It is the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba (Arabic for catastrophe) following the partition of Palestine by the UN on the 29th of November 1947, the war from 1947-9; the withdrawal of British troops on the 14th of May and the end of the British Mandate and the declaration of the state of Israel on the 15th of May 1948.
Nakba Day is historically celebrated on the 15th of May to commemorate the loss of the Palestinian homeland, the dispossession of Palestinians, their destruction of their villages, their expulsion and their fleeing their homes and land facing war into becoming permanent refugees (around 700,000 Palestinians, around 80% of the Palestinian population of that time) and the destruction of Palestinian society brought about by the creation of the state of Israel. As well, of the indigenous inhabitants of the area, there were 150,000 Palestinians who did not flee during 1948 and they and their descendants are “Israeli Arabs”.
Historical Context cannot be ignored ...
This is the context that seems to be missing from many discussions whenever the question of Palestine is discussed. The further conquest of land during successive wars has brought many Palestinians under Israeli control because their land has been occupied following wars, that is why the areas conquered during 1967 war and other wars are called the occupied territories. So the problem derives from the division of the Palestine “mandate” and then the conquering of large amounts of that area designated for the Palestinians under that partition plan; this did not include the West Bank, and East Jerusalem which became part of Transjorden and the Gaza Strip which came under Egyptian control following the end of the 1947-49 war.
Colonial Settler States
The belief that the area of Palestine was “a land for people for people without a land” is quite simply not true; the area has been inhabited for millennia although it was not a separate state, it was part of the Ottoman Empire. The idea of an empty land only makes sense if you do not think of the indigenous people living there as not “people.” Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire (aided and abetted by European colonial powers), much of this region came under the control of the British, French and those that assisted them (this is how the kingdoms of Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, etc came out of this latter process).
In general, for all colonial settler states obtaining control over the land requires the removal or elimination of indigenous peoples who have been living on the land that you are claiming. Thinking of other colonial settler states (e.g., US, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand) this has essentially happened because the existence of the indigenous population threatens the claims of settlers to the land and resources. In no case of the creation of a colonial settler state has the indigenous population retained control over their land and resources; their elimination and removal is central to the project of a colonial settler state. Invariably the surviving indigenous population either finds itself evicted to Bantustans or reservations in parts of what was formerly their land or dispersed to neighbouring states or elsewhere.
This differs from historical colonialism where the indigenous population is left intact to serve as the workforce for the colonial government which is of course a government serving the interest of the colonial empire. In the cases of colonies, it is resources that the colonial empire wants and the people living there are the means to ensure that those resources are made available (often through slave labour) to the declared owner of the colony.
What do those colonialisers and colonial settler states share in common? It Is the belief that they have the right to claim the land and resources of another group of people. This is done through the use of warfare and terrorism against the native population to quell opposition to their “project.” Racism is at the core of the justifications for these actions and the indigenous population is argued to be uncivilised, unable to control their own resources and are treated essentially as non-human or at the best as children; if you think about it, if these people were viewed as people how could their extermination been justified? This requires, of course, the objectification of human beings to justify the actions of the white settlers or the creation of a colony.
This is the overall context to the situation in Palestine. If we think of what happened to various groups and nations of Native Americans in the US as its territory expanded, we can see clear similarities. The US is built on the genocide of Native Americans, of the indigenous population, and the forced labour of African slaves. So when we discuss “Manifest Destiny” and the spread of the US from the original colonies westward, we are talking about dispossession and extermination of Native Americans. The whole history of the US and the trauma of Native Americans and Black Americans is based on racism and colonialism; that is the nature of American history quite simply and there is no way around this.
What has happened to indigenous population of Palestinians that remained in the area where they have always lived becomes a struggle over civil rights as they are part of the population of those countries as they are citizens. For those who fled to neighbouring countries that have been occupied following wars and are under occupation, they are not citizens of Israel and their rights relate to Human Rights and the rights of populations under occupation and that relates to International Law and International Humanitarian Law.
Apartheid
Before moving to what has led to the current situation, we need to understand the Nation-State law that codified Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people which was passed in 2018. In many senses there is nothing new. But while apartheid existed in fact, it did not exist in the law. The legislation which was passed in the Knesset has formally legalised apartheid in Israel, codifying what essentially existed in terms of the unequal treatment of Israeli Arabs as the state is only a state for Jews which essentially destroys the fantasy of a democratic state for all “citizens”, which includes, Druze, Christian and Muslim Arabs and Bedouins. It enshrines in law that they do not have equal democratic rights. This bill was contested in the Knesset and it has come under severe criticism of Jews living outside of Israel as it removes legitimacy that Israel is a multi-cultural and democratic state.
Btselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) argues:
“The Nation State basic law, enacted in 2018, enshrines the Jewish people’s right to self-determination to the exclusion of all others. It establishes that distinguishing Jews in Israel (and throughout the world) from non-Jews is fundamental and legitimate. Based on this distinction, the law permits institutionalized discrimination in favor of Jews in settlement, housing, land development, citizenship, language and culture. It is true that the Israeli regime largely followed these principles before. Yet Jewish supremacy has now been enshrined in basic law, making it a binding constitutional principle – unlike ordinary law or practices by authorities, which can be challenged. This signals to all state institutions that they not only can, but must, promote Jewish supremacy in the entire area under Israeli control.”
In January 2021, Btselem produced an article entitled This is Apartheid discussing how apartheid exists in Israel due to the different treatment of Palestinians from Jews in the area under Israeli government control, which does not only exist in the areas defined after the 1948 war (citizens of Israel) , then the 1967 war [East Jerusalem (Permanent Residents of Israel who can live and work there), the West Bank [under Military Control with little or no political rights) and the Gaza Strip (while Israel has withdrew from its settlements and withdrawn its military, it is under permanent Israeli blockade). In fact, the rights of Palestinians that are living in these different areas differs substantially and all of their rights are inferior to the rights of Jewish citizens of Israel.
“Control over Palestinians is maintained in 4 ways:
1) Immigration is for Jews only;
2) Land is taken from Palestinians and given to Jews, crowding Palestinians into enclaves;
3) Restrictions are placed on the movement of Palestinians;
And 4) Palestinians (approx. 4million) living in the occupied territories are denied access to political participation.”
The article concludes with the following:
“ Yet in public discourse and in international law, apartheid does not mean an exact copy of the former South African regime. No regime will ever be identical. ‘Apartheid’ has long been an independent term, entrenched in international conventions, referring to a regime’s organizing principle: systematically promoting the dominance of one group over another and working to cement it.
The Israeli regime does not have to declare itself an apartheid regime to be defined as such, nor is it relevant that representatives of the state broadly proclaim it a democracy. What defines apartheid is not statements but practice. While South Africa declared itself an apartheid regime in 1948, it is unreasonable to expect other states to follow suit given the historical repercussions. The response of most countries to South Africa’s apartheid is likelier to deter countries from admitting to implementing a similar regime. It is also clear that what was possible in 1948 is no longer possible today, both legally and in terms of public opinion.”
Given the constant annexation of the occupied territory in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank, there is no possibility of a two-state solution as there is rapidly shrinking land upon which it can be built. So the insistence of President Biden and international leaders for the two-solution is meaningless and almost delusional.
What has led to the latest violence that we are witnessing?
Given the overall context, we need to move to the current context of the latest struggle between Palestinians, Israeli Arabs and the Israeli government. One of the strangest things that happens whenever conflict happens around Israel and Palestine, is that somehow not only the overall context of the conflict disappears from the discussion, but things that have occurred literally one week before are forgotten in reports in the mainstream media and in the statements by various governments; it as if everything that has happened simply vanishes and the only thing that is under discussion is how the Palestinians have created a conflict of which they are actually the victims. So let’s bring things into context; this latest struggle does not begin with rockets being sent into Israel from Gaza, it begins a bit before and it started with an area called Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem.
In this specific case, the threatened eviction of Palestinians from the neighbour of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem (remember that East Jerusalem is occupied territory taken in the 1967 war).
These Palestinians refugees were settled in East Jerusalem in 1957 when it was part of Jordanian territory. While they haven’t always lived in that specific area before 1957, generations of Palestinian families have been living there and have the deeds to it. The issue under consideration lies in a court case that is winding its way through Israeli courts and has now reached the Supreme Court (the judgement was expected on the 10th of May, days before the anniversary of the Nakba) concerning the disposition of the area; as the area was bought by a Jewish Agency from the Ottoman Empire and then was resold to Jewish settlers and the Palestinians living there are considered as “squatters.”
This is not an issue of a “real estate dispute”, it is a continuation of the dispossession of Palestinians from their own homes and land; moreover since this is occupied territory, it is debateable (as an understatement) that Israeli courts have jurisdiction over this area. It is important to note that 27 other Palestinian families are also in a similar type of legal dispute; this is not an isolated incident and it is part of a process that has been ongoing since Israel conquered East Jerusalem during the 1967 war. According to Tareq Baconi,
“Since 1967, Israel has revoked the residency of more than 14,500 Palestinian Jerusalemites, carried out extensive home demolitions (more than a thousand housing units since 2004), severely under-allocated municipal funds for Palestinian areas, and built a wall that integrates Jewish settlements outside the city’s municipal borders into Jerusalem while excising four Palestinian neighbourhoods that are within the municipal boundaries.”
So, this is part of a long-term process wherein territory that is under occupation has been incorporated into Israel. The continued expansion and the building of Jewish owned and controlled settlements into Palestinian occupied territory is not only happening in the West Bank, it has been happening in East Jerusalem as well. Moreover, the court system of Israel is an active participant in justifying this continuing seizure of Palestinian land and the destruction of Palestinian homes.
What lead to this explosive situation which occurred during Ramadan and very close to Nakba Day was the Israeli government closing down an area which served as a gathering space, which led to bottlenecks around Al Aqsa Mosque (the Dome of the Rock) where Muslims come to pray during Ramadan. This led to outbreaks of violence between Palestinians and Jews. The residents of Sheikh Jarrah mobilised in the area and they opened the area to hold communal Iftars (the breaking of the fast during Ramadan); the area around the Dome of the Rock became an area standing in solidarity with the residents of Sheikh Jarrah.
According to Baconi:
“The protests included mass iftar meals and praying as well as instances of shoe, chair and rock-throwing. Israeli forces responded with sponge-coated bullets, skunk water, tear gas and stun grenades. Over the weekend, more than 250 Palestinians were injured in Sheikh Jarrah alone. Monday was Jerusalem Day, when Israelis have a parade to celebrate what they see as the 1967 reunification of East and West Jerusalem. Israeli police broke into the Holy Esplanade and desecrated the mosque. Jewish settlers roamed the city streets, wielding machine guns with the full protection of the state.”
This is also occurring in the middle of negotiations among Israeli political leaders over the next government following the most recent election and once again the Palestinians become pawns in the situation.
Statements by foreign leaders requesting that things do not escalate (as though this is the fault of the Palestinians and they have control over what the Israeli government and military do) do nothing.
What next happened is that eruptions of solidarity with the residents of Sheikh Jarrah in areas that are officially part of Israel (i.e., west of the Green line) have broken out (e.g., in Haifa, Lydd and Nazareth) as well as on the West Bank and in the Palestinian diaspora also erupted in solidarity with Sheikh Jarrah.
Then Hamas got involved and demanded the Israeli military and police leave Sheikh Jarrah and the Al Aqsa mosque and when that didn’t happen, the escalation happened. This led to the launching of rockets into Israel from Gaza and the Israeli government and military bombing Gaza densely populated area packed with civilians a large number of which are children.
According to Al-Jazeera:
“At least 192 people, including 58 children and 34 women, have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the past week. More than 1,200 others have been wounded. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have killed at least 13 Palestinians.
Israel has reported 10 dead, including two children.”
Both Al Jazeera and AP’s media headquarters have been hit; the tower where AP and Al Jazeera were located was notified an hour before it was hit to evacuate.
So what does the President of the US do and say? Prime Minister Netanyahu assures President Biden that no one in the towers that have been hit yesterday are “uninvolved” and “that the Israeli military is doing everything to avoid harming those not involved.” Following these “reassurances” President Biden recognises Israel’s right to defend itself from rocket attacks launched from Gaza calling for both sides to stand down and there are attempts to negotiate a ceasefire, but this has not stopped the bombings of Gaza. He has not condemned Israeli government and military attacks on Palestinians.
According to the Independent, Netanyahu has said “the military campaign against Gaza’s Hamas rulers will continue “with “full force and warned it will “take time” to end despite international efforts to obtain a ceasefire.” The question that needs to be asked is how can the so-called “involved” be separated from the “non-involved” in an area that size and so densely packed. They cannot, because the leaders and members of Hamas that Israel is targeting live there, they are not shielding behind civilians. It is impossible to separate them. Bombing Gaza, by definition, means killing innocent civilians.
It is this context that Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib refers to in her speech to Congress (reproduced in full in Jacobin) where she said:
“To read the statements from President Biden, Secretary Blinken, General Austin, and leaders of both parties, you’d hardly know Palestinians existed at all. There has been no recognition of the attack on Palestinian families being ripped from their homes in East Jerusalem right now or home demolitions. No mention of children being detained or murdered. No recognition of a sustained campaign of harassment and terror by Israeli police against worshippers kneeling down and praying, celebrating their holiest days, in one of their holiest places. No mention of Al-Aqsa being surrounded by violence, tear gas, smoke, while people pray.”
This is why we cannot stay silent in the face of what is happening. We need to talk about Palestine and the Palestinians and their humanity and their human rights. What about their right to self-defence?! Why does a colonial settler state have the right to self-defence when the people who are fighting against them not have the same right? As Patrick Gathara says:
“UN General Assembly Resolution 37/43 of 1982 which recognised “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle”.
This is why there have been protests all around the world in solidarity with the Palestinians yesterday. We cannot stay silent, we cannot do anything and hope that it all works out, it is not working out.