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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Anila Baig

'Our hearts go out to Ukraine, but we should not forget about Palestine'

A teenage boy was among those killed amid escalating ­violence, which has seen more than 150 people injured.

Then there are the images showing armed-to-the-teeth soldiers shoving old men to the ground, ferociously attacking women, and firing shots at youngsters.

No, this isn’t happening in Ukraine where rightfully there is outcry at the atrocities taking place.

This is Jerusalem where, with terrifying predictability, Israeli aggression escalates during the most sacred of times, in the holy month of Ramadan.

This latest conflict was sparked by the Palestinians throwing fireworks and stones, which of course gave Israeli soldiers carte blanche to fire back tear gas and rubber bullets at worshippers.

Then a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip and Israel responded with air strikes.

An Israeli security forces member moves in position during clashes with Palestinian protestors in Jerusalem (REUTERS)

Last year Muslims were also attacked while attending prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque. That turned into a deadly 11-day war which saw hundreds of people killed.

Many will say that the Palestinians should just go quietly. Go where?

I don’t see Palestinians queuing up to come to the UK as refugees. They are very proud people and just want their homes back.

Maybe if their pitiful quota of land wasn’t being taken by Israeli settlers – with the United Nations issuing ­ineffectual edicts to stop – they may feel less antagonised by having groups of Jewish worshippers at their holy mosque.

Given its importance to all three monotheistic religions, Al-Aqsa should be a place of unity, but instead it seems to be a battleground.

Our hearts go out to Ukrainians being murdered by Russian troops, but why is it so hard to understand that the ­Palestinians are victims too?

The wreckage of a tank is seen next to destroyed residential houses in the village of Zalissya, northeast of Kyiv (AFP via Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden went as far as calling the violence in Ukraine a “genocide”, but when it comes to conflict in Palestine, both sides are urged to show “restraint” as if it is in any way a fair fight.

Just like Russia and Ukraine, ­Palestine is David to Israel’s Goliath.

Ukrainians are praised for defending their land and, despite the red tape and visa difficulties, welcomed here with open arms.

Palestinians do the same thing and are labelled terrorists and get nothing but the shrug of a cold shoulder.

- An earlier version of this report stated that the victim was a 'child' which has been updated to state 'teenager'.

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