A major problem in American thinking relating to the Middle East is the utter rejection of the notion that Palestinian rights are fundamental, if even relevant at all, to the coveted peace and stability.

Arab and Muslim American voters did not remove the Democrats from office, nor did they cost Kamala Harris the Oval Office. Last week’s elections merely sent a strong message that Palestine matters, not only to Arabs and Muslims but to many other Americans as well.

The Israeli Knesset last week adopted two bills that will effectively ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from carrying out any activity in Israel and the Occupied Territories.

Under the slogan “Gaza is Ours, Forever,” a large number of Israeli extremists and right-wing politicians met in the settlement of Be’eri, near the Gaza border, on Oct. 20-21.

Israeli officials keep repeating that the country is fighting on multiple fronts. The truth is that Israel chooses to fight on multiple fronts. The two claims are fundamentally different.

“Your lives will continue. With new events and new faces. They are the faces of your children who will fill your homes with noise and laughter.”

These were the last words written by my sister in a text message to one of her daughters.

No one expected that a single year would be enough to recenter the Palestinian cause as the world’s most pressing issue and that millions of people across the globe would once again rally for Palestinian freedom.