The media rarely considers the impact of being disabled in war zones, apartheid states, colonised and exploited countries, and as a result our unique concerns and experiences go under the radar and are rendered invisible.
As highlighted by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, everyone in Palestine is disabled right now. Whether from famine and lack of clean water, or amputation, bereavement or infection, ear drum damage and deafness, PTSD, and the chronic, ongoing threat to survival which will inevitably manifest in altered development, significant mental health issues and early death.
But this issue did not only begin nine months ago. The history of disability in Palestine caused by occupying forces is well documented.
Disability in Palestine since 1948
Much disability in Palestine is a result of poor pre-and postnatal care, poor nutrition, and lack of adequate medical services (Gumpel and Awartani, 2003). These are caused by the Israeli blockade and occupation, preventing Palestinians from accessing appropriate health care (United Nations Development Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People & Fayyad, 2014).
The crimes committed by the Israeli occupation increase the number of disabled people, resulting in Palestine having the highest percentage of disabled people of any country in the world (Abu Fedala, 2009; Amro, 2001). According to Jaffee (2016), Israel intentionally paralyzes Palestinians through Israeli military policy, by targeted shooting of the heads and legs of protestors and deliberately harming unarmed Palestinians.
Deafness and hearing loss is a particularly common experience in Palestine. Sharaf (2020) states that hearing loss has remained a significant and growing problem since the imposition of the Israeli siege in 2007. Large-scale Israeli bombing and sonic-boom air raids have led to an increasing number of Palestinians who suffer from sensorineural hearing loss. This condition arises when the sensory receptors are exposed to loud noises, which cause them to bend and stop working.
Snounu, Smith and Bishop (2019) point out that it is impossible to talk about disability in Palestine without considering the political factors of Israeli occupation. The price of hearing-aid equipment in Gaza ranged between US $400 and $1,000 in 2020, depending on the technology and quality of the device. Israel imposes severe restrictions on hearing aids and clinics often face months of delay while Israel conducts “security checks” on the equipment (including earmolds and spare parts). Sharaf (2020) concludes the most crucial lesson has been that hearing impairment is not an apolitical medical condition. Hearing impairment and the destruction of the healthcare system are part of Israel’s systematic oppression of the Palestinians.
Jaffee (2016, pg.125) explains “Palestinians, rendered subhuman to western audiences via racist Zionist propaganda, are only revisibilized through tropes of disabled people as vulnerable objects of pity. These portrayals function both to uphold conceptions of Palestinian resistors as subhuman and, moreover, to reify notions of disabled people as deficient, passive, and devoid of agency”.
Disability in Palestine today
Basem al Habel (@basem.in.sign) is a deaf Palestinian who has become a journalist through his consistent communications from Gaza about what is happening on the ground. He uses universal sign language which is translated into English text to get his messages across to a wider audience. He said that even though bombs were dropping near him, he was not afraid and would continue to document these actions until there is justice. He hopes for solidarity from the deaf community worldwide by showing them directly what is happening in Gaza.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner released a statement on 27th May 2024 highlighting the specific impact of the violence in Palestine on disabled people. They explained they were “gravely distressed” about the reports of killings of disabled people in the West Bank, by Israeli forces. They highlighted that disabled people in Palestine are at higher risk of dying, becoming injured and acquiring further impairments.
Disabled children have been exposed to a heightened risk of family separation. The Committee was shocked by the account of a 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy in Eastern Rafah, whose parents carried her during the family escape from the North to the South of Gaza and who had lost her assistive devices, including a wheelchair, amid military attacks. The girl desperately cried out, “Mama, it’s over. Leave me here, and you run away”. Her situation exposes the constant psychological distress and trauma being experienced by disabled people in Palestine.
Disabled people have to face the distressing reality that they will be the first to be killed because of their limited opportunities to flee.
Mr. Y. M., a visually impaired disability advocate, could not escape his house during an airstrike. He was killed in his home on 7 December 2023, leaving behind four children aged 2, 3, 8 and 10. He did not receive accessible evacuation information and there were no accessible passages, accommodation or shelters for him.
The UN stated they were “deeply concerned” by the lack of access to medical care and medication required for treatment of chronic diseases, the lack of access to psychosocial support, the heightened risk of deaths of disabled people during searches and attacks to hospitals, and the reported exposure to white phosphorus and toxicity causing serious risks of developing further impairments.
Palestinian liberation is disability justice, the two are intertwined.
How can we as disabled people in the UK show understanding and solidarity with our Palestinian kin?
- Follow disabled Palestinians on social media as they document their experiences and share this knowledge
- Donate resources to support disabled Palestinians either through NGOs like Medical Aid for Palestinians or directly to families seeking the funds to escape Gaza with their families
- Write to political leaders in the UK to highlight the issues faced by disabled Palestinians and encourage them to speak out against supplying further arms to Israel
- Join the Boycott, Divestment and Solidarity movement by withdrawing your cash from the targeted list
- Support local Palestinian solidarity groups – in York we have the York Palestine Assembly and York Palestine Solidarity Campaign
- Read widely and educate yourself on both the history and current situation in Palestine to contextualise your knowledge on the subject
If by reading through this blog you have been concerned that speaking out against the actions of the state of Israel is ‘anti-semitic’, please note that Jewish people around the world have made it very clear that the actions of a violent, apartheid state are not done in their name and Israel claiming it represents the Jewish faith puts Jewish people at risk of harm. The issue is Zionism, not religion.
Whilst we have focused on the impact on disabled people of the ongoing occupation and genocide in Palestine, we recognise that disabled people in all areas of conflict and crisis are disproportionately affected and stand in solidarity with them.