[Photo by Hosam Salem/Al Jazeera]
The 2018 Great March of Return
Suicide by Western Condescension
Even though you’ve been brutally oppressed for decades, nearly a century at this point, you hear the the usual rhetoric from The West, “why don’t you protest peacefully instead of using violence?” You already know idealistic pacifism won’t work against IOF terrorism, but your average pampered Westerner needs you to get shot full of holes to be proven wrong…and even then they’ll still denounce you.
March 30, 2018
Ahmed Abu Artema’s Facebook post in January 2018 was the catalyst. It was a rallying cry for weekly, peaceful protests every Friday — an attempt for Palestinians from Gaza to return to their pre-Nakba homes. This event included Palestinians from all walks of life, putting their differences aside to demonstrate together. The protestors peacefully marched to the fence, and were greeted by bullets from IOF snipers.
Six Months Later
- 150 Palestinians killed
- 10,000 others wounded
- 1,849 children
- 424 women
- 115 paramedics
- 115 journalists
- 5,414 hit by life ammo from the IOF
There were serious wounds are to the limbs, which have resulted in amputations of the arms and legs for the Palestinians. Human rights experts have reason to believe the IOF meant to kill and maim the nonviolent Palestinians. As typical of zionist terrorism, the objective is to personally and collectively ruin the lives of the Palestinian people.
One of the IOF victims, 21-year-old Alaa al-Dali had a dream of being a cyclist in the Asian Games and representing Palestine. The IOF, as is their nature, turned his dream into a nightmare by shooting his right leg and turning him into an amputee. Other victims included paramedics, like 21-year-old Razan al-Najjar who was fatally wounded by an IOF sniper. The bullet hit his chest while he was wearing a white coat and administering aid.
One Year Later
- 266 killed
- 50 children
- 6 women
- 1 elderly man
- 3 medical personnel
- 2 journalists
- 30,398 wounded
- 3,175 children
- 1,008 women
- 665 medical personnel
- 347 journalists
- 6,587 live rounds and 844 rubber-coated steel bullets
- 1,503 shots to the head and neck
- 732 shots to the chest and back
- 624 shots to the stomach and pelvic area
- 2,232 shots to the upper extremities
- 14 amputations
- 7,731 shots to the lower extremities
- 122 amputations
Two Year Aftermath
Thousands of peaceful protestors have been physically and mentally traumatized by the IOF response to this nonviolent march. And if being an amputee with PTSD isn’t bad enough, these surgeries are both expensive and complex — like Mohammed from Beit Hanoun who needed 25 surgeries for his leg wound. He lost his job in construction and got divorced due to his family’s poor economic situation…all thanks to the IOF.
In regards to wound location, over 7,000 of the live rounds hit the limbs, accounting for about 88% of the injuries. Limbs are much smaller than the torso and abdomen, very difficult to hit, which further cements the IOF’s desire to intentionally maim Palestinians.
This is “the world’s most moral army” at their finest.
