On July 12, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) declared the Mediterranean off-limits to Palestinians. Fishermen are banned from casting their nets and warned of harsh repercussions in case of any violations. Is this new? Hardly. Israel has closed off the sea to Palestinians numerous times in the past. This time, in the genocide, why would it be any different? No convention, no international law, no lofty ideals of justice can apply here because this violence is not even registered in the grand halls of the United Nations or the International Court of Justice. And what is justice, after all? In the present world, it often looks like an expression of raw power masked in moral terms.

The connection between Palestine and the Mediterranean is deep. For centuries, the Mediterranean has been a source of sustenance, a symbol of belonging, and joy for Palestinians. This love for the sea is mirrored in the fishing-net pattern of the keffiyeh. To truly understand this bond, one must turn back the pages of time.

For centuries, Palestinians lived and worked along the Mediterranean, in coastal towns like Jaffa, Haifa, and Gaza. Fishing was not just a tradition; it was the backbone of local livelihoods. But everything changed in 1948. The Nakba saw Israeli armed militias expel hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes, including fishing communities. Many fled to the Gaza Strip, and today, nearly 80% of Gaza’s fishermen are descendants of those displaced coastal families.

The hardships deepened after 1967, when Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War brought all Palestinian water resources under its control. From that point on, access to the sea was........

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