Ahmed Abu Artema is a Palestinian writer and human rights activist. He joins host Esty Dinur from exile to talk about the situation in Gaza right now. He discusses life in Gaza before and after October 7, 2023 and the Israeli propaganda that makes possible the ongoing genocide.

Abu Artema says that the Israeli propaganda machine is trying to portray the October 7 attack as the start of the Israeli-Hamas conflict, but the Israeli blockade of Gaza had already been in place. He discusses the non-violent Great March of Return of 2018 that gathered 100,000 peaceful participants who were met with Israeli violence. Abu Artema says that Israel created the environment that led to October 7 by closing all the doors for Palestinians, many of whom came to believe that they couldn’t achieve anything with non-violence after the Israeli attacks on the Great March of Return.

They also discuss what Abu Artema calls Israel’s strategy to eliminate Palestinians, the arrest and torture of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the ceasefire, and the colonial mindset that dehumanizes Palestinians. Abu Artema has written about his decision to leave Gaza for the Middle East Eye.

Ahmed Abu Artema was born in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip to a family of refugees from Al-Ramla Village in what became Israel. He initiated the Great March of Return in 2018, and spoke with Esty Dinur on this show about that event and peace plans in the Middle East.

Featured image of Ahmed Abu Artema.

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