Jounalist Ramzy Baroud speaks at “Global discourse of the Palestinian narrative” panel at Palestine Media Forum in Istanbul, Turkey on 18 November 2018 [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor] Jounalist Ramzy Baroud speaks at “Global discourse of the Palestinian narrative” panel at Palestine Media Forum in Istanbul, Turkey on 18 November 2018 [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor] Image from the Palestine Media Forum in Istanbul, Turkey on 18 November 2018 [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor] Image from the Palestine Media Forum in Istanbul, Turkey on 18 November 2018 [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor] Image from the Palestine Media Forum in Istanbul, Turkey on 18 November 2018 [Jehan Alfarra/Middle East Monitor]

The Palestinian case is a narrative as is Zionism, but the latter is made up “mostly if not entirely of fabricated ideas”, Palestinian author Ramzy Baroud told an international audience in Istanbul, Turkey, today.

Zionism, which is the basis of the state of Israel, “has been communicated to the Western world to be truth,” Baroud continued, but “it has so little to do with the truth or is the complete opposite of the truth. The Palestinian narrative is the truth.”

However, Palestinians “are losing” because “for 25 years we have been distracted by the narrative that is the peace process and anyone who deviates from this narrative is classed as either a radical, a terrorist or a terrorist sympathiser,” he said during a discussion on the “Global discourse of the Palestinian narrative”.

But Palestinians and those working to attain their rights “should not buy in to this nonsensical narrative that paints Palestinians as terrorists.”

Why should we feel any way accountable to prove that we are not terrorists? We should not apologise for it.

It is for this reason that “the Palestinian victim” was created, to spread another image of the cause in the media. Journalists, Baroud said, “are part of our resistance” and they “can resurrect once more the Palestinian unity … so we as Palestinian people can become whole again”.

Israel not only uses the Zionist narrative to serve its aims, the panel said, it also employs policies that create “a civilised us and an uncivilised them”, which “serve only one purpose and one purpose only: the apartheid state of Israel”, Palestinian historian and writer Johnny Mansour added.

“It is not sufficient for us to say it’s a racist state but that it’s an apartheid state which practices fascism,” former minister of the Bureau of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqe told the audience.

As part of its fascist policies, he explained, is the fact that “since 2015 Israel has passed more than 185 laws which are against Palestinians including 15 against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Which protects the ill treatment of Palestinian prisoners by law.”

The point of these laws is to place all activities by Palestinians as terrorist acts and make Israel an innocent bystander but Israel supports with wages and funding Jewish criminals while it bans support for Palestinian prisoners.

The occupation’s policies have emptied Jerusalem of its citizens, Deputy Director-General of Al Quds International Institution Ayman Zeidan said. “Jerusalem is emptying out of a main part of its identity; Christians. They are spreading all over the world.”

“This city will remain in conflict as long as it remains occupied,” he warned.