What a siege, collective punishment, ethnic cleansing and Palestinian suffering really looks like. Too bad the media doesn't care.

The Syrian army has put the area of Daraa al-Balad - with 40,000 residents - under siege since June.

Daraa was where the Syrian revolution started. In 2018, a Russian brokered agreement allowed the rebels to maintain some power while many were forcibly deported to northern Syria. Now Syria is breaking that agreement.

Ammar, an activist and journalist living in Daraa who asked not to use his last name, said the situation for civilians was increasingly desperate. “Civilians are trapped in Daraa al-Balad and Daraa’s [refugee] camp,” he said via an encrypted messaging platform. “Because of the presence of regime forces and pro-Iranian militias near these areas, dozens of families are completely besieged to the extent that they are unable to leave their homes due to sniper fire.”

“These besieged neighborhoods have also lost access to the only medical point that was working due to a critical lack of medical supplies,” he said. Speaking on the international community, Ammar called for immediate action to protect civilians and “prevent the [regime’s] military campaign.” “The sectarian militias are obstructing agreements in southern Syria and are drastically escalating the military situation,” he said.

Bakeries have been forced to close. There are no medical corridors for the injured to leave for treatment. 

The world doesn't care.

Even though there is an UNRWA-run camp in Deraa, with thousands of Palestinians living there because they couldn't find a better place to go. They are suffering from having no food, no medical aid, and no water. UNRWA says that there are some 30,000 Palestinians in southern Syria, caught between Syrian forces, Russian influence and the Iranian desire to build a military zone there adjacent to Israel. 

But the civilians of Daraa, and the Palestinians there, have a much bigger problem: Israel has nothing to do with this.

That's why the world ignores them. That's why 99% of articles from the region that mention "siege" or "collective punishment" or "ethnic cleansing" or "Palestinian suffering" aren't talking about Daraa. 

The people of Daraa would trade places with Palestinians in Gaza in an instant. They would love to be in a place where they are warned to leave their houses before they are bombed or shot. They would love to be somewhere with hospitals and well-stocked supermarkets and malls. They would love to be under a "siege" where food, electronics and other goods are imported and exported.

Daraa, Syria is closer to Haifa than Gaza is. The hundreds of Western journalists in Israel could easily drive into Jordan and be on Daraa's footstep, they could interview refugees, they could publicize the crimes against humanity. NGOs could issue reports with details of individuals who suffered losses. The media could publish a count of the number of casualties on each side. They could have articles about Palestinians who are suffering under Syrian fire.

But that won't happen. And the only reason that Gaza gets the media and Daraa doesn't is because no one can blame Jews for the inhumane siege of Daraa.

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