Daughter Reflects on Late Palestinian Father’s Dream for Peace in Gaza: ‘Hamas Destroyed That Dream’ (Exclusive)

Yasmine Mohammed still remembers her grandparents teaching her about Palestinian music and cooking.

“They wanted to keep the Palestinian heritage,” Mohammed tells PEOPLE, recalling his childhood. “They felt it was slipping away from them so they tried to pass their tradition on to me.”

Mohammed’s grandparents are from Gaza, a tiny Palestinian exclave located on the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by Israel and Egypt. Gaza is one of the two Palestinian territories. The other is the West Bank, which Israel claims. Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world with 2.1 million people. About half are children.

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Mohammed’s father was also born and raised in Gaza. He lived there until he was 18, when he went to the University in Egypt. “He’s proud to be from Gaza and Palestinian,” she says. “It was a big part of his life. Even though he didn’t go back to Gaza except every few years, it was Gaza all the time. He wanted to see it succeed.”

Amid the recent attacks, Mohammed — now a human rights activist who runs a nonprofit called Free Hearts, Free Minds — reflects on memories of her father growing up on earth. She also reflects on the dream he shared, like many other Palestinians, of peace – a dream he says has now been destroyed by Hamas. Below is her story.

Yasmine Mohammed.

Yasmine Mohammed

All my dad talked about was rewinding the clock. He wanted to return Gaza to the state it was in before the terrorists conquered the country. He had a YouTube channel and a Facebook page where he shared videos and pictures from his good times. He would tell me how it used to be – his olive groves and beaches.

What my dad loved most about Gaza was that even if it had been a few years since he had been home, as soon as he returned everything would be the same. The same families would be there, having the same discussions. He wanted the comfort of being part of this community for me. I never went to Gaza. I never wanted to.

My dad always wanted the people of Gaza to be able to strike back at Hamas. It was frustrating for him. He couldn’t just say, “Well, they’re extremists and it’s horrible and I want nothing to do with them.” It was and still is dangerous. Anything bad you said, they would come after you. They would come after your family.

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Palestinian citizens inspect the damage to their homes caused by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 13, 2023.

Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty

People who spoke out against Hamas would be ostracized. They would tell them that they are not Arabs or true Muslims. That they should be killed. That they are Zionists, or Jews. Yes, my dad didn’t always agree with the Israeli government, but he didn’t hate Jews.

I am lucky to be born in Vancouver, Canada. My parents moved here after meeting in Egypt. I knew my grandparents because they often came to visit. They would come back with stories about Gaza. They went back and forth to Gaza much more often than my dad because we lived so far away. But even there it was dangerous for him to speak.

Yasmina Mohammed’s father.

Yasmine Mohammed

Despite everything, my dad always prayed for peace for Gaza and the Palestinian people. He believed in a two-state solution. My dad did not blame Israel or the Jews for the pain of the Palestinians. He blamed Hamas for the downfall of his homeland. It’s a relief to me that my dad died before the past attacks happened. Now there is no hope. Hamas destroyed that dream.

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I never paid attention to Gaza like my dad. After these attacks I thought of him. I thought how heartbroken he would be. I wanted to speak for people who are like my father. I want to remind them that there are good people in Gaza and Israel. People are not their government.

My dad felt there were a lot of missed opportunities. He was angry with the decision makers and leaders. He knew there were so many opportunities to make peace with Israel – so many opportunities for their country to flourish and for the Palestinian people to prosper. He kept thinking to himself, “How could people mess this up?”

Yasmine Mohammed with her father and two daughters.

Yasmine Mohammed

I grew up hearing different things about conflict from my mom. She was very religious. She blamed the Jews for everything. She taught me that they are evil. That they were bad. That their number one goal was for the Palestinians to suffer. It had a similar mindset to Hamas.

I don’t talk to my mom anymore. The last time we spoke was in 2004. When I was 19, she married me to a member of Al-Qaeda. After I left the Muslim community, she told me that she would have me killed. Since then, I have struggled to understand what it means for me to be culturally Palestinian.

It’s so frustrating how polarized everyone has become in the world after the attacks. They are all just extreme in all different directions. But people want black and white. They want good and evil. It’s sad to see how quickly people lose touch with their humanity. People died. The children were burned. Families were taken hostage. Every day the number of dead grows — on both sides.

People speak not only rhetoric, but also their actions. To see people calling Hamas freedom fighters – after all they have done – is an insult to the Palestinian people.

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Source: HIS Education