this is a purely fictional piece, a fake news article I wrote...all the names are fictional, with one sole, presidential exception. so imagine, for a moment, if the press reported on israel/palestine with a "pro-palestinian" slant and world leaders viewed the conflict through the eyes of Gazans...(i personally hate this "pro-israel"/"pro-palestine" dichotomy...as though we are cheering on a boxing match, choosing sides. to me "pro-palestinian" is synonymous with pro-human rights, equality, and equity...)
(December, 2008 Gaza City) Today, in an unprecidented move, Israeli bombs rained down upon the tiny area of the Gaza Strip. Home to 1.5 million people, the most densely populated area in the world, the Gaza Strip is largely defenseless against Israeli invasions.
"Bombs were falling everywhere! I was about to go visit my neighbor to ask for some bread, when a bomb landed on her house just a few meters away. My children's school has been hit now too. Thank God they were not there. Why are they doing this to us!?" cried Hala Abusalim. The Gaza Strip, in which she lives, has been the site of ongoing aggression by Israelis for the past year and a half. For over a year, Israel has economically strangled this tiny area of land and the people in it. Mounting frustration due to hunger and lack of medical supplies are prompting some locals to pressure Israel to stop terrorizing them. "We just want to live, like everyone else. Why won't they let us live? My daughters have nightmares now and refuse to leave my side. We sleep together."
Ahmad Salah, a militant from Gaza says, "They have given us no choice. Our children want to live in peace. They want to be able to eat and go to school like all children around the world. We have no choice but to defend our families."
Over the summer, President-elect Barack Obama visited the Gaza Strip, coldly rebuffing the state of Israel, which has been largely ostracized of late by the international community for its actions of state-sponsored terrorism. He visited mosques and UN schools and sat with Gazan families who had been affected by the Israeli seige and learned that 262 children had been killed by the siege. During his trip he remarked, "If someone were denying my family food, electricity, education, freedom of movement, employment, infrastructure, and basic humanity-- well, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that stops."
Today, American politicians echoed Obama's sentiments, with Republican leader Allen Smith defying Americans to spend one week living in the conditions of terror and abject poverty of Gaza, and not to want to protect themselves against such cruelty. He reaffirmed the United States' commitment to human rights and the war on terror and pledged to rebuild Palestinian infrastructure and supply arms to defend Palestinians' right to exist.
As Gaza continues to be victim to Israel's aggression, 46 Palestinians were killed today. Ghassan Abdullah, the youngest victim, was a 5 year old boy who enjoyed school and playing with his friends. His favorite color was blue, like the sea. He wanted to be a teacher when he grew up.
Reporting live, from the Gaza Strip...where hope is grim, but determination is strong.
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