On the universality of Gazan resistance: A century-long struggle for human rights

The struggle of Gaza’s people is frequently interpreted through the competing languages of security, nationalism, religion and geopolitics. Each illuminates part of the conflict, yet each can obscure its most fundamental question: are Palestinians entitled to the rights every human being possesses simply by being human? Viewed through the history of human rights, Gazan resistance acquires a significance extending beyond one people or territory. It exposes the distance between humanity’s proclaimed commitment to universal dignity and its willingness to protect those whose rights are repeatedly denied. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, rejects hierarchies of human worth. Rights belong to people regardless of nationality, religion, political allegiance or recognition by a sovereign state. Palestinians therefore need no […]