As we discuss the lived experiences of disabled people, it is so important we uncover the systemic methods of rendering them invisible to media and government focus. A facet of Israel’s occupation on Palestinian land that does not get nearly enough attention is how it has failed disabled people for years and has only been discussed by humanitarian aid organizations in the last 4 years. These acts of suppression and terror toward the community has only gotten worse from their already bleak reality with the ongoing siege and blockade on Gaza. When we campaign for the rights of disabled people across the world it is so important, now more than ever, to understand the intersectionality of marginalization inflicted by the oppressive systems in place to bar them from the kind of world we envision.
Israel’s unlawful closure of Gaza for 16 years has led to a general deflection of resources to support individuals with disabilities in day-to-day functions, including prohibitions on importing hearing aids and batteries, wheelchairs, functional prostheses, crutches, and more. People with visual, hearing, developmental, or intellectual disabilities are especially in danger from the indiscriminate attacks on Gaza because they may not hear, know about, understand, or be able to react to what is happening. If advance warnings are provided to civilians at all they come 3 to 5 minutes before they are in danger of having their location bombed. It gets even more difficult for individuals who require greater support from infrastructure crafted around their disabilities to evacuate.
” Zahra Al Madhoun, a 39-year-old woman with a physical disability, initially decided to stay behind when her family fled. “They didn’t give us a safe place to go to,” Al Madhoun said. However, she fled a few days later after she said she received a call from someone purporting to be Israeli intelligence warning her to go south. “My home was my safe place. I only left because of the call. I was afraid I would be the only one to stay behind.” Al Madhoun is currently living in a displaced persons’ camp in dire conditions and said she was considering returning home. ” (Human Rights Watch, November 1st 2023)
Moreover, disabled people experience high levels of psychological distress owing to the helplessness they feel about potentially having to evacuate areas that Israel may eventually target as they eradicate Palestinians from their own land.
” Samih Al Masri, a 50-year-old man who said he lost both legs in an Israeli drone strike in 2008, said he was sheltering at al-Quds hospital in Gaza City, but does not feel safe anywhere: “If they bomb the hospital, I will be dead. I know I cannot move. ” (Human Rights Watch, November 1st 2023)
It is essential that we continue campaigning for the rights of disabled people across the world as we revolt against the systems of oppression in place, especially in occupied areas, and put them in the spotlight of our discussions because their reality consistently goes underrepresented in conversations and calls to action across the board. The ceasefire we are demanding from Israel is to spare all of Palestine and its residents of the genocide and crime against humanity it is actively committing.
I urge you all to keep reading, keep advocating, keep crying, keep fighting, and keep putting pressure on our representatives and government to call for a ceasefire and free Palestine.
Article referenced: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/01/gaza-israeli-attacks-blockade-devastating-people-disabilities
Unruly Bodies 
Thank you so much for this timely post and the way you’ve connected what we discuss in class to what is currently happening to Palestinians during this genocide. Like you said, disabled Palestinians are being failed by the international community. It’s extremely important to emphasize the ways that occupation harms specific groups of people and how it also creates those individuals from the violence inflicted upon them. I also wrote about Palestine so I would love to hear your commentary about it. Thank you, free Palestine!
I love seeing the connections to Palestine. I agree that we need to be advocating for disability access to people across the world because disability politics seems to center western experiences. It’s so difficult to know how to help in situations like this where Palestinians are being forced to flee south and walk for miles and miles. I saw one video of a mother dragging along her kids in their car seats because that was the only support she had to carry along her kids. It scares me to think how many more will become disabled in the aftermath of this genocide.
I appreciate your insight on the disabled people under siege in Gaza. It was an insightful reminder that disabled people live in all conditions, including in times of state-sponsored violence. The stories that have come out of Gaza are heartbreaking, however, it is essential to signify the different ways in which the violence is affecting innocent civilians. It also sheds light on the inequities present in disaster plannings and procedures. I pray for an end to the senseless violence inflicted on the Palestinian people.