Idlib, Syria – In a small home in northwestern Syria, Muhammad Haninun sits glued to his cellphone after the newest Israeli assaults in Gaza.
For over a month he watched movies of the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and the displacement of civilians making an attempt to flee the bombardment. In the meantime, the occasions carry again clear recollections of what he endured 75 years in the past.
The 80-year-old can not help however take into consideration the similarities between what he sees in Gaza and what he skilled when he and his household had been displaced in the course of the Nakba, or “disaster,” in 1948, when Israel was based and displaced greater than 750,000 individuals hit. Palestinians had been forcibly expelled from their land and hundreds had been killed.
“The Palestinian tragedy is going on once more,” Haninun mentioned. “The individuals of Gaza are going through struggle with out receiving the identical assist we obtained earlier than.”
![An elderly man and a child in Idlib, Syria](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2E9A5793-1699623936.jpeg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
‘A damaged report’
Since October 7, when the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas breached the Gaza barrier and attacked southern Israel, Western nations, led by the USA, has rushed to sentence the motion that has dominated the besieged Gaza Strip since 2006. .
The condemnation was adopted by Western monetary and army assist for Israel, which has been ruthlessly bombing Gaza, one of many world’s most populous areas, for 35 days. Since October 7, not less than 10,812 Palestinians, together with 4,412 youngsters, have been killed in Israeli assaults on Gaza. Greater than 1,400 individuals have been murdered in Israel.
Equally, within the first half of the twentieth century, Britain offered army assist within the type of safety and weapons to the Zionists, inspired Jewish immigration from Europe to Palestine, and allowed them to expel tons of of hundreds of Palestinians from their houses whereas they constructed a brand new nation. stands for itself.
In November 1948, Israelis used planes to bomb the northern village of Tarshiha in rural Acre, destroying three homes – together with Haninun’s dwelling – and killing seven of his kinfolk.
“Earlier than that, we had evacuated our houses a number of occasions for 2 or three days and returned. We did not take something with us,” he recollects. “We thought we might return, particularly since we had been unable to take away the lifeless from the rubble.”
However they by no means might.
Haninun, then 5 years outdated, and 4 members of his household had been pressured to maneuver between seven cities in Lebanon and Syria earlier than being allowed to remain in a refugee camp in Aleppo, a “tragic” surroundings with a small room for every household. no kitchen, rest room or operating water and shared bathrooms.
He remembers Arab radio stations and governments promising Palestinians a fast return — after seven days, then after seven weeks, then after seven months, till greater than seven a long time had handed.
“This cracked report has been enjoying since 1948, when individuals fled from one village to a different, solely to be confronted with massacres as a result of the enemy regarded ‘others’ as animals and killed them similar to killing cattle – and this logic remains to be the identical as we speak.”
Haninun moved to the Syrian capital Damascus to review historical past. He then labored as a trainer in Aleppo and lived within the camp there, till the Syrian struggle pressured him to flee to Idlib in 2014. However what he nonetheless longs for is the prospect to at some point return to Palestine – and his roots.
“There may be nonetheless hope,” Haninun mentioned. “If I die earlier than returning to Palestine, I’ll inform my youngsters and grandchildren that you’ve a proper to that land and that we’re its true house owners.”
![Boy Scouts in Idlib, Syria rally in support of Palestine](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2E9A5970-1699624063.jpeg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
Strengthening the Palestinian trigger
On Thursday, the Ain Jalut Scouts and the Syrian Personal Scouts marched by means of central Idlib, simply one in all many actions held within the space in latest weeks in assist of Gaza.
Ayman Muhammad, 40, a displaced Palestinian residing within the northwestern Syrian metropolis and the scout chief of the Ain Jalut group, instructed Al Jazeera that the injustice suffered by Palestinians for 75 years is the motivation for organizing protests, elevating cash and offering assist. by means of social media.
The Israeli struggle on Gaza has strengthened the Palestinian trigger, Mohammed believes. “As we speak the West and the East, from one finish to the opposite, stand with the Palestinian individuals towards the aggression.”
In October, main cities all over the world witnessed demonstrations involving tons of of hundreds of individuals to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and freedom for Palestine.
Palestinians in Idlib can not stand by, Mohammed mentioned. Regardless of troublesome financial and safety situations in Idlib, he added, members of the Palestinian group and Syrian supporters right here have managed to lift about $400,000 in donations for Gaza.
Syrian activists additionally took half in demonstrations in assist of Palestine, regardless of bombardments by authorities forces and Russian warplanes concentrating on rallies within the nation’s final insurgent stronghold.
For the Palestinians in northern Syria who’re experiencing the Syrian struggle, the Syrian revolution and the Palestinian trigger are actually inextricably linked, Mohammed believes. “Victory will come for each causes, as a result of the correct won’t be misplaced so long as we demand it,” he mentioned.