May 28, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: The scope of illegal activities perpetrated against the Palestinian people has been visible for years. Since the onset of the destruction of Gaza in October 2023, these crimes seem to escalate in brazenness and disregard for international norms. Last week we witnessed yet another display of the Netanyahu government’s lack of humanity, when Pro-Palestinian activists aboard a peaceful aid flotilla were seized in international waters, zip-tied and detained in stress positions, and, for good measure, taunted by the country’s foreign minister.
As a member of the international aid community myself, I was as outraged by the treatment of these people; but I know that the true victims of Israel’s anti-aid strategy are the Palestinians themselves.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed over 1,700 health workers in attacks on Gaza, some of them, my colleagues. At the beginning of this year, the Israeli government banned 37 international aid groups from working in Palestine, my organization among them. This ban extends to the West Bank, where unprovoked violence from Israeli settlers is a daily occurrence, unchecked by the military occupation or authorities.
I lived and worked in the West Bank prior to the current aggression and witnessed the toll of persistent trauma for people living under occupation and treated, for many their entire life, as second rank. I will be sharing their stories their hopes, their insistence on joy despite adversity at the next 50 for Ways Palestine Teach-In on June 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the Rockbridge Regional Library. I hope your readers will come with their own concerns and suggestions about how we can provide aid and support for a people who seem to have been deemed unworthy of aid. MIRJAM MOLENAAR Rockbridge Baths
