Bay Area Palestinians Navigate Fragile Hope: As the four-day humanitarian pause takes hold in Gaza, many Bay Area Palestinians are focused on their families who live there.
“For the first time in weeks, (they are) able to walk freely and not fear what might come down from the sky,” says Rami Sultan. “This is a really big deal. This is a really big deal for them to breathe after weeks of under this psychological pressure.”
It’s a big deal, but may not be big enough, says Sultan. He has more than 500 relatives who evacuated to southern Gaza at the start of the war, many sheltering in schools.
“A four-day cease-fire allows them to breathe, to be honest. To know that they can go out safely, either to grab aid, to grab whatever water they can find. And not have the constant threat of immediately being killed,” says Sultan.
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Friday afternoon, several hundred people took part in an indigenous peoples’ shell mound to shell mound march from Berkeley to Emeryville. In a show of solidarity, they chanted “End the Occupation!” and “Free, free Palestine!” There were also demands for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.
“Our relatives in (Palestine) are suffering a genocide right now. They are being massacred before our eyes. And the same thing happened here,” says Victoria Montano, one of the march organizers.
“We know that Israel is using this moment to restock its weapons. After four days what will happen? More war. More continuation of genocide,” says Nadia Tannous, an Oakland resident who spoke at the rally.
Suzanne Ali, a community organizer who lives in San Francisco, says her family in Gaza are living with very little food and water. No fuel to cook. No working showers and toilets. And no electricity.
“They describe to us, during the bombings, that they have a feeling that they are already going to die. They accept that they are going to die from the bombardment because it is just so intense,” says Ali.
Ali says the pause in fighting will help. But she has little faith it will last the four full days. And, she is concerned with the worsening condition in the West Bank.
“And, of course, more broadly, Palestine in its entirety is still under occupation. So on a daily basis, Palestinians continue to face violence,” she explains.
Many are also calling for a humanitarian corridor to help Gazans as winter quickly approaches.
Pro-Palestinian protesters were also at Westfield Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara during a busy Black Friday demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.
San Jose police gave an update around 3:50 p.m., saying they are aware and monitoring the protest. No issues have been reported, and protesters have since dispersed on their own, the agency said.