His mother’s tears ran silently down her face
Turning to blood as they hit the red colored soil where her son’s body lay
“Why?” She threw her hands up in agony
He had done nothing wrong
He was a young boy, for God’s Sake
Israel didn’t care
If you were Palestinian, you were nothing
Dehumanization, Occupation at its finest.

Earlier, he had been alongside the road when the tanks appeared
Huge, metallic green, marked ‘Israeli Defense Force’
Sickness, heartache, and anger festering inside him
Crouching for a mere stone
Brushing his thumb over it
Whispering three chilling words, “I’m not afraid.”
Gunshots rippled through the Palestinian air
He lay, crumpled over, unmoving
The world froze
The tank rumbled on
The filthy cowards.

Too many tears have been shed
Too many lives have been lost
Too many children have been exposed to hatred
When will it end?
At the declaration of a Holocaust part two: Palestinian edition?
We’re already past that point
Unrecognized occupation of 64 years
1948
The olive branch broke off
The crunch of it shook the beautiful country
The footprint of Israel fresh and wet with blood.