[ The writer is the director of Duzce University’s Middle East and African Studies Center (ORAFMER) ]
ISTANBUL
Violence against civilians in Palestine has been continuing uninterruptedly for over a century. The problem of violence that Palestinians have faced for so long is also unique in this regard. There are few other examples in the world that compare to Israel’s violence against Palestinians; in fact, it is one of the few that has lasted more than a century. On a global and regional scale, world politics has changed dramatically in the last century; great wars have occurred; regimes and country borders have shifted; technology has advanced; the space age has begun; but Israeli violence against Palestinians has remained unchanged. The persecution of the Palestinians began way before the state of Israel was established. Conflicts arose early in the process between local Palestinians and Jews who had immigrated to these lands, and after the state of Israel was established, a pattern of disproportionate bloody violence against a community, perpetrated by a state with all its might, began to emerge.
Demographic change
While the proportion of Jews in Palestine was 10% immediately after the First World War, the region’s demography changed in a very organized manner in a short period of time. Jewish immigration to Palestine had already picked up speed before the First World War, as early as the 1880s. For Jews, immigration to Palestine also has a very strongly religious aspect. These waves of migration are known as “Aliyah”, which means “to rise up”. The First Aliyah lasted from 1882 to1903, the Second Aliyah from 1904 to1914, the Third Aliyah from 1919 to 1923, the Fourth Aliyah from 1924 to 1928, and the Fifth Aliyah from 1929 to 1939. Tens of thousands of Jews migrated to these lands during these periods. Between 1948 and 1951, Jewish immigration to Palestine was at an all-time high following the Second World War.
Jewish immigrants founded the Haganah terrorist organization in 1920 and the Irgun Z’vai Leumi terrorist organization in 1931 to intimidate Palestinian civilians in order to displace them and prepare the ground for the establishment of the state of Israel. The conflicts between Jews and Palestinians began in this period. Many Jews and Arabs died or were injured as a result of the events of April 1920 and May 1921. The incidents and strikes that started in 1936 lasted until 1939. In 1946, the Irgun terrorist organization carried out a bomb attack on the King David Hotel. A total of 91 people, most of whom were civilians (41 Arabs, 28 British, 17 Jews, 2 Armenians, 1 Russian, 1 Egyptian and 1 Greek), were killed in the attack.
The Deir Yassin massacre is an important turning point in this context. The militants of Lehi (Stern), led by Avraham Stern, and the Irgun organization, led by Menachem Begin, raided the village of Deir Yassin, located west of Jerusalem, on April 9, 1948. Other terrorist organizations, such as Palmach and Haganah, aided and abetted these attacks. 254 Palestinian civilians were killed in this attack. Among those killed were many children and 25 pregnant women. Incidents such as the rape of some women, the cutting open of some pregnant women’s bellies, and the burning of people by tying them to trees were reported by eyewitnesses to the British, who conducted the investigation in the aftermath of the attack. Some Jewish religious leaders also reacted to this attack. Menachem Begin, one of the alleged perpetrators of the attack, is said to have remarked years later that if they had not carried out the attack, “there would be no Israel today”.
Al-Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe
May 15, the day after the establishment of the state of Israel, is called by Palestinians the “Day of Nakba”, or the Great Catastrophe. After the 1948 war, Israel expanded the areas it occupied and forced some Palestinians to migrate. As a result of the fear of torture, rape, and massacre, a massive exodus from Palestinian lands began. According to Israeli sources, 500 thousand Palestinians had to migrate, 900 thousand according to Arab sources, and 726 thousand according to the United Nations (UN). These figures represent approximately 65-70 percent of Palestinians at the time. Six hundred and seventy-five Palestinian villages and towns were destroyed during this time. Palestinians who migrated were forced to live in refugee camps, where they had to fight for survival. In response to this, the United Nations decided in1948, with Resolution194, to allow Palestinians who had emigrated to return.
Continuing violence after the Naksa
June 5, the day the 1967 War started, is referred to as the Naksa (Decline) Day by Palestinians. The 1967 war gave rise to new waves of immigration. In fact, those who had immigrated in 1967 had to immigrate once again. The number of Palestinians who immigrated at that time is estimated to be around 500 thousand. The main trend that gained traction after this date is the rapid construction of new Jewish settlements. Since 1967, more than 250 new settlements have been built, mostly in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Approximately 650 thousand Jews were settled in the newly occupied and newly created settlements. In this regard, Israel’s new settlement projects and policies have remained consistent to this day.
The other side of violence: the wall
Another tool and symbol of violence against Palestinian civilians is Israel’s construction of a wall around Palestinian-populated areas. Approximately a 500-kilometer section of the wall, which is supposed to reach 720 kilometers according to the original plan, has been completed. The wall reduces Palestinian land by 9.4 percent, making life more difficult for nearly three million Palestinians. Because of the wall, the West Bank and Gaza have almost become open-air prisons. Hundreds of Palestinian homes were demolished, tens of thousands of olive and fruit trees were dismantled, irrigation facilities and thousands of meters of water pipes were destroyed during the construction of the wall, and Palestinian lands were dug with heavy equipment, their homes and lands were seized. The wall in question, on the other hand, split some villages right in the middle, separating families and relatives. So much so that some Palestinians’ homes were left on one side of the wall, while their fields were left on the other.
Violence against Palestinians in intifada movements
During the First Intifada, which began in 1987, Palestinians, particularly Palestinian children, used only stones to defend their land, lives, and human rights against armed Israeli soldiers. The arms of captured Palestinian children were broken by Israeli soldiers with stones and sticks in front of cameras during the first Intifada, which lasted until 1993. The symbolic image of the first Intifada is of a child who was subjected to such violence. Over 1,200 Palestinian civilians died during these events. More than 130 thousand were injured, 2,500 homes were destroyed, and more than 20 thousand Palestinians were detained.
During the Second Intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005, 4,412 Palestinians lost their lives, 48,322 Palestinians were wounded, and thousands of Palestinian homes were destroyed. The second Intifada’s symbolic image was again that of a child: Mohammed Durra, 11, and his father, who took cover behind a barrel leaning against a wall, were held under fire for 45 minutes. The murder of Mohammed in the arms of his father, in full view of cameras, was broadcast on television around the world.
Constant violence in Gaza
In the attacks called “Cast Lead”, which Israel carried out against Gaza between December 2008 and January 2009, 1,400 people, including 355 children and 100 women, lost their lives and 5,400 Palestinians were injured.
Israeli forces opened fire on a 13-year-old boy who was playing football on November 8, 2012, killing him. Following the events that began in response to this death, Israel launched its “Pillar of Cloud” attacks. This time, 167 Palestinians were killed, with more than half of them being women and children, and more than 1,200 Palestinians injured. Gaza was literally turned into rubble during the 51-day attacks known as the “Protective Edge” in 2014. These attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,158 Palestinians, including 551 children, as well as the injuries of over 11 thousand Palestinians and the displacement of over 60 thousand Palestinians.
The fact that the US announced its decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem on the anniversary of the Nakba is also significant. More than 60 Palestinian civilians, including many children, were killed and over 3,000 Palestinians were injured in just two days of protests against the decision. Leyla, an eight-month-old baby, was among those who died as a result of the gas canisters fired at them.
As can be seen, Israel’s bloody acts of violence against Palestinians have been continuing uninterruptedly for more than a century. Israeli violence does not discriminate between women, children, babies, civilians, temples, houses, hospitals and schools. Despite the fact that many UN resolutions have been passed in response to these events, Israel has chosen to ignore all of them.
Translated from Turkish by Baran Burgaz Ayaz
*Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu Agency.
