- Palestinian Muslims and Christians have been denied access to bomb shelters by locals in Jaffa after dozens had tried to use them in the midst of Iranian missile strikes.
- Israeli discrimination against Palestinian people had been significant before October 7 when Hamas launched its offensive. The Israeli administration has prevented Palestinians from accessing Covid vaccines, with little resistance from the Israelis.
Palestinians in Jaffa, an area of Tel Aviv, had been denied access to bomb shelters during the 12-day Israeli war against Iran, which they had previously been allowed to use.
Palestinians denied access spoke to Middle East Eye and said they had been told the entry code, giving them access to a shelter, had been changed after about a dozen of them had sought shelter there in recent days.
This followed repeated visits by the Palestinians to the shelter, during which they were repeatedly told they were not welcome—until they were finally informed that the access code had been changed.
Nasir Ktelat, a resident from Jaffa, spoke to Middle East Eye and said: ‘They said, “We made a decision that we don’t want you to come, and we are going to change the code.”‘ It was clear that it was because we are Arabs.”
This comes after Israel launched a wave of attacks on Iran, killing numerous people from the military leadership, civilians and nuclear scientists while also targeting civilian infrastructure such as water pipelines and energy facilities.
In retaliation for Israeli strikes, Iran responded with hundreds of missiles, most intercepted, but many still making it through Israeli air defence systems, causing damage to Israeli oil refineries, government buildings and residential properties.
The sentiment toward Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territory during times of nationwide strife is not surprising, as Amnesty International reported in 2021 that Israel had withheld vaccines from millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza during the Covid pandemic, with little resistance from Israelis.
The Israeli administration continues to pander to Israeli sentiments and alienate the Palestinian communities while continuing their genocide in Gaza.
