As a Palestinian from Gaza residing in Taiwan, I appreciate the nation’s commitment to democratic principles, education, family and freedom. These values ​​resonate deeply with Palestinians and are rooted in our own traditions.

Yet I have to wonder: Can a country that claims to uphold freedom and democracy sincerely do so while denying other people those same rights?

Israel’s representative to Taiwan describes a “democratic, liberal and mutual way of life.” However, this concept is undermined when Israel, as the occupying power, systematically restricts the freedom of Palestinians, denies them their right to return to their homes from which they were displaced, and confines generations of families to refugee camps. .

How can true freedom exist when one side imposes control on another, stripping them of their autonomy and dignity?

The article refers to Israel as the only “Jewish state” in the world. Yet we must ask: what does it mean for a state to be defined by religion, granting citizenship to people based on faith, while denying basic rights to the original Palestinian population? , Muslim and Christian?

The idea of ​​a country built on an exclusive religious identity, with laws that privilege one group over another, raises difficult questions about equality and human rights. This approach has created a two-tiered system that deprives Palestinians of their civil rights, which is inconsistent with democratic ideals.

The article claims that Israel has made repeated efforts to seek peace, but it neglects a crucial reality: peace cannot exist without justice. Palestinians have witnessed Israel’s repeated refusal to engage in internationally supported peace initiatives aimed at ending the occupation.

Calls for “peace for peace”, without addressing the root causes of the occupation, fail to achieve true reconciliation and contravene international resolutions ordering Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories. True peace requires a commitment to ending injustice, not preserving it.

The representative writes about the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, implying that Palestinians wish to “erase” the Jewish presence from that land. This is an oversimplification that distorts the story and ignores the fundamental issue.

Palestinians are not fighting against Jewish identity or faith; they are fighting for their right to live freely in their homeland, just as they did alongside their Jewish neighbors long before the Zionist political project began.

The repeated narrative of survival is another argument used to justify Israel’s actions, presenting Zionist settlers as perpetual victims forced to “stand up and fight.”

Yet it is crucial to remember that security does not require oppression and that survival does not justify the occupation of other people’s lands.

The Palestinian cause is based on resistance against the injustice of displacement, not on the erasure of anyone’s identity or existence. Misreadings of history should not be used to justify the suffering of one group over that of another.

Finally, an appeal is launched to free the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Indeed, humanitarian concerns are paramount and the value of each life is indisputable.

However, if the Israeli government truly values ​​human life, then the world must also demand an end to the bombings, massacres and tragic scenes of people being burned alive in their own homes.

To speak of humanity, we must act with humanity on both sides, respecting the principle that all lives have the same value, whether Palestinian or Israeli.

The path to justice requires recognizing the humanity of all involved, without any party imposing their will at the expense of the freedom and dignity of the other.

For peace to be real and lasting, it must be rooted in justice, equality and recognition of all historical truths – not in selective readings intended to justify continued oppression.

The world, including Taiwan, must support a vision of peace that respects the right of every individual to live freely and safely in their country and that ends the tragedies inflicted by occupation and the denial of basic human rights.

Hazem Almassry is a Palestinian from Gaza living in Taiwan.