Talking points

Some key points to bring to conversations about Palestine.

Palestine is a sensitive issue for many people, for a myriad of reasons.

Here are some key points to challenge preconceptions about the reality of life for Palestinians throughout the Palestinian Territories and the diaspora.

Life on October 6th

For most people, their awareness of Palestine and Israel began on October 7th 2023 with the Hamas attack and hostage-taking. Few people question WHY the attack occurred, and mainstream media has been so focused on the horrors that occurred on that day (much of it since disproved, even by Israeli media, or found to have been inflicted by the IOF on its own people). For that reason, many people simply have not been able to move past the mainstream media echo chamber, or not bothered to delve deeper.

Here are some simple facts to bring to the conversation when it inevitably takes a turn towards October 7th.

  • Prior to October 7th 2023, Gaza had endured an Israeli imposed 18 year blockade of the Strip, which limited food supplies, travel, fishing areas, and the entry of goods (down to things such as wedding dresses, kayaks and even toys). The prospects of those in Gaza were extremely limited. While Gaza has amongst the highest literacy rate in the world and an over abundance of people with higher education, jobs opportunities within the Gaza Strip were exceedingly limited. In 2022, Gaza had an over 45% unemployment rate. Yes, in 2005 Israel officially “withdrew” from the Gaza Strip, but they maintained complete control of all entry and exit points and Gazans are under constant surveillance.

  • For over 75 years, Israel has created and maintained laws, policies, and practices that deliberately oppress Palestinians. This system works to ensure Jewish Israeli domination across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and affects Palestinian refugees as well.

    They fragment people into distinct territorial, legal and administrative domains to silence dissent and segregate Palestinians into restricted enclaves away from Jewish Israelis. These practices violate international law and constitute apartheid.

    In July 2024, the ICJ issued a historic advisory opinion on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, stating that the occupation and annexation are illegal, and their associated policies and practices against Palestinians violate international law.

    The term “apartheid” was originally used to refer to a political system in South Africa that explicitly enforced racial segregation, and the domination and oppression of one racial group by another.

    How does Israel impose an apartheid system on Palestinians? Here’s how:

    • fragmentation into domains of control

    • dispossession of land and property

    • segregation and domination

    • deprivation of economic and social rights

    • impunity - backed by the Western bloc, particularly the United States of America, which holds veto power at the United Nations Security Council