"This Is a Colonial War": Historian Rashid Khalidi on Israel, Gaza & the Future of Palestine
December 20, 2023
Historian Rashid Khalidi discusses the pending United Nations Security Council vote on suspending fighting in Gaza to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and the future of Palestine. The Biden administration reportedly delayed the U.N. vote and pushed other countries to water down the language. This comes as Israel and Hamas leaders have signaled they are open to another truce and hostage exchange. Israel's relentless assault on Gaza has now killed nearly 20,000 Palestinians and displaced over 90% of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million people. "The situation in Gaza is unspeakable," says Khalidi, the Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University. "We are talking about traumatic events that are going to scar generations to come."
He also discusses how the Gaza war risks sparking a regional conflict, ways to pressure Israel, and how U.S. leaders are prompting anger from "whole generations" in the Arab world and beyond.
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