Dinah Mulholland visits Palestine with Unite the Union.
“How can a community bear that kind of grief?”
Dinah Mulholland, the press and campaigns officer for the Labour Party in Ceredigion, and a member
of UNITE the Union, recently visited Palestine, as a delegate for UNITE. The purpose of the trip was
for Welsh activists to learn more about the Palestinian struggle for statehood and how to support it.
On a Sunday evening, Dinah recounted her experiences of her humbling visit to Palestine.
To understand the current tensions, we must understand the complex history of the region. Israel
was founded after the Second World War and the horrendous persecution of the Jews in Europe.
The country includes regions of Jewish culture and history from millennia ago; it includes holy sites
such as the Western Wall. But, it’s not only Judaism which has its roots traced in this fertile land;
many Muslims and Christians have lived there for millennia.
Yet, the land on which Israelis live today used to belong to the Palestinians. Palestinian land was
taken in order to found the new state of Israel. And over time, Israeli Governments have expanded
their borders to engulf Palestine, and in turn drastically reduced the land available to Palestinians.
This “occupation” of Palestinian land has severed civilians’ access to essentials such as food, water
and trade. There are refugee camps, but many of these camps have existed since 1948 and the
beginning of this occupation. Unlike temporary camps, these are solid buildings, which go to show
the normalisation and continuation of this crisis.
Furthest to the left, we see the
original United Nations plan for the
border between Israel (white) and
Palestine (dark grey).
Palestinian land in the West Bank has been settled by Israelis; hills above villages are taken, used as
military outposts, and built on to the detriment of the Palestinian communities. Mulholland stated
that “Israel does not need more land. Israel is actively encouraging economic settlers. Israel wants to
consolidate its occupation and to extend its territory by these means. It also wants the resources
that certain areas of territory provide, such as fertile land and gas and oil fields.” Palestinian houses
are not seen as valid by the Israeli authorities, they don’t have the correct paperwork. This means
that entire towns, which predate the creation of Israel, can be bulldozed to make settlements.
Across Palestine, temporary housing can be seen. Houses are built overnight, which harks back to
the ‘Tai Unnos’ or “one night houses” that were seen in Wales during the 1800s. They don’t belong
in today’s world.
Ms Mulholland described the politicisation of water that is rife in Palestine. “During the dry period,
water is turned off for a couple months a year and diverted to the Israeli settlements instead, where
there is flaunting of water with pools, lush gardens and fountains.” In order to survive the water
shortages, Palestinians fill black, water tanks on their roofs. Yet, it seems that not even a basic
human right like water is safe. According to Dinah Mulholland, the Israeli military has ‘weaponized’
water, spraying chemicalized ‘skunk’ water into the water tanks of Palestinian protesters, making it
unsafe to use.
It is imaginable that faced with these conditions, Palestinians would be fueled by hate. But, Dinah
painted a different story, she explained that there was a “resigned tolerance” of the occupation. This
doesn’t mean that they weren’t resilient, but “the problem is that the occupation is so entrenched,
it’s difficult to have a sense of objective resistance to it. Those that do resist are punished in the
most appalling ways.” So, the Palestinians “must be careful as to how they resist, not impulsive, but
calculated non-violent resistance is key”. Yet, this is difficult, as “the Israelis are so successful
because they are inside the psyche of the Palestinians”. One reporter noted this description as
sounding Orwellian. Dinah nodded before continuing, “but there is hope of change [in Palestine]”.
The people of Palestine have hope, but what is it that they believe will fix their situation? They call it
BDS, “the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement works to end international support for
Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and to put pressure on Israel to comply with international law”.
This Palestinian-generated movement is gaining international support and can now be developed in
Wales by activists like Dinah Mulholland. In their eyes, non-violent protest and Non-Cooperation,
backed by sanctions and boycotting is the best way forwards for Palestinians. She said that
Palestinians said “BDS, BDS, BDS” to every activist who asked what they could do.
Mulholland said that there must also be pressure from within Israel. “Despite attempts to suppress it
by the government who’ve passed laws banning boycotting of Israeli goods, ICAHD (Israeli
Committee against House Demolitions) activists are volunteering to end the destruction of
Palestinian homes and showing to the world the sort of change that is needed, co-operation and
understanding.”
Finally, Dinah Mulholland said that she was shocked by “how much ordinary people in that situation
are able to tolerate and still keep their humanity, sensitivity and respect”.
This was an interesting and enlightening interview, which made the reporters think about the topics
discussed for many hours later.
Cyffin