A look back at Palestine’s most major events in 2021
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- From the Israeli violations in the Sheikh Jarrah and Gaza to settlement in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and the crackdown on Palestinians in the 1948-occupied territories, 2021 saw events, which reshaped the reality of the Palestinian cause and people.
In this piece, we take a look back at the most major events that took place in Palestine and we, in QNN, have covered.
Israel’s medical apartheid
Amidst the surge in COVID 19 cases and deaths in the world and Palestine, the occupation state bragged about leading the world in the global vaccination race but leaving Palestinians, under its occupation, denied access to vaccines.
Until the first month of 2021, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 159,034 Palestinians in the OPT, including the eastern part of Jerusalem, have tested positive for coronavirus since the first confirmed case was reported in March 2020. There have been also nearly 1,600 deaths related to COVID-19 among Palestinians in the OPT since the beginning of the pandemic.
International human rights organizations called on ‘Israel’ to provide coronavirus vaccine doses to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, saying ‘Israel’ is obligated to do so under international law.
In the same context, Israeli authorities were criticized after depriving Palestinian political detainees in its prisons from vaccination even when reports about the infection of hundreds of detainees, surfaced.
The occupation state finally complied and announced that it would vaccinate Palestinian prisoners against COVID-19.
Also read:
Israel’s decision to give 5,000 vaccine doses to Palestinian health workers is wholly inadequate, HRW said
‘Israel’ blocks entry of first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine into Gaza
Gaza gets its first COVID-19 vaccine shipment after ‘Israel’ banned its entry
OXfam: ‘Israel’ vaccine export deal “shameful” as nearly 5m Palestinians wait
ICC rules its jurisdiction extends to territories occupied by ‘Israel’
In February 2021, the International Criminal Court said that its jurisdiction extends to territories occupied by ‘Israel’ in the 1967 war, clearing the way for its chief prosecutor to open a war crimes probe into Israeli war crimes.
The rule, which was met with accusations of antisemitism and outrage by Israeli officials, was welcome by international human rights organizations and some countries.
Two weeks after the ICC’s rule, the occupation state inked a law that prohibits cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) with a five-year prison sentence as punishment for anyone who violates the law.
Also read:
Kamala Harris signed letter against ICC decision to probe ‘Israel’ for war crimes
US opposes ICC ruling it has jurisdiction to probe ‘Israel’ for war crimes
Netanyahu’s Attacks On The ICC Are Inconsistent With The Law, His Own Logic And Reality
ICC prosecutor opens war crimes probe in Palestinian territories
Social media crackdown on Palestinian content
Last November, calls by pro-Palestine activists increased to protest against the repression of Palestinian voices by social media platforms.
Earlier this year, Frances Haugen, a data scientist who used to work for Facebook, revealed that the company was promoting hate speech for profit, and said her lawyers have filed at least eight complaints with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shortly after that, a report by The Intercept revealed that Facebook has a secret blacklist, upon which its algorithms depend in censoring content. The blacklist includes dozens of Palestinian figures and organizations and zero Israeli targets.
An investigation by Human Rights Watch stated that Facebook and Instagram repressed Palestinian content, including documentation of Israeli human rights violations, during the Israeli crackdown on native Palestinians in May this year. The investigation pushed Facebook to promise that it will allow an independent body to launch an investigation into content moderation of Arabic and Hebrew posts.
Also read:
Timeline: Facebook’s history cracking down on Palestinian content
Palestine Action Activists Face Online Censorship, Racial Profiling And Intimidation By Police
ِِA Palestinian campaign protesting against Facebook policy
TikTok removes Quds News Network account without notice
Abbas calls off elections
The leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, postponed rare parliamentary elections last April, stirring outrage among Palestinians. Abbas claimed they could only happen if ‘Israel’ allows Palestinians to vote in the Israeli-occupied eastern part of Jerusalem.
Shortly after the postponement, PA officials announced the cancelation of the elections.
Parliamentary and presidential elections – the first since 2006 – were scheduled to take place in May and July. The cancelation came as Abbas was facing unprecedented decrease in popularity, according to polls, which could weaken his party’s chance of success.
Also read:
Hamas rejects delaying Palestinian elections
Halting Palestine’s Democratic Decline
Palestinian Authority plans to call off first elections in 15 years
Israeli authorities arrest three parliamentary candidates in Jerusalem
Abbas was offered four solutions for Palestinian elections but delayed vote anyway, says official
UN envoy urges parties to maintain calm after postponing Palestinian elections
Israeli violations in Sheikh Jarrah and Al Aqsa mosque lead to war with Gaza
Last May, Israeli violations against worshipers at Al Aqsa mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah residents increased. Raids into both Palestinian areas left hundreds of injuries.
The resistance called Palestinians across historic Palestine for announcing general alarm all along the days of Ramadan to defend Al Aqsa mosque and occupied Jerusalem. The Chief Staff of Al Qassam, Muhammad Deif, warned the occupation state of retaliation if it does not stop its attacks on Jerusalemites and Al Aqsa mosque.
Shortly after Deif’s warning, the joint chamber of the resistance fired a barrage of missiles at occupied Askalan amid Israeli continuous attacks on worshipers at Al Aqsa mosque and residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
At least 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, were killed in 11 days of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza strip, while hundreds were killed, wounded, and detained in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the 1949-occupied territories.
Also read:
Biden administration signs $735 million arms deal to ‘Israel’ amid aggression on Gaza
Saraya Al Quds reveals new missiles to be used
Resistance foils Israel’s attempt to use foreign media for military purposes
Video| Leaked video footage shows Israeli soldiers, settlers dancing around bombs before shelling Gazans
Video| Al Qassam reveals new local made qualitative weapons
Abu Obaida: Taking a decision to shell Tel Aviv and Dimona is for us like drinking water
Breaking| Resistance expands range of targets after Israel’s escalation
Biden says ‘Israel’ has right to defend itself
Hollywood stands with Palestine amidst Israeli violations
Video| Massive resistance barrage of missiles strike Tel Aviv
“They were playing,” says father whose two children killed by ‘Israel’ in Gaza
‘Israel’ designates six Palestinian human rights organizations as terrorist groups
Last October, the Israeli occupation government declared six leading Palestinian NGOs to be affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP): Addameer, Al Haq, Bisan Center, DCI-P, Samidoun and UAWC. All six organizations were labeled terrorist groups even without providing any proof of Israeli claims against them.
Shortly after the occupation state designated six Palestinian human rights organizations as terrorist “organizations”, international rights groups rejected the decision and called for reversing it.
The UN also said that Israel’s decision to designate the six NGOs as terror groups was an attack on human rights defenders, on freedoms of association, opinion and expression and on the right to public participation.
Also read:
HRW & Amnesty: Israel’s move against 6 NGOs an attack on int’l human rights movement
US Reps criticize Israel’s designation of 6 Palestinian rights NGOs as terrorist groups
Gilboa Prison Break
Last September, six Palestinian prisoners escaped from Israel’s Gilbou prison, a high-security prison, through a secret tunnel they had dug beneath the prison.
Mahmoud Arda (46 years old), Mohammad Arda (39 years old), Yaaqob Qadri (49 years old), and Ayham Kamanji (35 years old), dug a tunnel using dishes and frying pans to free themselves from Israel’s most secured facility, which has been even described as being more secure than a bank safe.
Also read:
Who are Gilbou’s six breakers?
In letter to his mother… Mahmoud Arida: I tried so hard to come and hug you
Ya’qoub Qadiri: I will try to escape again as there is nothing like freedom
Mahmoud Arida reveals how he dug Gilboa tunnel
Israeli channel 12: Cost of Gilboa breakers’ manhunt exceeded 100 Million NIS
Israeli officer to Kamamji: You are a hero and son of a hero!
