Majeda Al-Saqqa, of the Culture and Free Thought Association of Palestine, was interviewed on 9th January 2009 during the Gaza War.

“At the moment, I’m in my house in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. It’s quiet, but there is no electricity and there are some airplanes in the sky. It’s a bit tense because we don’t know what will happen. According to what we heard on the news, it seems that there are some escalations, so we don’t know what is going to happen.

Because we don’t have electricity we don’t have access to TV news, so we’re just listening to local FM radios all the time. They are reporting about what is happening in several places across the Gaza Strip. The Israelis are in the eastern villages of Khan Yunis, but so far they have not entered into the city. Of course, you can still hear the shelling and the air-strikes all the time.”

In my opinion, I don’t think this war has anything to do with Hamas, even though Israel has announced it is because of what Hamas is doing. If we look at the history, if we look at 1948 or 1967, or the first Intifada, it’s not always Hamas. Unfortunately, it is the Israeli regime and the occupation that are doing this.

With what we are seeing in the world, I don’t think anything will change with Israel as long as the American administration is acting this way, as long as the EU is acting this way, and as long as Russia is acting this way. Unfortunately, all those who support Palestine are the people; the masses who are not in power. They are the supporters of the Palestinian cause, the right to live freely and ending the Israeli occupation. As long as the EU is rewarding Israel and upgrading their relationship, the Israelis have no reason to stop what they are doing. Unfortunately, it is an arrogant state, and we are hoping that the people, the masses in Europe and America, in the Arab world and the Muslim world, will continue their revolution and change the situation in Palestine as well.

We hear about protests all over the world. Supporters from London or Europe or the Arab world will call random phone numbers in the Gaza Strip, and they are supporting people and telling them that the masses are on the street and that they are protesting in the big cities and even in small villages. This is our hope. Our hope is that our freedom will come from the people. I don’t think we have any hope in any of the governments of the world, not even Obama. He said that he will bring change, but his last statement equalised the victim and the oppressor. We were so disappointed, because he is saying he cares about the security in Sderot, but he does not care at all about the hundreds of people who are dying, the children who are dying, in Palestine. I mean, the seventeen people in Sderot who suffered from the rockets, I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s nothing compared to the F-16s that are hitting civilians, that are hitting children. And I don’t think you did not see it. Everybody saw it; everybody is a witness of this crime. Unfortunately, Obama is part of an administration, and I don’t think his administration will allow him to bring change. I don’t think the American administration is ready for any change in the Middle East, but we were hoping that the EU, or the UK after Blair, would do something. Unfortunately, they are still very shy in their statements, which is undermining the Palestinian cause and is at times dehumanising. So we are waiting for the people, but because we are struggling for our rights, our freedom, for justice, and for the peace I think we are going to win.

There was no warning at all when the attacks started. Our kids were in kindergarten and at school. It was a Saturday, so it was a day off for us but the schools were open. People were in the market, just like every day. This is why it was so bad, and killed so many people. In a second they changed the whole geography of Gaza, but no government is doing anything about it. It happened all of a sudden, there were bombings everywhere, huge sounds and huge lights. It was like an earthquake, the house was moving. My first thought was of my nephews in kindergarten. I ran down the steps and went towards the door to go and get them, but fortunately our neighbour was near the kindergarten, and he brought them back with him. It happened in a few seconds, it lasted maybe five minutes, but they hit so many places at one time. Then we heard that it was all over the Gaza Strip, so we tried to call my brother, my relatives, my friends, my colleagues. We just wanted to understand what was going on. Unfortunately the phone lines were not working, mobiles or landlines, and it took two or three hours before they worked again. It was horrific, I can’t describe it. It is the most awful thing that’s happened in our lives. I just can’t describe it, it’s heartbreaking, because people were just in the markets and in their work, the children were in kindergarten and school; and here you have this war machine that is taking over your sky and your whole life, they are hitting everywhere. Nobody is talking about this trauma, they are just talking about the Israelis in Sderot unfortunately.

Of course I think that one day we will see a peaceful Palestine. I think I will see it myself, and I think my nephews and so many other children will live in better situations and have better lives soon, because what is happening is madness. What the Israelis are doing is a crime, and criminals can’t escape all their lives. They will be caught one day, and they will be brought to justice. I think they got out of control, and I don’t think the world will allow it. If the world will allow them, then I don’t think anybody deserves to live on this earth.

My message to the people in Britain is please go on and continue your fight, because the Palestinian cause is not only a Palestinian cause, it is a Human Rights cause. We are all humans sharing this earth together, so it is your responsibility as much as it is our responsibility to stop the craziness of the Israelis. It is their duty to work to bring change with the British government. I think every nation, every people in their own country, should work to bring change within their own government.”