The story of Koki the African Grey, who was operated on by an Israeli bird specialist after accidentally ingesting bleach, was even picked up by The Washington Post and The New York Post — coverage largely denied to the thousands of Palestinian men, women and children prevented from accessing similarly vital medical interventions every year because Israel has refused them permits for treatments unavailable in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Representations of Koki as a beneficiary of Israel’s salvation disguise the fact that he was also a victim of the state’s colonial policies. The oppressiveness of the occupation was the mostly hidden background context of the parrot’s plight: As the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has pointed out, the reason that veterinarians are so scarce in Gaza is because the stifling illegal blockade has barred aspiring veterinary students from leaving the territory for training.