By the Author / Source: abuaram.site
I have never felt hatred toward Jewish people, nor has there ever been room within me to harbor malice or enmity toward them, their people, or their government. For me, mutual understanding and a belief in peace with them came naturally. Since my childhood, I used to visit Israeli territory and was drawn to their lifestyle—their freedom, their celebrations, their love for life, and their way of living in general. I particularly cherished spending evenings drinking with them.
Initially, during my early adolescence, I repelled alcohol just as I did pork. The very thought of it filled me with disgust and fear; I was raised by a family that taught me it was wrong. I was also smoking cigarettes in secret when I was 12 years old. Yet, I felt a strong impulse to try alcohol and experience its pleasure. During my teenage years in Israel, I had my first drink with friends, and I have never looked back.
As a teenager going through puberty, I possessed an intense sexual energy. Looking at Jewish girls aroused me deeply; I was drawn to them in their stylish, revealing clothes, especially at the beach, while I was never attracted to Muslim women. Back then, having never had sex, simply getting a kiss or a touch from a girl felt like a rush of pure euphoria.
I never resonated with my Islamic school or the conservative Arab-Islamic nature of my society. I resented the strict taboos placed on freedom, gender mixing, and social celebrations. To me, the freedom embraced by Jewish society was the true essence of life, making such strictness feel entirely unnecessary. I have never been bothered by the freedoms seen in Western or Israeli Jewish societies; on the contrary, I admire their lifestyle and personal liberty.
I viewed extreme conservatism, backwardness, and the imposition of rigid restrictions as signs of intellectual narrowness. Freedom is not inherently bad; rather, obsessively restricting it is a gloomy trait of troubled minds that fail to understand what a fulfilling life truly is.
I never threw a stone at the Israel Defense Forces like other children did. I refrained from participating, standing by as an astonished spectator, wondering what was happening and why those children were doing it.
I admired the organization of the IDF—their uniforms, vehicles, and the commanding presence they held during operations in Palestinian areas. I saw them as impressive and never perceived them as enemies; to me, it felt natural that we should be friends, and I could never comprehend viewing them as foes.
As I matured intellectually, I advocated for peace between the two peoples and genuinely believed in it. Since my teenage years on the internet, I have analyzed the situation and proposed ideas for coexistence. I remained neutral, never directing hate speech toward either side. My focus was on escaping the cycle of violence and letting go of entrenched beliefs that perpetuate suffering, fuel conflict, and cause further bloodshed. I believed the Palestinian people must fully embrace peace with the Jewish people and recognize their right to this land.
I dislike my life in the West Bank; it feels like a prison. I believe in my right to this entire homeland and that I deserve an Israeli ID card so I can exercise my basic freedom of movement across it. I do not want a Palestinian state confined to a small geographic enclave. I believe West Bank Palestinians could be integrated into the state just like the 1948 Arabs, Bedouins, and Druze, without any need to displace them from their homeland.
Ever since its inception, the Palestinian Authority has only deepened the suffering of the Palestinian people, bringing nothing but corruption, harm, and failure to meet basic needs. I hold no respect for the Authority or its security apparatus. They offer nothing of value beyond lies, deception, and meaningless political theater, supported by a segment of the population applauding them in vain based on a false narrative.
