As a Palestinian from Gaza living in Taiwan, I value the nation’s commitment to democratic principles, education, family and freedom. These values ​​resonate deeply with Palestinians and are rooted in our own traditions.

Still, I have to ask: Can a country that claims to support freedom and democracy honestly do so while denying other people those very rights?

Israel’s representative in Taiwan describes a “reciprocal liberal-democratic way of life.” However, this concept is undermined when Israel, as the occupying power, systematically restricts the freedom of Palestinians, denies them the right to return to their homes from which they were displaced, and confines generations of families to refugee camps.

How can true freedom exist when one side imposes control over another, stripping them of their autonomy and dignity?

The article talks about Israel as the only “Jewish state” in the world. However, we must ask: What does it mean for a state to be defined by religion, granting citizenship to people based on faith, while denying basic rights to the native Palestinian population, Muslim and Christian alike?

The idea of ​​a country built on an exclusive religious identity, with laws that privilege one group over another, raises difficult questions about equality and human rights. This approach has created a two-tiered system that deprives Palestinians of civil rights, something that does not align with democratic ideals.

The play argues that Israel has made repeated efforts to pursue peace, but overlooks a crucial reality: peace cannot exist without justice. Palestinians have witnessed Israel’s repeated refusals to engage in internationally supported peace initiatives aimed at ending the occupation.

Calls for “peace for peace” without addressing the root causes of the occupation fall short of genuine reconciliation and run counter to international resolutions requiring Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories. True peace requires a commitment to end injustice, not to perpetuate it.

The representative writes about the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, suggesting that the Palestinians want to “wipe out” the Jewish presence from the earth. This is an oversimplification that distorts history and ignores the fundamental issue.

Palestinians are not fighting against Jewish identity or faith; they are fighting for their right to live freely in their homeland, just as they did with their Jewish neighbors long before the Zionist political project began.

The repeated narrative of survival is another point used to justify Israel’s actions, casting Zionist settlers as perpetual victims forced to “stand up and fight.”

However, it is crucial to remember that security does not require oppression, and survival does not justify occupying other people’s land.

The Palestinian cause is based on resistance against the injustice of displacement, not on the erasure of one’s identity or existence. Misreadings of history should not be used to justify the suffering of one group over another.

Finally, there is a call for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Indeed, humanitarian concerns are paramount and the value of every life is undeniable.

However, if the Israeli government truly values ​​human life, then the world must also demand an end to the bombings, mass killings and tragic scenes of people being burned alive in their own homes.

To talk about humanity, we must act with humanity on both sides, upholding the principle that all lives are equally valuable, Palestinian and Israeli alike.

The journey to justice requires recognition of the humanity of all involved, neither side imposing their will at the cost of the freedom and dignity of the other.

For peace to be real and lasting, it must be rooted in justice, equality, and the recognition of all historical truths—not selective readings designed to justify continued oppression.

The world, including Taiwan, must support a vision of peace that respects the right of every individual to live freely and safely in their homeland, and that ends the tragedies caused by the occupation and the denial of basic human rights.

Hazem Almassry is a Palestinian from Gaza living in Taiwan.