Myth-making functions to sustain
settler colonialism. Israel's ongoing settler-colonial project is one that is as much about words & wits as it is about weapons.
Revisiting something I wrote many moons ago, that given what is happening in #Gaza as the world watches idly.
settler colonialism. Israel's ongoing settler-colonial project is one that is as much about words & wits as it is about weapons.
Revisiting something I wrote many moons ago, that given what is happening in #Gaza as the world watches idly.
Myth 1: ‘Israel has the right to self-defence’
Israel existed decades before Hamas was established. More than 1.5 million Palestinians are crammed into 140 sq miles - the majority living in dire poverty. Life under Israel’s effective control means...
Israel existed decades before Hamas was established. More than 1.5 million Palestinians are crammed into 140 sq miles - the majority living in dire poverty. Life under Israel’s effective control means...
...there is little food, water, electricity, medical supplies - how can Gaza begin to battle this pandemic?
There is no way out. Israel dictates what & who leaves, giving it almost total control over the economy.
A colonial policy of a slow, steady, suffocating death.
There is no way out. Israel dictates what & who leaves, giving it almost total control over the economy.
A colonial policy of a slow, steady, suffocating death.
Israel is militarily & economically superior. Its claims of being on the defensive simply don’t hold while it purposely & successfully continues subjugating an entire people & crippling their infrastructure - particularly in the midst of a global pandemic.
Myth 2: 'If Hamas stopped the rockets - or any other variation blaming Hamas'
Was Hamas hiding under the sand when four children were killed on the beach in 2014, or in the hospitals that Israel targeted? No.
There are countless other examples that flout international law.
Was Hamas hiding under the sand when four children were killed on the beach in 2014, or in the hospitals that Israel targeted? No.
There are countless other examples that flout international law.
Put crudely, Hamas is a 'symptom', not cause, of Israel’s ongoing colonisation. Love or hate them, they were democratically elected by a population besieged & desperate – who saw this as the way forward after more than 45 years of degradation, humiliation & collective punishment.
Sidenote: People love to whitewash Nelson Mandela, who was also once branded a ‘terrorist’.
The only purpose this ‘terrorist’ rhetoric serves is to break the will of the Palestinians, taking away the legitimacy of their right to resistance and struggle against oppression.
The only purpose this ‘terrorist’ rhetoric serves is to break the will of the Palestinians, taking away the legitimacy of their right to resistance and struggle against oppression.
To reduce the people of Gaza to a single political entity Hamas is a complete dehumanising denial of Palestinians & their aspirations of freedom.
Palestinians - like any of us in this world - want to live free to dream & love & find their purpose as human beings.
Palestinians - like any of us in this world - want to live free to dream & love & find their purpose as human beings.
Myth 3: 'The international community is against Israel'
Israeli is not a victim. This is not a 'conflict' between 2 warring parties on an equal level playing field. Civilian casualties, the destruction of infrastructure, the imbalance in power, the overall control are telling.
Israeli is not a victim. This is not a 'conflict' between 2 warring parties on an equal level playing field. Civilian casualties, the destruction of infrastructure, the imbalance in power, the overall control are telling.
Checkpoints, nightly raids, house demolitions, administrative detention,
imprisoning children, extrajudicial killings, a state built on supremacy - these are not the actions of a victim.
This is between Occupier & Occupied, Coloniser & Colonised, Oppressor & Oppressed.
imprisoning children, extrajudicial killings, a state built on supremacy - these are not the actions of a victim.
This is between Occupier & Occupied, Coloniser & Colonised, Oppressor & Oppressed.
There are plenty other slogans * myths - but these are the most dominant.
They are always the first thing hurled at me particularly by people who are trying to be 'objective' & 'balanced'.
They are always the first thing hurled at me particularly by people who are trying to be 'objective' & 'balanced'.
Also if you made it this far, thanks for reading this whole 🧵
