PALESTINE/ISRAEL: How Israel deliberately initiates ethnic cleansing of Palestinians

Politics of instigation: How Israel deliberately initiates ethnic cleansing of Palestinians

Posted by Parul VERMA on November 29, 2015 in Activisim & BDS, News & Analysis, Palestine | | 1 Response

Over 2,000 Palestinian Children Killed  Since Outbreak of Second Intifada

The psychological instigation is worse. Trying to disrupt the collective identity of the Palestinians , the mutilation of the developmental milestone of the psyche with humiliation, the detainment of young Palestine children, watching your ancestral home being smashed to the ground for Jewish settlements to seep in, the censorship of right of speech, the inhibition of basic right to movement etc.

by PARUL VERMA

 “ We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population.” Israel Koenig, “The Koenig Memorandum“

“We will establish ourselves in Palestine whether you like it or not…You can hasten our arrival or you can equally retard it. It is however better for you to help us so as to avoid our constructive powers being turned into a destructive power which will overthrow the world. (Chaim Weizmann, Published in “Judische Rundschau,” No. 4, 1920)

Painting the Palestinians as a violent predators who hunts anything and everything that is Jewish, has been the most frequent fantasy of any Israeli, trying to taste the power in the Knesset..  The unfortunate event of  Holocaust has been(ing) misused as the ‘victimisation card’ to further aggravate the ‘victimiser’ tendencies of Israel by Netanyahu against the Palestinians. Infact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has built his entire political career on a platform of inflicting violence against Palestinians. How can one forget  his first  election as prime minster in 1996 where he  publically mocked Israel’s then prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, for entering into an interim peace agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization. What is really interesting is the way his psyche takes pride in engaging in the destructive policies against the non-Jews. Israel ,since 1948 has routinely used aggressive psychological  and physical violence to seize land, build settlements on the Palestinians land, control the supply of water and electricity, censoring  the voices raised against this illegal occupation, inhibiting the basic right of movement etc.

No doubt, that Netanyahu’s Eros constitutes the essence of violence, but why is Palestine’s continuous death is Israel’s motive? Every bullet in the heart of a Palestinian, raises Israel’s profitable bars in its export weaponary business. The military exports have been reported of $7.5 billion in 2012,  $6.5 billion in 2013, and  $5.5 billion in 2014. This year it is expected to exports to total $4-4.5 billion. The lynching /murdering/shooting of each Palestinian, sustains Israel’s economy. Do not misunderstand me, Israel does not wish to eliminate the existence of Palestine, rather the open air prison that Israel has converted the land of Palestine in, is crucial for it to maintain. Israel needs Palestine for its growth economically.  But how does it implements this idea into a reality? How does Israel becomes the victimiser ,yet remains the  victim in front of the international  community?

The Politics of Instigation reveals itself here.  The idea is of Israel ( victimiser) to inflict much trauma (physical  and psychological ) to the intensity, which would receive a response from the victimised (Palestinians ) . Once the much needed retaliation is received, it becomes the “convincing reason “ for Israel to defend itself  from the so called barbarity of the victimised Palestinians. The resistance from the Palestinians here is manipulated  as an act of “ terrorism “ and initiation  of the ethnic cleansing by Israel in the form of another operation is given the name of “defending itself”. The aim is to protect the damaged identity of Israel as a apartheid state and transform it into a state with Jews “defending themselves” with nicely oiled machine guns. The basic psychic fear of existential threat lingering in the unconscious of the Jews is being misused by Netanyahu to sustain the politics of instigation. Their fear is nurtured for political gains. Israel gets aided both with ammunition and explicit support from its allies,to implement the politics of instigation.

“ Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.” – Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001.

So, the question arises, with the unconditional support from USA, UK and many other gulf countries, why Israel needs to adopt the politics of instigation, when it can  continue the ethnic cleansing in the name of ‘ self defence’.

Why Israel needs the Politics of instigation?

Israel’s standing in world public opinion is not of a ” victim ” anymore.  Psychological alienation is at play here. Israel worries about growing numbers of American Jews “vocally oppos(ing) its policies,” Barghouti explained– especially prominent Jewish figures unwilling to accept Zionist occupation harshness and discriminatory policies against Israel’s Palestinian population, is  raising the anxiety of ” non -acceptance” from its own Jewish community.  The public awareness of the “  victim turned victimiser “ has sparked worldwide criticism of Israel, further alienating Israel from the international community, escalating  the anxiety related to non-acceptance.

Due to  stalled peace talks, many  countries whose governments do not currently recognise the Palestinian state are being encountered with pressures from members of the parliaments and the general public to re-structure their policies. In Europe, for example, the parliaments of  Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain have passed non-binding advisory resolutions recommending their  governments to recognise the state of Palestine. The world is rising in favour of Palestine as a independent  state with no occupied territories by Israel. This is an crucial point, since now  if  Israel starts another operation, bombing and mutilating Palestinians and thereby  committing human right violation as condemned  by majority of the world. Israel will face economic and psychological alienation in the form of the upcoming Third Intifada, initiated by the Palestinians along with the world. Protection of the ‘Israeli character’  has now become the priority of Israel because with its famous brutality against the Palestinians

Recent escalation of the nonviolent movement for the  justice in Israel/Palestine has grown more momentum than Israel could have imagined. Considering the figures, Israel’s disquiet over BDS is genuine. Israeli financial newspaper reported ,estimating that BDS could cost Israel’s economy $1.4billlion a year. The estimate included  exports from the West Bank settlements  and with  the EU’s decision to label the occupied territory products by the Israel ( not part of the BDS movement) , The Rand Corporation  estimates that the loss  could be more than three times higher: $47bn over 10 years.

The international community is closely watching each step made by Israel and its power of boycotting it economically and psychologically is accelerating the political anxiety in the Knesset. Israel cannot start Operation Protective Edge Part-2 without in the absence of a convincing reasons against the Palestinians. It instigates  the Palestinians without being obvious in its aim. Israel has to cover up the cuts on its brutal character , and in the presence of explicit collective ethnic cleansing of Palestinians ,it will suffer  alienation.

Hence, the idea of political instigation is to see inflict a collective psychological  and physical  trauma to the Palestinians and when the resistance is observed, manipulate the events of resistance  into acts of terrorism, therefore initiating Protective Edge Part 2 against the already victimised (Palestinians ). The aim is to protect the damaged identity of Israel as a apartheid state and transform it into a state with Jews “defending themselves” with nicely oiled machine guns.

 How does the politics of instigation works?

 Physical instigation

The politics of instigation is at work . A cyclic rhythm to the madness can be observed here. It is as if Israel desires every generation of Palestinians to get a dose of its ‘iron fist’ and then retaliate to the mental and physical trauma being inflicted on them. Mondoweiss reported the death of 65 Palestinians alone in the month of October 2015, which included 14 children. The majority were shot dead in Hebron city, in most cases after Israel alleged they attempted to carry out stabbing attacks on Israelis. Israeli forces shot and killed 23-year-old Islam Rafiq Hammad Ibeid after the forces said he attempting to carry out a stabbing attack near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba.  Hammam Said, 23, reportedly attempted to stab an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint in Tel Rumeida and was shot dead by Israeli forces. Eyewitnesses to both cases told Ma‘an they saw Israeli soldiers placing knives next to the suspects’ bodies following the alleged attacks. Several attacks have taken place near the Ibrahimi Mosque this month, known to Jews as the Tomb of Patriarchs. Saad Muhammad Youssef al-Atrash, 19, was shot dead near the holy site on Monday after he allegedly attempted to stab a soldier. The Israel is on shooting spree. The intensity by which the numbers of the dead is escalating , is an attempt of instigation by  Israel for Hamas to reciprocate.

Infact, Israel’s attempt has not been in vain. On November 17,2015 a rocket hit was identified in Israeli territory in the western Negev. On November 20,2015 two rockets were fired at Israeli territory. Both fell inside the Gaza Strip. On the morning of November 23, 2015, a rocket hit was identified in Israel territory in an open area in the western Negev. There were no casualties and no damage reported. All these events are being tracked by the Israeli government(and presented to the United Nation and the International community) as the Palestinians attempt to violate  ceasefire agreement. The painting of Palestinians as a inherently dangerous  to the existence of Israel ,in front of the international communities is being well played.

Psychological instigation

“We have to kill all the Palestinians unless they are resigned to live here as slaves.” Chairman Heilbrun of the Committee for the Re-election of General Shlomo Lahat, the mayor of Tel Aviv, October 1983.

“One million Arabs are not worth a Jewish fingernail.” — Rabbi Yaacov Perrin, Feb. 27, 1994 [Source: N.Y. Times, Feb. 28, 1994, p. 1] “The Palestinians are] beasts walking on two legs.” Menahim Begin, speech to the Knesset, quoted in Amnon Kapeliouk, “Begin and the Beasts”. New Statesman, 25 June 1982.

“The Palestinians” would be crushed like grasshoppers … heads smashed against the boulders and walls.” ” Israeli Prime Minister (at the time) in a speech to Jewish settlers New York Times April 1, 1988

“When we have settled the land, all the Arabs will be able to do about it will be to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle.” Raphael Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, New York Times, 14 April 1983.

“There was no such thing as Palestinians, they never existed.” Golda Maier Israeli Prime Minister June 15, 1969.

The psychological instigation is worse. Trying to disrupt the collective identity of the Palestinians , the mutilation of the developmental milestone of the psyche with humiliation, the detainment of young Palestine children, watching your ancestral home being smashed to the ground for Jewish settlements to seep in, the censorship of right of speech, the inhibition of basic right to movement etc, has wired the Palestinian psyche with mutilated psyche. The way Palestinians are treated is a reminiscent of the memory of how South Africa was engulfed in the psychological chaos of apartheid. The rise of racism in the streets of Israel against anyone Arab has escalated fear and the loss of the sense of self worth, which has increased the acts of resistance by the young generation. The vicious cycle of instigation, years of consuming the psychological trauma and now bursting out as a form of resistance, further being silenced by Israel by shooting and detaining the Palestinians has become the Israeli law. And in the midst of these exploitation, when resistance becomes the law, it is termed as “terrorism “

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Conclusion

Martin Buber, Jewish Philosopher, addressed Prime Minister Ben Gurion on the moral character of the state of Israel with reference to the Palestinian refugees in March 1949. “We will have to face the reality that Israel is neither innocent, nor redemptive. And that in its creation, and expansion; we as Jews, have caused what we historically have suffered; a refugee population in Diaspora.”

Martin Buber was right in his analysis. The once victimised, now a victimiser is repeating the history of Holocaust, the only difference is in its role as a victimiser. The essence of this human rights violation is the same but the technique differs. The usage of politics of instigation has worked well in the past, that has led to multiple operations like Protective Edge, Summer Rain, Pillar of Defence etc. This use of trajectory must be avoided. Palestinians should not fall for this trap, again !