Toxy

I am thinking of Mahmoud's words today. Palestinians in Gaza are not safe. Israel has violated the "ceasefire" 1,620 times so far, leaving 591 Palestinians killed and 1,578 injured.

Palestinians who live in the West Bank are not safe. Settlers have been attacking and bulldozing homes, leaving 54 wounded just today.

Palestinians who have Israeli citizenship are not safe. Israel just started implementation of a law that allows revocation of citizenship and deportation, and they are advancing a bill that would allow the death penalty. The Director of Adalah, a legal centre for Palestinian rights in Israel, said, “Although the law has neutral language … [it] will apply only to Palestinian citizens because the state has discretion to use it, and they will use it only against Palestinians.”

Palestinians trying to return through Rafah Crossing are not safe. This is an extremely restricted, painfully slow process in which people are being subjected to humiliating searches and interrogations by the Israeli military. The Israeli army chief visited Rafah and released statements that the military is ready to attack ("defensively" in the English statement, and "offensively" in Hebrew) when ordered.

If you can donate anything to help support Mahmoud's family in Gaza, I would deeply appreciate it. My wife, @cannilyuncanny hosts Mahmoud's family's GoFundMe campaign (which is vetted by @90-ghost and shared by fairuzfan) and transfers donations directly to Mahmoud's sister Mahrah (@mahrahpalestine) in Gaza.