GENOCIDE        WATCH

Since the partition of Palestine in 1947 and the creation of Israel in 1948, Israelis and Palestinians have been in an ongoing state of conflict. Both populations have historical claims to the disputed territory, have experienced intergenerational trauma, and face some form of existential threat. On the one hand, Palestinians have faced discrimination, dispossession, persecution, and the erasure of their cultural heritage, and 5.7 million refugees cannot access their homelands after the exodus of Palestinians in 1948. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Israel has subjected Palestinians to military occupation in the West Bank and a blockade in Gaza. On the other hand, many Jewish people sought protection in Israel's creation following centuries of persecution and genocide in Europe. Hamas, a terrorist group whose charter expresses the aim to destroy Israel, now controls Gaza. Both Hamas and Israel have committed war crimes in recent conflicts, with Palestinians suffering overwhelmingly. However, Israelis and Palestinians have campaigned together for peaceful co-existence. LGBTQI+ people have also won hard-fought rights in Israel. However, they face ongoing persecution in the OPT and even the threat of death in Gaza.