The Perils of Silence on the Forced Displacement of Palestinians: Escalating Zionist Crimes

In response to a question from an attendee at a meeting of the Jewish Agency’s Executive Committee in 1938—ten years before the establishment of the Israeli entity—David Ben-Gurion stated his stance on forced displacement: “I support compulsory transfer, and I don’t see anything unethical about it.”

For 76 years under Israeli occupation, Palestinians have endured daily displacement and ethnic cleansing as the world witnessed silently. This plan, carried out meticulously in northern Gaza today, has been implemented for decades in other Palestinian areas. Major cities in the temporary entity like Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Safed were once Palestinian cities inhabited by Arab Muslims, but due to forced displacement, the homeland has been entirely occupied.

Historically, in 1948, the establishment of “Israel” carved itself into the Middle East, resulting in one of the largest forced migrations in modern history. Nearly one million people were expelled from their homes by armed force, villages were destroyed, and massacres were committed with the assistance of post-World War II colonial powers, and with widespread international silence and complicity.

Ethnic cleansing is universally condemned as a “crime against humanity.” The United Nations officially and strongly opposes any policies or ideologies promoting ethnic cleansing. However, today, the UN remains silent on Zionist policies that forcibly displace Palestinians from their lands and often sides with the oppressors over the oppressed.

An Expansionist Project to Control the Region

Israel continues to pursue normalization with Arab states to achieve significant goals. Mainly, normalization means public Arab recognition that Palestine is no longer Arab but “Israeli,” signaling Arab concessions to the Zionist project in the region. It also implies silent approval of Israeli practices against Palestinians and Arabs, the acceptance of a “New Middle East” project, and the rearrangement of the region’s map, dividing the Arab world in favor of Zionist interests, allowing Israel to become the region’s military, political, and economic power at the expense of Arab solidarity.

Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badruldeen al-Houthi emphasizes that the Zionist project seeks to dominate Arab lands, subjugating them entirely, and imposing a state of humiliation and suffering upon them to achieve global control. This vision aligns with a broader goal of “Greater Israel,” as they call it, from which they intend to expand Zionist control worldwide.

Northern Gaza: The Latest Ethnic Cleansing Plans

Today, history repeats itself with notable distinctions. Israel’s strategic goal remains to expel Palestinians through military force and countless atrocities. The situation in northern Gaza exemplifies “ethnic cleansing.” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi aptly described it to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, stating that “ethnic cleansing is taking place in northern Gaza, and the Israeli government listens to no one.”

Gaza has become a death trap for Palestinians, subjected to relentless airstrikes, including internationally banned bombs, destroying homes and claiming countless lives. While all of Gaza suffers, the situation in the north is especially dire, where Israel implements the so-called “Generals’ Plan,” denying basic survival essentials like food and medicine, killing civilians on sight, destroying hospitals, and dismantling every semblance of life. The aim is clear: to drive the residents out of Gaza, forcing them to search for livelihood around the world. Only to pave the way for new Zionist settlements, adhering to their policy of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing practiced since Israel’s inception in 1948.

Sayyid Abdul-Malik al-Houthi describes these Zionist crimes as “horrific,” highlighting that while all of Gaza suffers, the brutality in the north is particularly severe, with Israel committing forced displacement and genocide.

Sayyid Abdul-Malik brings to mind part of the horrific scenes happening in northern Gaza, where the occupation raids overcrowded shelters, protected by the United Nations and UNRWA. Armed Israeli soldiers invade these shelters, separating men from women, detaining many men, and forcibly removing women and children, shooting at them and beating them with rifle butts. They herd families down designated streets, which they then target with various weaponry, including tanks and snipers who intentionally shoot the civilians.

Violence is a tool most often used by the Israeli entity in its goal in clearing Palestine of its native population and replacing it with settlers, establishing the foundation of a Zionist state that excludes any race other than non-Jewish components. This strategy has been systematically followed throughout Israel’s 76 years of occupation of Palestine.

A Great Responsibility on the Nation

Nevertheless, the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, show extraordinary resilience, bolstered by support from Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This resilience, along with this growing support network, has created a significant obstacle to the U.S.-Zionist agenda, hindering the completion of their dominance over the region.

Sayyid Abdul-Malik al-Houthi believes the entire Arab and Islamic world is targeted—not just Palestine. This is why he continually calls upon the people and free individuals of the Arab and Muslim world to remain vigilant and act decisively, noting that the responsibility grows with each Zionist escalation.

He states, “The area surrounding Palestine is also directly targeted, and that is undeniable regardless of the ignorance or blindness of some. Ignoring this reality does not change the facts, which should be considered.”

In this context, decisive action remains the only path forward for the free people of the Arab and Muslim world to counter the criminal Zionist project and its American counterpart. The two operate in tandem with a shared agenda. Should the nations choose silence and submission, the consequences will be dire, the losses immense, and regret will serve little purpose when it’s too late.