South Florida man from West Bank wants Palestinian voices heard
DORAL – Jalal "Jay" Shehadeh spent his formative years in the West Bank. As a Palestinian American, he believes it's unfair to paint his people in a negative light based on Hamas' attack on Israel.
Shehadeh would argue this conflict is deeply rooted in a battle over land. "The reality is that the state of Israel wants that land for them, and the Palestinians want the state for themselves," he said.
At only eight years old, Shehadeh recalls what it was like living in the West Bank.
"I grew up where Israeli officers would hold up an m16 to me when I was 9,10, and 11 years old," he recalled.
According to Shehadeh, the issue of the Palestinian people is that Israel has been controlling their actions for decades.
"The state of Israel comes in and controls the movement of the Palestinians. What they can and can't do. Whether they're allowed to come in or out of their country," he said.
At the same time, Shehadeh acknowledges the horror of the mass killings of Israeli people.
"I'm really sad about the innocent Israeli lives that have been lost. I'm sad about the inevitability many more than Israeli lives, Palestinian lives that will be lost," Shehadeh said.
One of his sisters still lives in the West Bank with her family and another one of his sisters is there visiting. With the Israel-Hamas War taking place, Shehadeh says it's presenting challenges with her return to South Florida. Though they are not along the Gaza Strip, they are still experiencing Israeli activity.
"Suddenly they'll start hearing bullets, shots being fired but they don't know where it's coming from. They don't know how close it is." He adds, "There's aircraft, Israeli aircraft that's flying very close to the town," said Shehadeh.
When CBS News Miami's Chelsea Jones asked what Shehadeh wanted people to know about Palestinians, he responded, "It's easy to think this conflict started on Saturday, in the events that happened Friday to Saturday, they're a violent reaction that is to be expected with the circumstances under which Palestinians live."
Shehadeh believes Israel is responsible not only for the Israeli people but also the Palestinians in the West Bank and in Gaza, currently under Israeli occupation.