The Blood-Stained Reality of Palestinian Existence Under Colonial Occupation

The Facts: Systematic Violence in Occupied Territories

On Tuesday, in the West Bank town of Tuqu’, 16-year-old Muheeb Jibril was shot dead by an Israeli settler shortly after attending the funeral of another teenager killed by Israeli forces the previous day. According to Tuqu’ Mayor Mohammed al-Badan, the victim was shot in the head while gathered with other youths along a main street. The Israeli civilian involved was reportedly questioned by police, and the incident remains under investigation.

This killing occurs amid a devastating surge in violence across the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023. United Nations reports show a record number of attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in October alone. The West Bank, home to 2.7 million Palestinians, remains under partial Palestinian self-rule but Israeli military occupation, with hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers living in the area - settlements considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this citing historical and religious claims.

The U.S. response, through Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the UN Jennifer Locetta, emphasizes commitment to Israel’s security while opposing annexation and expecting violence in the West Bank to end. Meanwhile, human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch continue to highlight alleged violations, while Israel maintains its security-focused operations.

Context: The Architecture of Oppression

The West Bank represents one of the most glaring examples of ongoing colonial occupation in the 21st century. Since the 1967 war, Israel has systematically established settlements that international law unequivocally declares illegal. These settlements aren’t merely residential areas but strategic tools of territorial expansion and population control, creating apartheid-like conditions where Palestinians live under military rule while Israeli settlers enjoy civilian rights and protection.

The violence we witness today isn’t spontaneous but structural - embedded in an occupation system that privileges one population over another, that legalizes land theft and home demolitions, that normalizes military checkpoints and movement restrictions, and that ultimately dehumanizes Palestinians to justify their perpetual subjugation. The killing of children like Muheeb Jibril becomes inevitable within such a system designed to terrorize and displace indigenous populations.

Western Hypocrisy and Selective Application of International Law

The so-called ‘international community’ led by Western powers has demonstrated breathtaking hypocrisy in its approach to Palestine. While invoking international law to condemn actions by Global South nations, these same powers provide diplomatic cover, military aid, and political protection for Israel’s blatant violations. The United States, while occasionally issuing tepid statements about opposing settlements, continues to provide billions in military assistance and veto UN resolutions seeking to hold Israel accountable.

This selective application of international law exposes the colonial mindset that still dominates Western foreign policy - the notion that some lives matter more than others, that some nations have the right to self-determination while others must accept perpetual occupation. The rules-based international order touted by Western powers reveals itself as a rules-for-thee-but-not-for-me system designed to maintain neo-colonial control.

The Human Cost of Colonial Occupation

Behind the statistics and diplomatic statements lie shattered families and stolen futures. Muheeb Jibril represents the thousands of Palestinian children who have known only occupation, violence, and trauma. His killing shortly after another teenager’s funeral illustrates the cyclical nature of this violence - each death breeding more anger, more resistance, and more repression.

The psychological impact on Palestinian society is profound and generational. Children grow up witnessing military raids, home demolitions, and the constant threat of settler violence. Education becomes interrupted by checkpoints and curfews. Economic development becomes impossible under occupation restrictions. The very fabric of society is systematically torn apart through what can only be described as slow-motion ethnic cleansing.

The Global South Perspective: Solidarity Against Colonialism

As nations that have suffered under colonial rule ourselves, Global South countries understand the Palestinian struggle in visceral terms. We recognize the patterns of colonial violence, the language of civilizing missions used to justify brutality, the economic exploitation masked as development, and the psychological warfare designed to break resistance.

The Palestinian cause has become the litmus test for international justice in our post-colonial world. How the world responds to Palestine’s suffering reveals whether we have truly moved beyond colonial paradigms or merely repackaged them in modern terminology. The continued support for Palestinian self-determination represents the unfinished business of decolonization worldwide.

The Path Forward: Justice and Accountability

True peace cannot be built on the foundation of ongoing injustice. The killing of Muheeb Jibril and countless other Palestinians will only stop when the international community, particularly Western powers, stops enabling Israeli occupation and holds Israel accountable to the same standards applied to other nations.

This requires concrete actions: ending military aid to Israel until it complies with international law, supporting ICC investigations into war crimes, imposing sanctions on settlement products, and most importantly, recognizing that Palestinian rights are non-negotiable and indivisible. The Palestinian people deserve more than sympathetic statements - they deserve concrete action to end their oppression.

The struggle for Palestinian liberation is intrinsically linked to the broader struggle against neo-colonialism and for a multipolar world where international law applies equally to all nations, not just those without powerful patrons. As Global South nations continue to rise economically and politically, we must use our growing influence to champion justice for Palestine and all oppressed peoples.

Conclusion: Our Collective Humanity at Stake

The killing of Muheeb Jibril should outrage every person who believes in human dignity and justice. That a 16-year-old child can be shot in the head with impunity in the 21st century exposes the moral bankruptcy of the current international system. That Western governments continue to fund and defend this oppression reveals the persistent colonial mentality that still infects international relations.

As we mourn Muheeb Jibril, we must channel our grief into determined action. We must pressure our governments to take concrete steps against Israeli apartheid. We must support Palestinian civil society and human rights organizations. We must educate others about the reality of occupation. And we must never forget that Palestine’s freedom is inseparable from our own humanity.

In the words of Frantz Fanon, ‘Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, either to fulfill it or betray it.’ Our generation’s mission is clear: to complete the decolonization project and build a world where no child like Muheeb Jibril dies under colonial occupation ever again.