Israel’s Most Wanted: Palestinian Mothers
By Khaled Sasa - May 11, 2025
A Palestinian mother holds her child, 1920.
“Behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism. Actors in the war are those who incite in mosques, who write the murderous curricula for schools, who give shelter, who provide vehicles, and all those who honor and give them their moral support. They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there.”
- Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Minister of Justice (2015-2019).
Israel’s targeting of women in Gaza
In November 2024, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report showing that approximately 70% of those killed in Gaza by Israel since October 2023 were women and children. In Gaza, two mothers are killed every hour. Palestinian mothers have been forced to undergo C-sections without anesthesia, endure menstrual cycles without pads and other essential sanitary equipment, and have been utterly dehumanized. Over the course of the ongoing Zionist genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Palestinian women have been raped and Israeli soldiers have shared humiliating pictures of Palestinian women they kidnapped, even posing with lingerie of Palestinian women that they have displaced.
An image proudly shared on an Israeli soldier’s Instagram from his time in Gaza.
Israel fighting palestinian population growth
Often, Zionists cite the Palestinian population’s growth over the years as proof that they have not committed genocide against the Indigenous inhabitants of the land. In the early 1800s, Palestine had a population of 350,000. By 1914, that population had grown to 725,507. By 1946, Palestine's non-Jewish population had reached 1,339,763. Today, there are approximately 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank, 1.7 million Palestinians in Historic Palestine, and there were about 2.5 million in Gaza before October 2023. In total, there are over 6 million Palestinians in Historic Palestine, roughly the same as the population of Jewish-Israelis, and an additional 7.4 million Palestinians in the diaspora. Historically, the birth rate of Palestinians has far exceeded that of Zionist colonizers. This factor has frustrated the settler-colony in its efforts to outnumber Palestinians. But for the Indigenous population, having children has been a form of resistance to prevent our erasure. To target and kill mothers, or more specifically Palestinian women, is core to Israel’s objective of wiping out Palestinian existence.
A new Palestinian mother with her newborn in Gaza, 2024. (UNICEF)
pALESTINIAN MOTHERS SHOULD BE KILLED AS THEY GIVE BIRTH TO SNAKES
Ayelet Shaked, named Israeli Justice Minister in 2015, called Palestinian mothers enemies of Israel who should be killed along with the "snakes" that they give birth to. Shaked’s words reflect a longstanding dehumanization of Palestinians by Zionists. If Palestinian mothers are not killed and their homes not destroyed, more “little snakes will be raised.”
On May 15, we commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, the catastrophe, when Israel forcibly expelled 80% of the Indigenous inhabitants of Palestine. From 1948, whether in Deir Yassin, Lydda, or Gaza, the Zionist Entity has used rape and sexual violence to target Palestinian women. Israel has taunted Palestinian women and tried to make it unbearable for them to live, humiliating them at checkpoints, holding their husbands hostage without charge or trial, and assaulting their children in front of their eyes. But the Palestinian woman has remain steadfast in the face of such injustice.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in 2024.
Canadian Hypocrisy
While Mélanie Joly, Canada’s Foreign Minister, campaigns against the anti-Zionist Iranian government under the guise of supporting women’s rights, saying “Woman. Life. Freedom,” she stands with Israel as it primarily targets Palestinian women. How can anyone take Joly or Canada’s words of standing with women seriously when they support the world’s greatest oppressor of women?
My late mother, Wafa, born in the occupied West Bank, was always devoted to advocating for justice in Palestine and beyond.
Palestinian mothers are the world’s most defiant.
On Mother’s Day, we celebrate Palestinian mothers for their love, care, and steadfastness against injustice. Our mothers nurture their children, raise strong leaders who grow fierce in the face of a brutal Zionist settler-colonial oppressor, and are fierce leaders themselves. My late mother, born in a small village called Madama, near Nablus, recounted stories of throwing stones at Israeli tanks as a child. The hilltop in her village that she used to climb with her friends to watch the sunset, has now become a Zionist colony, Yitzhar, with its residents known as being the most extreme of all the Israeli settlers. Today, Palestinians can no longer climb the hill my mom and her friends used to walk on. Instead, the colonizers living there frequently descend on our village to assault residents, burn olive trees, and to destroy shops with the protection of Israeli forces.
Mama was born the youngest in a large family to a father, Ahmad, who was the leader of their village, and to a fierce Palestinian woman, Amnah. Unfortunately, her father and mother passed away when she was only 6 and 12, respectively. My mom was then sent to live with her elder sibling in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where she experienced significant hardships, but persevered. In university, where she studied accounting, Mama was on the volleyball team and did theatre work for Palestine. Unfortunately, her dorm was trashed once by the UAE’s secret service for her advocacy. She told us that despite her having had the top grades in school, ranked as the country’s best university, she was blacklisted from obtaining well-paid government jobs like some of her friends because of her advocacy for her homeland.
Mama raised three children, was an incredible mother, sister, wife, aunt, friend, and fighter of injustice.
Despite the intimidation tactics to silience her from speaking truth, mama from the birth of my siblings and I, instilled in us a deep love for our homeland and the passion for justice. When we immigrated to Turtle Island in 2003, I was 4 and my siblings were 7 and 8, respectively. My mom took us to protests for Palestine and to cultural events. When we went to school, while many Palestinian parents typically instructed their children to hide their Palestinian identity (saying they are Syrian, Jordanian, or Lebanese), mama insisted that we proudly assert it. In stores, if she saw someone picking up Sabra Hummus (on the BDS list as it supports the Israeli military), she would strategically tell them that it does not taste good, and offer them an alternative.
Mama found happiness in tea cups, the smell of flowers, the sound of rain, fashion, music, art, and more. She was also incredibly intelligent. She knew how, when, and where to say certain things at the right time, she analyzed complex situations and people, she was a math genius, and until this day the best cook.
I could not have asked for a better mom growing up. The strength and resilience, the love for humanity, life, and joy that my mom carried and exuded despite everything she has endured, inspires me to persevere in my fight against injustice today. The Palestinian mother is a pillar of Palestinian resistance. Resistance against erasure, a nurturer, lover, fighter, an intellectual, and more. It is from our mothers that we draw strength. When my cousin’s teenage son was shot and killed last year by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank, as he reached home from work, I spoke to my cousin after to offer my condolences. I was struck by the strength in her voice, as she was surrounded by others from our village, she was undeterred, telling me her son was martyred and that justice is inevitable and comes from Allah.
I am who I am today because of my mother. She is the biggest influence in my life and I continue to draw inspiration from her today, as do my sister and father. Until her last breath, Madama and its olive trees were on her mind. My mom was incredibly simple, humble, genuine, generous, and loving. From her, I learned to stand firm for justice no matter how difficult times may get, and to be unwavering in my stance for all causes. Long live the Palestinian mother.
