French MEP Rima Hassan argues that the global tendency to praise Palestinian resilience serves to mask the systemic oppression and destruction carried out by Israel. She asserts that the ability of Gazans to survive should be viewed as a condemnation of international failure rather than a virtue to be admired.
Why Rima Hassan views 'resilience' as a political distraction
Rima Hassan contends that the language of resilience effectively depoliticizes the conflict in Gaza. By focusing on the ingenuity and strength of the Palestinian people, the international community shifts its gaze away from the military occupation and apartheid systems that necessitate such survival skills. As Rima Hassan argues, this framing transforms fundamental political rights into mere humanitarian needs, casting a population fighting for sovereignty as passive recipients of sympathy.
This perspective aligns with a broader critique of "humanitarianism" in conflict zones, where the focus on aid and survival often replaces the demand for political justice. By celebrating the fact that Palestinians continue to teach in makeshift schools or plant crops on seized land, the world may inadvertently excuse the forces that destroyed the original infrastructure. In this view, survival is not a picturesque quality but a "political refusal to disappear" in the face of erasure.
The 371,000 housing units and the collapse of Gaza's schools
The scale of physical destruction in Gaza provides the concrete evidence for Hassan's claims. According to the report, more than 371,000 housing units have been damaged or destroyed, and nearly every school in the territory has been struck.. Furthermore, more than half of the hospitals in Gaza are no longer functional, creating a landscape where basic survival requires extraordinary effort.
The report notes that over 1,100 Palestinians, including more than 240 children, have been killed by Israeli forces and illegal settlers. Hassan emphasizes that these statistics represent individuals with distinct lives and ambitions, warning that the sheer magnitude of these numbers can make the horror feel abstract to those outside the region.. The destruction of the civil registry and the reduction of entire neighborhoods to dust are cited as deliberate attempts to make Gaza unliveable.
The call for an arms embargo and sanctions against Israel
For Rima Hassan, the only meaningful response to the crisis is a shift from rhetoric to punitive action. She argues that speeches honoring Palestinian courage are insufficient and that the international community must implement a strict arms embargo and economic sanctions. According to the report, accountability must include prosecutions for those responsible for the destruction and the ending of the occupation and apartheid systems.
Hassan further claims that a ceasefire that does not allow for the reconstruction of Gaza or the protection of Palestinian lives is merely "violence managed at a tempo" that the world finds easier to ignore. She insists that true peace requires protecting the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and allowing the population to determine their own future without imposed political arrangements.
The missing response from the Israeli government and international allies
While the report outlines Rima Hassan's demands, it leaves several critical questions unanswered. There is no mention of the Israeli government's specific justifications for the targeting of infrastructure, nor is there a response from the diplomatic allies of Israel regarding the feasibility of an arms embargo. The source presents a singular perspective, leaving the reader to wonder how the international community's current aid frameworks are viewed by those managing them .
Additionally , the report does not detail the specific legal mechanisms Hassan believes should be used for the proposed prosecutions. While it mentions the "Hamas-led blitz on Israel" as the catalyst for the current war, it does not explore the counter-arguments regarding security imperatives that often dominate the discourse in European and American parliaments.
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