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For the Indonesian public, including politicians, what Palestine is currently experiencing is not much different from the fate of Indonesia when it was colonized by the Dutch.
Zionist Israel is aggressively promoting propaganda by labeling resistance groups in Gaza, especially Hamas, as terrorists. This labeling has received support from the United States (US) and a number of European countries.
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Such propaganda was also similar to what the Dutch colonial did against Indonesian fighters with the labels “extremists”, “rebels” and other antagonistic narratives. Even the Dutch colonialists used “inlander” diction as a term for the Indonesian natives.
Israel colonize Palestine
At the top of a hill in the northern part of Galilee, a small church stands alone surrounded by rubble. It was the last remaining building of the Palestinian village of Iqrit, which was evacuated and demolished following the founding of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948.
“This place means a lot to us, reminds us where we come from,” said Samer Toume, whose grandparents were among 600 Christians expelled from Iqrit by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) nearly seven decades ago.
The story of Iqrit, as quoted Open Democracy, similar to the other 530 villages that were razed to the ground in the process that became known to the world as the creation of Israel — and known to Palestinians as “Nakba”, Arabic diction for “catastrophe.”
The first European Jews landed on the coast of Palestine and established settlements early in the 19th century. In 1948, Zionist forces systematically took over the land, evicted people from their homes and released many to live as refugees in isolated enclaves.
Israel’s foundations are rooted in a colonial project that has modernized its face but continues to subject Palestine to military occupation, land grabbing and unequal rights. Seventy years later, the Nakba’s wounds are still open, as Israel prohibits more than 5 million Palestinian refugees from returning – while guaranteeing citizenship to anyone who can identify as Jewish.
“Israel does not allow Palestinians to return to their land. In Iqrit, we are only allowed to return as dead people to be buried here, “said Samer, 28, pointing to a cemetery not far from the church. Other activities such as rebuilding destroyed houses or farming, remain illegal.
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