History is rarely kind to years marked by unrestrained violence, political cynicism, and international hypocrisy. In the Middle East, 2025 is already shaping up as one such year – one that many will wish could be erased from memory. For millions across the region, particularly Palestinians, the year did not represent a turning point toward peace or justice, but rather the continuation, and in some cases the intensification, of long-running catastrophes.

For Palestinians, 2025 will be remembered as yet another year of genocide and apartheid, thinly disguised beneath the language of “security” and “self-defense.” Two ceasefires came and went, neither delivering anything close to meaningful relief. The October 10 ceasefire plan did produce a temporary reduction in fatalities in Gaza, and the exchange of hostages and detainees was welcomed by families on all sides. Yet these limited gains were overshadowed by a far grimmer reality: Israel continued to restrict humanitarian aid to a trickle, reinforcing the perception that deprivation itself has become a weapon of war.

This policy choice speaks volumes. Starvation, displacement, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure are not accidental byproducts of war; they are deliberate tools. Israel’s long-standing strategy of creating “facts on the ground” – turning temporary military measures into permanent political realities – found renewed expression in Gaza. By the end of 2025, Israel had effectively split the enclave and seized control of more than half of its territory. The question is no longer whether this occupation will become permanent, but how long it will be before settlements begin to appear on land once home to Palestinians.

While global attention remained fixated on Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition of settler allies accelerated land seizures in the West Bank. The year saw record numbers of new settlements approved, alongside a sharp surge in settler violence. Palestinian communities were uprooted, homes........

© Blitz