A tragic incident unfolded at a wedding in New Hampshire on Saturday night when a gunman, reportedly shouting "Free Palestine," opened fire, resulting in the death of one man and injuries to several others.
The assailant, identified as 23-year-old Hunter Nadeau, allegedly used a handgun to fatally shoot Robert Steven DeCesare, while also wounding two additional adults, according to local authorities.
As reported by Breitbart, the chaos of the shooting led to at least half a dozen other individuals being transported to hospitals in the Nashua area with injuries not related to gunfire. These injuries were sustained amidst the pandemonium that ensued during the attack.
Witness Tom Bartelson recounted the harrowing scene, stating, "He looked like a target, that he was going right for this person. So, I feel terrible for him," and added that the gunman declared, "the children were safe and, you know, 'free Palestine.'"
The phrase "Free Palestine" has been associated with calls for the destruction of Israel, a sentiment that has sparked violence in the past. Earlier this year, a similar incident occurred when a man, also shouting "Free Palestine," shot and killed two staff members from the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, outside a Jewish community event.
The phrase is often viewed as genocidal, as it implies the eradication of the Jewish state.
The historical context of the term "Palestine" dates back to the Roman Empire, which imposed the name on the Jewish kingdom in the Land of Israel, then known as Judea, following several Jewish rebellions. This renaming was intended to diminish the Jewish connection to the land.
Despite the Roman-imposed exile, Jews continued to refer to the area as the Land of Israel and maintained a presence there. Centuries later, Jewish communities began to return during the Ottoman Empire's rule.
Following World War I, the British were granted a mandate by the League of Nations to govern Palestine, with the objective of establishing a "Jewish National Home" while respecting the rights of local Arabs. In 1947, the United Nations proposed a partition plan, dividing the land into Jewish and Arab portions. The Jewish portion declared independence as Israel, while the Arab side rejected the partition and initiated a war to eliminate the Jewish state.
Israel's victory in the ensuing conflict led to Egypt's occupation of Gaza and Jordan's control over Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), neither of which took steps to establish a Palestinian state. After a defensive war in 1967, Israel gained control of these territories.
However, the call to "Free Palestine" has never been limited to these areas alone; it encompasses the broader Palestinian claim to the entire land, which would necessitate the destruction of Israel and potentially the expulsion or murder of its predominantly Jewish population.
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