Al-Qalam 
‘The West shows double standards’, she says. It tells Ukrainians to fight, but when Palestinians do the same, they are labeled as ‘terrorists’, reports Nabeelah Shaikh.
The first time Abeer Ahmed Zayyad had a gun held to her head by an Israeli soldier was when she was just nine-years-old.
Zayyad, a Palestinian archeologist and expert on Al-Aqsa Mosque, has been arrested and assaulted multiple times simply for being Palestinian. As someone who grew up in Jerusalem, she’s using her experiences and her expertise to educate South Africans on the goings-on at Al Aqsa mosque and to speak out on the plight of the Palestinian people.
Hosted by humanitarian journalism platform, Salaamedia, Zayyad has been touring SA over the last two week. She has addressed audiences at events in Johannesburg, Polokwane, Pietermaritzburg, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, She has warned captive audiences about the Zionist threats to Al-Aqsa (that includes the Qibli Mosque and the Dome of the Rock) – and to urge SA Muslims to visit the third holiest site in Islam.
“It’s my second visit. I came to South Africa in 2017 and Alhamdulillah, I am grateful to have the opportunity to visit this country again, to educate people on what we, as Palestinians, are subjected to on a daily basis. There are a lot of commonalities between South Africa and Palestine, because of the apartheid once experienced by South Africans. But my message to the people of South Africa is to visit Al-Aqsa and to experience first-hand what Palestinians are subjected to. We can’t forget what Nelson Mandela said ‘that we know too well that freedom in South Africa is incomplete, without the freedom of the Palestinians’,” said Zayyad.
Al-Aqsa
Zayyad was born in Jerusalem and has lived under the apartheid Israel regime for all her life.
“I grew up in the mosque itself and live just outside the mosque. I have been working at Al-Aqsa since 2010 as the head of the Islamic Heritage Department. I have a Master of Arts in archeology. And all my research has been focused on the Al-Aqsa Mosque. I also do humanitarian work with Palestinian authorities focusing on needy families in and outside Jerusalem,” said Zayyad. She says the stories of what she and her family have been through, are shocking and traumatic for many to fathom.
“From my skull to my toes, I have broken bones. I have been attacked with gas bombs, rubber bullets and experienced so many beatings. This is what I have been subjected to, my entire life.
I have been in jail many times, and my husband has been in jail for 15 years. My brother was in jail when he was a child. They tried to kidnap him when he was two years old. And they shot him in the head when he was almost 15. During Laylatul Qadr in Ramadan, he was one of the people who were attacked there as well,” said Zayyad.
“They are shooting and killing innocent people. They’ve entered our homes many times and tried to kill us and our neighbours. I was arrested on many occasions in my own home, in front of my children. They would cuff me in front of my kids. When they enter my home, they destroy everything, including all our furniture. And when they arrest us, they make us pay fines even though we have done nothing wrong. This is not the life we should be living,” said Zayyad.
Zayyad said one of the messages she would like to send to world leaders is to stop showing their double standards.
“We are humans. We have our right to freedom and to fight back. How can they accept what is happening in Ukraine, and say that it’s okay for the people of Ukraine to fight back, but when Palestinians fight back, we are labeled terrorists?” asked Zayyad.
She says the taking of their land, demolishing their homes and constantly shooting innocent Palestinians, needs more attention from world leaders.
“The world is shut about that. We are the oldest occupation and we deserve our rights. We need people to stand with us, and stand for our rights as people living under occupation. The truth is that our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said ‘visit Al-Aqsa and then help’. Part of my visit here is to use my expertise to encourage South Africans to visit Al-Aqsa mosque, and to see what people there are going through. They will only understand the magnitude of the situation when they visit my homeland,” said Zayyad.
