Seventy-six years ago, Palestine was a vibrant land cherished by people who called it their homeland—Palestinian Arabs/Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike. Whether under

the rule of Greeks, Romans, Muslim Khalifates, or Christian crusaders, Palestine stood as an indisputable geopolitical reality prior to 1948.

During the Ottoman Empire, the territories comprising present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine were collectively referred to as Palestine. After the Ottoman Empire’s fall in 1918 and the emergence of new nation-states such as Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, the term “Palestine” was reserved for the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Despite the British mandate until 1948, Palestine retained its identity as an undeniable reality—a land with its own name and its own diverse people.

However, in 1948, the establishment of the state of Israel in Palestine questioned the very existence of this land. Overnight, a familiar reality turned into an aspiration, and Palestinians found themselves having to argue for the acknowledgment of a once taken-for-granted ubiquitous reality of their existence. The unquestionable existence of a nation and its homeland was suddenly doubted.

Over the past 75 years, the people of Palestine have struggled to prove their very existence and, in doing so, to establish their own state. Being a nation with a homeland called Palestine transformed from a reality into an aspiration. Seventy-five years of conflict, resistance, death, destruction, disappointment, negotiation, and hope—all with a singular goal: to be recognized as a nation-state and to reclaim geopolitical reality.

As of 2024, it appears that the aspiration phase has come to an end, similar to the conclusion of the reality phase in 1948. The terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, carried out by Hamas terrorists and its catastrophic consequences, not only marked the end of the aspiration for a Palestinian state but also signaled the end of the Palestinian nation living on their own land. Of the two small territories where Palestinians could live—namely, the West Bank and Gaza—one has been completely devastated. Gaza has become a harrowing place, described by UN officials as hell on earth. The Israeli army’s actions in Gaza have forced its inhabitants from north to south, with plans to gradually push them out to Egypt or any country willing to accept them as refugees. Israel’s strategy is to make life unbearable for the people of Gaza, presenting them with the harsh choice of either succumbing to starvation and disease or leaving their homeland.

Despite initial hopes that the tragic events of October 7 and their aftermath would awaken the understanding that lasting peace requires the well-being of neighboring nations, it has become clear that this was a false hope. The world operates not on principles of justice but on wheels of power. Those with power can achieve their goals by any means, right under the watchful eyes of the entire world.

What we witness in the 21st century is the tragic culmination of a nation’s removal from its land through either mass killings or forced displacement. The past 75 years have seen the gradual diminishing of a geopolitical reality, transforming it into an aspiration.

Today, Palestine exists only as a distant dream—a dream that has succumbed to despair and tragedy. The sorrowful tale of Palestine has sadly reached its conclusion, thanks to an international system operating similarly to the 18th and 19th centuries, when colonizing powers altered the realities of nations with impunity. The only difference now is the existence of social media and global networks, allowing us to witness these injustices firsthand.

The story of Palestine is a testament to the fact that we need systemic change in the international relations. As long as conflict and use of force are playing the central role in global politics, the voices of Palestinians, Afghans, Iranians, and others may be acknowledged, but meaningful action remains elusive.