By Mahmoud El-Yousseph
Hamas has repeatedly warned Israel not to evict Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah’s neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, attack worshippers at Al-Aqsa mosque, or bomb civilians targets in Gaza. Israel ignored the warning and bombed a 15-story residential building in Gaza, which is home to dozens of families and tens of local international media offices. Immediately, Hamas responded by showering most of the Israeli cities with homemade rockets, forcing Israelis to live in bomb shelters, and shutting down Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
The same day, Gal Gadot sent several tweets about the indiscriminate bombing. The former Miss Israel and Wonder Woman actress tweeted, ” My country is at War. I worry for my family and friends. Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation, our neighbors deserve the same.” Which neighbors was she talking about? Why can’t she say Palestinian? I don’t believe she is genuine.
In fact, most Israelis and the Israeli press refer to Palestinians who live in Israel proper (within the green line) as Arabs even though they are 1/4 of the total population. The reason is, if you’re called a Palestinian, then it seems obvious in people’s minds that you belong to a place called Palestine. That would mean questioning the legitimacy of Israel, which was built on stolen Palestinian land 73 years ago today. It is a clever way to erase the Palestinian identity.
In response, Hadi Nasrallah, a Lebanese independent commentator, tweeted, ” I’m just proud of Lebanon for banning the Wonder Woman movie in protest against the Israeli war criminal Gal Gadot. She served in the Israeli colonial military in 2006 during the zionist aggression on Lebanon which killed more than 1000 Lebanese civilians.”
The truth is, Gal Gadot acts as a mouthpiece for her government and the occupation forces she served in. She can’t even say the word Palestinian.