Unmasking the Crisis in Gaza: An Exclusive Interview with Sabri Saidam on Israel-Palestine Conflict

Kaswar Klasra: Welcome to the Show sir.

Sabri Saidam:  It’s good to be with you. Thank you.

Kaswar Klasra:  Mr Sabri, can you tell us the latest in Gaza?

Sabri Saidam: Well, as you know, Israel is now saying that within the coming few weeks, it will conclude its operations and move to, as it calls it, phase three, which is an unknown kind of phase. People don’t know the details, although Israeli media is talking about surgical operations. But so far, Israel has demolished the Gaza Strip in its entirety, has killed almost 40,000 people, and has displaced about two million people in the Gaza Strip, making it rather unlivable and even displaced and causing the displacement of people.

It has moved to the so-called safe havens. So the situation is extremely dire. No hospitals are operational so far, but one. There are no clinics whatsoever. Schools have been demolished. Universities have all been bombed out. Mosques, the majority of them have been flattened. And churches have been destroyed. So almost every aspect of life in Gaza has been destroyed by the Israeli forces.

Kaswar Klasra:  What we are getting from our sources is that the United Nations is doing something to help the people, to help the children, and most importantly, the elderly of Palestine there. (1:59) Can you please tell us if this is correct? Because the news is coming from the international media including American media, Western media, and the United Nations are utilizing every possible way to appease, to give some relief to the people of Gaza. Is this true?

Sabri Saidam:  Well, my friend, things are measured by the outcome of the energy that’s been put in. Certainly, Israel is not giving in to the pressure of the international community. It is going (2:29) unhindered. The operations are ongoing. The slaughtering is ongoing.

The genocide and the existing Holocaust are being carried out by Israel unstopped. So I would say,  despite all the goodwill of the international community, despite all the supporting mechanisms that have been put in place, despite all the UN resolutions, the demonstrations, and the vocal voices that are projecting an extremely dire situation, Israel is unhindered. It’s having a free hand, it’s supported by the American administration, and it’s having its way, and now it’s capitalizing on the American elections.

Let me just say that the position of Pakistan has been most appreciated by the people of Palestine. We have seen you guys in the streets of almost every city and village of Pakistan voicing your anger vis-a-vis the situation here. We have seen your political stance.

We have heard you quite well at the UN. You have pushed Palestine to the surface, and you continue throughout even this meeting, and this interview, rather, you have been propagating a message of support, which is desperately needed. You have been given financial support.

You have given every aid that is possible for Palestine. You have taken care of our students. You have stood as real brothers, real, honest, sincere, supportive, and reliable brothers.

But despite all this goodwill, Israel still gets its way with this. Criminals are everywhere, killing, and slaughtering our women and children, and now they are even torturing the present people of Palestine who have been rounded up from Gaza, and those who were in prison before (4:17) the 7th of October. Horrible stories are coming out, and the situation is as dire as it stands.

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Kaswar Klasra: You have held an important position in the field of education. What do you think of the student protests in the United States? What is the impact of these protests in the Palestine-Israeli conflict? What do you make of it?

Sabri Saidam: Let me say the momentum has been extremely great. The American administration has certainly been moved by the accumulation of anger. It has slightly shifted towards ending the conflict. As you can see, Biden is trying to advocate some sort of arrangement whereby there is a cessation of fire. Israel is prolonging this and turning it into a process that is maybe as lengthy as the entire so-called peace process it has carried out over the last 30 years or so.

I would say they’ve been effective. They have put Palestine on the map worldwide and have brought the Palestine cause to the surface, giving it the priority it desires and deserves. My concern is that, as you know, universities would break for the summer holidays, although there is what they call the summer term, the number of students is much less than those in regular education, which means that the fire that has been ignited by the universities have come down so far worldwide.

So we are keen to see a reinvigoration of the steps of the students, and we would like to see it echoed in other sectors, and not only within the students sector. We would like to see the medics, we would like to see the engineers, and we would like to see the professionals of the world come to the rescue of the Palestinians and carry out such protests, not only in America but worldwide.

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Kaswar Klasra:  Well, there have been reports that the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people have been very grateful. They express their gratitude towards these students as well. Well, what are your thoughts on expressing gratitude for the students protesting against Israel and U.S. policies regarding Palestine? What do you make of it, please?

Sabri Saidam:  Well, let me say that they come as a sort of reminding the world community of the days of the Vietnam War when the student movement was effective. So basically, it is a good tool for the Palestinian people.

Sadly, nobody knew at the time that the war would continue beyond the regular sort of procession of the universities, which means that the term has ended, and with it, the students were dispersed by their daily schedules. So sadly, this has, as I said, calmed down in a way that we would like to see it echoed in other sectors, whereby we see such momentum being repeated and carried out.

But again, as I said, the result is zero so far. America still protects Israel and Israel is getting its way with the current atrocities that are taking place, even as we speak.

Kaswar Klasra: Well, I remember last time when I spoke to you, you told me that the Palestinian Authority was taking specific measures, and they were conceding the specific measures for the protesting students, I mean, like the establishment of the Youth Memorial Day. I mean, is this true that the Palestinian Authority is going to name some of the roads against these students’ leaders, and other such type of measures are being considered by the Palestinian Authority? Anything so far materialized in this regard?

Sabri Saidam: Yeah. I, for one, have heard many discussions about that effect. But as you know, we are still amidst this storm. We are in the middle of such a genocide. So we are taken by the heat of the moment. But certainly, when things are calm, the situation will be reassessed, and steps will be taken in that direction. No doubt.

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Kaswar Klasra:

Well, first it was, we all know that first, it was Arun Bushnell, the US soldier who set himself on fire, just against the US backing of Israel. No common students or common Americans have stood in favor of Palestine. Will the Biden administration give up before these protests? (8:55) What do you think?

Sabri Saidam: Well, I think, you know, any voice that is echoed worldwide that is in support of Palestine is most appreciated. Nobody sits on his back thinking that the situation is not going to be affected.

On the contrary, we live in the era of social media, where word that is pro-Palestine is aired on social media and transmitted over social media, rather, is extremely effective by films or textual material, commercial ads, and also by parliamentarians and politicians standing in different official and non-official platforms speaking and talking and highlighting the issue of Palestine is extremely effective.

So I would say humanity at large in the course of the last few months had echoed its discontent with the situation as it were.

But, as I say, you know, America is still getting its way with the support of Israel and Israel is certainly benefiting from the American veto as it were, especially in the Security Council and beyond, and is continuing with this ongoing madness, that is hurting the humanity ethics and that is affecting and causing a dent in the human conscience as it were.

Kaswar Klasra:  Well, we all know that this is going to be the election year in the United States of America. There may be a change in the US administration and they reported that maybe Trump could be the next president of the United States. In case that happened, do you see any change in US policy towards the Israel-Palestine conflict?

Sabri Saidam:  Well as you know, my friend, well before Biden’s, you know, taking up office, it was indeed a tough time with Trump. Trump is not a man who changes his mind is not a sensible man. You’re talking about somebody who is more of a bulldozer that is scooping everything and it’s way out of the way.

His latest debate was reflective of his state of mind, reflective of what he wants to do, and was reflective of his allegiance to the Zionist movement in America that is affecting designing and engineering a scene that is extremely bleak for the Palestinian people. Biden has failed us big time. His promises proved to be out, to be nothing but void.

He has endorsed the Israeli attack on the Palestinians. He has endorsed and backed this current massacre that’s taking place. And he has supported genocide.

So the two of them have Palestinian blood on their hands and nothing whatsoever is going to change this scene, maybe, but the change of the candidate of the Democratic Party. And that if happens, maybe we will have somebody who is more sensible, more, you know, sort of sympathetic to ending the Arab-Israeli conflict and more attentive to an extremely dire situation, that has led to the situation we are in now.

So Trump is a man who is entrenched in his crime record, and Biden is entrenched in his health challenges. So sadly, the Palestinians are again caught in the middle. That’s why we need to expedite world pressure. We need to intensify that pressure to the extent that can affect the scene as well.

Kaswar Klasra: As a matter of fact, the US role in the Israel-Palestine conflict has been shoddy. They have been badly criticized for backing Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. And we have seen the way the European countries recognize the state of Palestinians and they raise their voice in the United Nations as well. Do you think such type of gestures by Norway, Denmark, and other European countries have supported the Palestinian cause? And this is a defeat of the United States’ campaign to back Israel. Do you think that the United States’ support towards Israel is being criticized by the rest of the world?

Sabri Saidam: Indeed, my friend, and I think the support is diminishing. The world community at large now, even those who have had their reservations about the Palestinian side, have now lifted these reservations and have recognized for the first time, some of them, that the aggression against the Palestinian people, the prolonging of occupation that has lasted over 76 years, the Nakba of the Palestinian people, and the disasters that have been reoccurring over decades on end, have nothing but a result and a byproduct of the existing and prolonged occupation of Israel to Palestine.

So, indeed, there is a total change in the school of thought of the international community. Indeed, there is a change of position in many countries. And indeed, that is a prioritization factor, as it were, to the current situation vis-a-vis the support for Palestinians.

But my friend, again, things will be only measured by the result. The result is that the American administration is blindfolded into supporting Israel, is giving in to the pressure of the Zionist movement of America, and is being driven into supporting Israel by blackmailing. We think that the American administration has not been able to rid itself of the pressure that has been exerted by the Zionists of America, who are backing Israel without any sort of sense or appreciation for the human needs and human rights of the Palestinian people.

So that’s why we, as Palestinians, fear the following, that the situation, as it were, is being pushed into a corner whereby people are living with the daily routine of things happening. And it’s becoming a daily happening that is attracting less and less attention from the people of the world. So we need, with your good self, to keep the situation alive.

We need to draw attention to the current difficulties faced by Palestinians, convince the American administration to change its position, and even lobby the Zionists of America and the world to change their position vis-a-vis Palestine. Israel will not be at peace if it thinks that it can quash the will of the Palestinian people. Israel will not win any sort of tranquility if justice is not served.

This has to get to the brains of every Zionist around the world, and every Israeli around the world. Now, mind you, Netanyahu wanted to turn this war into a religious war, only to find that thousands, if not millions, of Jews around the world, moderate Jews, are in support of the Palestinians. So this is not a war between Islam and Judaism. This is a war between the world and the Zionist brains that are thinking that they can, with force, dictate their wish upon the Palestinians.

My friend, Gaza is 365 kilometers. It has been surrounded by a force that amounts to about 400,000 soldiers. Almost every weapon in the world America has has been tried in Gaza. The amount of ammunition that has been used and deployed in Gaza amasses up to and exceeds rather, five times the amount of bomb power that was dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

And yet, guess what? The Palestinian people are still there, and still alive, and still adamant, and still wishing to die for their land.

Kaswar Klasra: A last question. Do you think that this is high time for the US administration to release the students who were taken and arrested by the US forces just for protesting in favor of the innocent children, women, and elderly people in Palestine? Do you think the United States must take some steps and release all of the students who have been languishing in various jails across the United States?

Sabri Saidam: Indeed, my friend, America should live up to its promise.It has made to the international community that it will be the guardian of justice and the guardian of peace, and a mediator between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

One day we have appointed the American administration, by will and good faith, to be an honest broker of future peace in the Middle East, only to find that America is taken hostage by the Zionist Americans who believe that Israel should prevail, and no worries and no concerns and no appreciations and no consideration for the Palestinian people.

So indeed, the challenge now is for the world to digest the concept that all this had happened whilst America and other countries were sloganeering about human rights, good governance, democracy, people’s space in the era of globalization, about people’s wishes to be independent and free.

All these terms and terminologies that have been shoved up our throats and have been lobbied by American institutions to be upheld in different countries have fallen in Palestine, and we have seen total disrespect for democracy, total disrespect for human rights, total disrespect for good governance, and total lack of appreciation for human values to be upheld. So we would like America to reconsider not only its position vis-à-vis the students but to revisit the school of ethics that it has claimed to have held over the years on end.

Kaswar Klasra: Do you have any comments or suggestions on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that has continued to this day because of the unfair attitude of the United States? Any suggestions, sir?

Sabri Saidam: My friend, Gaza is 365 kilometers. It has been surrounded by a force that amounts to about 400,000 soldiers. Almost every weapon in the world America has has been tried in Gaza. The amount of ammunition that has been used and deployed in Gaza amasses up to and exceeds rather, five times the amount of bomb power that was dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

And yet, guess what? The Palestinian people are still there, and still alive, and still adamant, and still wishing to die for their land. So with that, I think the world at large should direct the American administration and should tell Israel that enough is enough. You cannot oppress the Palestinian people and expect that they will give in.

Power does not lead, my friend, to any sort of people losing their identity over fear. They will only give in to an appreciative, well-considered, and well-articulated peace formula that brings about a two-state solution. Other than that, Israel is just dreaming, and the American administration is committing a big, big, big mistake. So time to wake up America, time to wake up Israel.

Kaswar Klasra:  Thank you very much, sir. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this is high time for the Americans to stop backing Israel, and stop the war in Gaza. And this is a high time for the world community to listen up to the plight of (20:33) Palestinian children, women, and elders.