians have been peacefully protesting the threatened forced evictions of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah. The threatened evictions are to make way for Israeli settlers — a war crime and crime under international humanitarian law.
Those protesters have been met with tear gas, stun grenades and excessive force from Israeli security forces.
The international community is too often silent when faced with Israel’s violations of human rights, and the Israeli authorities suffer no consequences for their crimes. Israel’s allies like America and Australia have a responsibility to pressure Israel to end these systematic violations against Palestinians.
We need to show the Australian and American authorities that we won’t stay silent until they speak up.
Thank you!
