After having just watched the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, which highlights the Israeli violent oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank, I can no longer remain silent.
The recent killing by an Israeli settler of Odeh Hadalin, who participated in the documentary, along with the nightly horror show of watching starvation and death in Gaza, is for me the final straw.
Like many others I am appalled that the world sits back while what is arguably genocide occurs before our very eyes.
Sanctions
If it were any other country (outside of Africa) other than Israel, there would be sanctions applied, no flight zones declared, and intervention by western powers, as happened in 1995 when NATO intervened in the Bosnian War.
Whatever happened to respect for human life?
For all those who are focused on apportioning blame, I ask whatever happened to respect for human life and compassion for the suffering of others regardless of what side of the fence they are on. The notion that this is all the fault of Hamas fails to understand the historical context of this conflict.
While the actions of Hamas on October 7 are abhorrent and indefensible, this war did not begin on that day.
There have been decades of Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people prior to this in which killings and human rights abuses have been a daily occurrence.
The legitimate aspirations of Palestinians for statehood have been continually ignored by Israel and the rest of the world, with Israel now openly rejecting the notion of a two-state solution which was envisaged by all concerned at the time of Israel’s creation in 1948.
A giant open prison
The former UK prime minister David Cameron in 2010 described Gaza as ‘a giant open prison’ in referring to the subjugation and oppression of the people of Gaza.
The situation has greatly deteriorated since then, and we now see the consequences of the failure of the world to act in support of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.
The vile actions of Hamas on October 7 was the culmination of all that has gone before, including the failure of world leaders to progress the two-state solution, while ignoring the desperate plight of Palestinians.
The merciless, indefensible killing of Israeli citizens by Hamas on October 7 was justified at the time by Hamas officials as driven by the need to provoke a response from western leaders to the hopeless and despairing state of the Palestinian people and the world’s failure to act.
Since then, the Israeli government has been emboldened to pursue its objective of seizing more territory, eradicating any perceived threat to its authority, and bombing its neighbours, all in the name of self-defence.
The support of the deluded, malignant narcissist who sits in the White House
This occurs with the support of the deluded, malignant narcissist who sits in the White House, who continues to arm Israel and who views Gaza as a potential real estate development.
After images of starving and dead children have been beamed nightly into our lounge rooms, the citizens of the world are finally taking notice and world leaders have awoken from their slumber and are feeling pressured to act. However, empty declarations and endorsements of Palestinian statehood will not bring this war to an end, though it may give the Israeli government cause to show some restraint.
While Netanyahu remains in power though and continues to enjoy the support of the US there is little likelihood of any change occurring in the circumstances and aspirations of the Palestinian people.
No simple answer to this bitter, entrenched conflict
There is no simple answer to this bitter, entrenched conflict – though it is obvious that Israel has created a new generation of embittered martyrs who will never forget the trauma and indescribable suffering inflicted upon them and their families by Israel and all those who had enabled them by standing idly by. It is a conflict that will now be endless.
Tragically, the lesson of the past that killing people is never a legitimate solution has somehow been lost in all of this.
For those who argue that a two-state solution is ‘a reward’ for Hamas, I say, surely compassion and respect for all human life outweighs any petty concerns about winners and losers.
Call me antisemitic, a supporter of terrorism, or deluded if you must, but I will live with it, because like many others I feel a need to be heard and can no longer sit idly by and watch the horror unfold.
Stephen Ralph is a psychologist who lives in Mullumbimby.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
