Ben White Profile picture
Nov 1 4 tweets 2 min read
Israeli elections.

Approx. 1 in 3 of all the people living under Israeli control *can't* vote.

🚫 Palestinian residents of annexed Jerusalem.

🚫 Palestinians in the militarily occupied West Bank & Gaza Strip.

#Israelex22 is an expression not of democracy but the lack thereof.
"but they're not Israeli citizens of course they can't vote"

That's...sort of the point?

They're not citizens - and yet Israel has ruled them and colonised their land for decades. Curious!
Two illustrations.

1. Notice anything interesting about the map shared by the Israeli military in its voting guide for soldiers?

2. Ben-Gvir casts his vote in the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba in the occupied West Bank. ImageImage

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More from @benabyad

Nov 3
As the Israeli election results are digested, Ben Gvir is dominating a lot of coverage.

He is accurately portrayed as a racist, far-right nationalist, his success a disturbing new development.

In that context, here is a qiuick quiz of ‘Who said it?’

🧵
"I do not think that the Arabs want peace...What I want is not a new Middle East, but to be rid of them" & "to maintain a Jewish majority in the Land of Israel".

Ben Gvir or Yair Lapid?
...
...
...
...
...
Answer: Yair Lapid.
"I see them [Palestinians] eating the Galilee and my heart bleeds…They live in houses in Afula and in Acre and they take over entire streets".

Ben Gvir or Shimon Peres?
...
...
...
...
...
Answer: Shimon Peres.
Read 7 tweets
Oct 12, 2021
Israeli settlers' attacks on Palestinians in occupied West Bank surging this year - 2021 total will easily outstrip 2020 (which itself was up from 2019).

Such violence only possible thanks to Israeli authorities' complicity, support.

data via @ochaopt

ochaopt.org/poc/21-septemb…
"[The army] did not report the incident, nor was a complaint filed against the settler.

...Palestinian eyewitnesses said that they saw the soldier give his gun to the settler".

haaretz.com/israel-news/.p…
"The settlers then hung him [Tareq] with ropes on tree branches, with his feet in the air, and wounded and burned his feet. After a few minutes, the settlers took him down from the tree, and then one of them hit him in the head with a stick..."

btselem.org/settler_violen…
Read 4 tweets
Jul 22, 2021
Why would one ice cream company's decision to stop selling produce in Israeli settlements prompt such a extraordinary reaction from the Israeli gov't?

The smears are shameless, and the absurdity is amusing.

But the reaction of Israeli leaders is not random & merits reflection.
Three main things going on here.

1. Israeli state & its institutions, + mainstream Jewish Israeli political opinion, views *& in practice treats* the West Bank as belonging to Israel. The reaction to even a v.specific boycott of settlements can only be understood in this light.
2. Total opposition to accountability.

The direct impact of B&J's decision is ofc small. But that doesn't matter. For the Israeli gov't - and this applies whoever is in power, Likud to Labor - *any* kind of accountability for IHL violations, human rights abuses etc. is anathema.
Read 5 tweets
Jul 20, 2021
Ben & Jerry's to stop selling ice-cream in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Israel's 'change' gov't reacts just like a Netanyahu-led one would have done - accuse B&J's of 'antisemitism' & claim the whole West Bank belongs to Israel.

theguardian.com/world/2021/jul…
five weeks apart ImageImage
"Ben & Jerry’s is known not just for its ice cream, but for the company’s commitment to social justice...So for many, having a factory in Israel & distributing ice cream in...[illegal] Israeli settlements flew in the face of the company’s stated mission".

eater.com/22583517/ben-a…
Read 4 tweets
May 19, 2021
In reporting/analysis, there is not nearly enough attention being paid to twin Israeli crises - of political leadership & military strategy - which shape both the current offensive & deeper context re Gaza.

Let's start with this piece, published y'day.

haaretz.com/israel-news/.p…
"serious military & diplomatic failure"

"major deficiencies in the army’s prep & performance & in the leadership of a confused & helpless gov't"

"military hadn’t amassed enough quality targets in Gaza"

"military has no idea how to paralyze Hamas’ forces & throw it off balance"
These are criticisms voiced w/ varying degrees of bluntness by number of Israeli analysts, who have queried the claims made by the military regarding "achievements" of the campaign - including the much-vaunted strikes allegedly targeting tunnels in Gaza

haaretz.com/israel-news/.p…
Read 6 tweets

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