JEDDAH: The ongoing massacre in Gaza has created an increased awareness about the conflict among Saudi youth who feel even more affinity with the people of Gaza.
Omar Abdullah Al-Asiri, a high school student, believes the continuous 17-day attack on Gaza has raised his awareness about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, something that “has led to brutal crimes against the Palestinian population for several decades.”
“Since the barbaric and immoral aggression against Gaza, my friends and I have been meeting up in Internet cafés to watch the latest news and pictures of what is happening there online,” said Al-Asiri.
“We’ve also been reading up on the Net about the history of the Palestinian struggle which is not available in our school history books,” he added.
Sultan Al-Amoudi, an 11th grade student, said online documentary films about the conflict were “informative.”
“I watched the documentary film Al-Nakba (Catastrophe), directed by Palestinian Rawan Al-Dhamin, which enlightened me about the history of the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” said Al-Amoudi.
He added that he learned from the film about the Western backing that gave the Israelis the green light to take Palestinian land after failing to occupy Akka.
“The film also portrayed the British support for the Jews - such as the Balfour Agreement of 1917, which called for the establishment of Israel as a country,” Al-Amoudi said.
Muhsin Al-Amoudi, a 10th grade student, said the assaults were very aggressive.
“The massacre on Gaza will continue since the brutal Israeli crimes are supported by western counties,” he said, adding that Israel was founded on bloodshed.
“What surprises me is the Western support for all these years and that countries such as France, Britain and America take turns in supporting and justifying crimes against humanity. They continue to blame the Palestinians,” said Al-Amoudi.
Salma Al-Maghrabi, a university student, said the ugly scenes of women, children and the elderly on television prove how barbaric the Israelis are.
“Western contradiction surprises me. They call for human rights and then allow Israel to commit crimes in broad daylight. They play with facts as if the Palestinians are the enemies and the Israelis are angels sent from God to establish justice on Earth,” Al-Maghrabi said.
She added that the media has conveyed what is happening to the Palestinians. “We used to hear about these crimes but now we are able to see everything. The Arab youth are now sensing the injustices meted out in Palestine,” she added.
