1/ I’m an Israeli academic. My community is still too silent about the war in Gaza. Following my viral tweet last month, this is the updated & expanded version of how I see things based on >1000 articles and 1000s of videos/images of the war. 🧵of summary conclusions:
2/ Details, examples and over a thousand sources are available in the images at the end of this chain, or in PDF format here:
academia.edu/112967602/Bear…
3/ This version is twice as long & detailed as the previous one. It is far better organized, includes new discussions (e.g. Palestinian deah count, al-Shifa raid, genocide definition) and new evidence and findings. My conclusions, corresponding to sections in the document:
4/ Over the past half year, Israel has repeatedly massacred Palestinians in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of over 33,000 Palestinians – some two thirds of whom are women and children – as of writing. Tens of thousands more have been injured and at least thousands are missing.
5/ There is ample evidence for Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks throughout the war, as well as many examples for massacres and other killings. A long list of international institutions have harshly criticized Israel’s conduct of the war.
6/ Israel has actively attempted to cause the death of the civilian population of Gaza. Israel has created famine in Gaza and used it as a weapon of war, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians from starvation. Israel created shortages of water, medicine and electricity.
7/ Israel has also dismantled Gaza’s health system and Gaza’s civilian infrastructure. As a result, more people die from treatable conditions and difficult medical procedures such as amputations and caesareans are conducted without anesthesia.
8/ Israeli discourse has de-humanized Palestinians to such an extent that the vast majority of Israeli Jews supports the aforementioned measures. The de-humanization was led by Israel’s highest state officials, and it continues to be supported through the state & military.
9/ De-humanization is also widely prevalent in broader civil society. The de-humanization results in widespread abuse of, and violence towards, detained Palestinians and Gazan civilians and their property, all with few consequences.
10/ The vast majority of the de-humanizing content is shared by Israelis, and is confirmed by Palestinian testimonials of their experiences.
11/ The evidence I have seen indicates that one of Israel’s very likely objectives is to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip, whether in part or in total, by removing as many Palestinians as feasibly possible.
12/ Key members in Israel’s government have made statements confirming this intent and several of Israel’s government ministries have planned or worked to facilitate such an end.
13/ Israel has already cleared significant parts of the Gaza strip by demolition and bulldozing, also attempting to destroy the fabric of Palestinian society by deliberately targeting civilian institutions.
14/ These include universities, libraries, archives, religious buildings, historical sites, schools, cemeteries and markets. So far more than half the buildings in the Gaza Strip were destroyed or damaged.
15/ One of the purposes of the war, according to the Israeli government, is to release the hostages – over 130 of whom remain in Hamas’ captivity. The evidence indicates that compared to the ethnic cleansing this is a low priority for the government.
16/ To date Israel has released exactly three hostages through military operations, while killing many other hostages directly or indirectly through its actions. Moreover, on many occasions Israel has stalled the negotiations for releasing hostages or attempted to obstruct them.
17/ The global attention to Gaza has drawn attention away from the West Bank. There, Israel’s operations through its military or settlers since the beginning of the war has resulted in the unjustified killing of over 400 Palestinians,
18/ the ethnic cleansing of at least 15 local communities, as well as a sharp increase in levels of violence, abuse and humiliation of Palestinians by both the Israeli state and Jewish settlers.
19/ All of the above has been made possible through the strong support of most mainstream media in Israel as well as the West, primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
20/ From the beginning of the war, Israel has waged an information campaign that emphasized the horrors of the Oct. 7 attacks with both reliable and unreliable information,
21/ discredited critical voices outside Israel, limited information flows from Gaza, and rallied the Israeli public around the war by curtailing domestic discourse. As a result, Israeli media and discourse are predominantly and uncritically pro-war.
22/ Mainstream media outlets in the US share much of this approach. In depth investigations of the Israeli smear campaign against UNRWA and the persistent doubts towards the Palestinian death counts reveal that both are cases of unfounded propaganda.
23/ All of the above legitimizes Israeli violence and actions, deflects attention away from many events in Gaza, and contributes to the de-humanization of Palestinians.
24/ The evidence is sufficient for me to believe that what Israel is currently doing to the Palestinian population in Gaza is a crime against humanity that is consistent with the definition of genocide as I understand it. In an appendix, I explain my reasoning for using this term
25/ Pages 1-4
26/ Pages 5-8
27/ Pages 9-12
28/ Pages 13-16
29/ Pages 17-20
30/ Pages 21-24
31/ Pages 25-28
32/ Pages 29-32
33/ Pages 33-36
34/ Pages 37-40
/35 Pages 41-44
/36 Pages 45-48
/37 Pages 49-52
38 and END/ Pages 53-55
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