Zachary Foster Profile picture
Oct 12, 2023 13 tweets 4 min read Read on X
A brief history of Gaza, 1967-present. A 🧵
In 1967, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip.

There was no Hamas. No suicide bombings. No rocket attacks. No mass killings.

So WTF happened?
In Aug 1967, Israel issued military order 101: It became illegal to hold a Palestinian flag; publish anything political; organize 10 people for a political cause; make art of green/red/black/white; use the word 'Palestine' in the name of org. b/c it “endangered Israel's security" Image
In 1982, Fathi Ghabin painted a picture of his slain nephew, Suhain, who was shot & killed by the Israeli military at a demonstration. Ghabin was sentenced to 6months in prison b/c he pained the sweater green & white his trousers black & his blood red. wow pretty f--ing dangerous Image
Meanwhile, Israel arrested anyone who rejected occupation, deporting 615 Gazans from '68-'71. Israel expelled 100s of families from the Jabaliya refugee camp in '71. In the 1970s, Israel destroyed thousands of refugee dwellings to build 200miles of security roads in Gaza. Source: Image
In '76, Israel detained 33,000 Gazans (only charging 8,000 of them) b/c of Israel’s indiscriminate mass arrests policy. In ‘82-’83, Israel uprooted more Palestinians to build a 50m wide zone at the Egyptian border; Israel denied all family reunification requests b/w Gaza-Israel. Image
Overall, from 1967-1987, Israel killed 650 Palestinians in the occupied territories (West Bank + Gaza), an average of 32 per year (source: Neve Gordon, Israel's Occupation, p. xvii).

Still, there were no terrorists, no suicide bombings no rocket attacks & no mass killings. Image
Israel also censored textbooks, magazines, newspapers & banned > 1,600 books. In 1982, Israel shut down a Palestinian Press service. They jailed Palestian journalists. They heavily censored the Arabic newspapers published in the OPT. They denied millions the right to free speech
Anger was mounting. By the '80s, Palestinian workers in Israel reported constant verbal & physical abuse in the workplace, being cheated out of wages, forced to work under inhumane conditions, feeling humiliated & dehumanized at checkpoints.

Still, no terrorists. source: Image
In a 1986 poll: 48% of families in the OPT reported political arrest; 51% physical abuse or threats; 56% harassment at checkpoints; 22.8% land confiscation; 34% ban on travel abroad; 74% curfew; 18% demolition/ sealing of homes; 16% deportation/arrest; 38% fines by military court Image
Then, in '87, an Israeli truck driver struck & killed 4 Palestinians near a checkpoint in Gaza.

Palestinians revolted in a series of daily strikes, protests, riots, boycotts of Israeli rule, and infamously, stone-throwing children.

It was known as the First Intifada:
175K Palestinians spent time in Israeli jails; 30K Palestinian children needed medical care after being beaten, 10K had broken bones; 1/5th of the injured were under 5; 23K subject to “harsh interrogation”; Israel killed 1,200 Palestinians, Palestinians killed ~160 Israelis.
Still, no terrorism. I will finish this thread tomorrow, covering 1987-present

Remember that history did not start on Oct. 7th, 2023. To develop a better understanding of what is happening in Israel/Palestine, you can also subscribe to my newsletter:

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More from @_ZachFoster

Nov 18
A brief history of Israel's support for apartheid, atrocities, war crimes & genocide around the world. A 🧵
In the 1970s & 80s, Israel was one of the main arms suppliers 972mag.com/investigate-is…) to Chile's military dictator Augusto Pinochet. Israel trained (haaretz.com/israel-news/20…) the country's security forces, who abducted & murdered 3,000 persons & tortured 35,000.Image
In the early 1980s, Israel helped Guatemala's Efraín Ríos Montt carry out a coup. Israel supplied the country w/ weapons (nacla.org/news/2013/4/23…) to slaughter 45K-60K Mayans in Guatemala & destroy 440 Mayan villages b/w 1981-1983. Many call it genocide. (papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…)Image
Read 8 tweets
Oct 24
A brief history of genocidal rhetoric in Israel BEFORE Oct. 7th, 2023. A 🧵
Zionist leaders have convinced themselves Palestinian Arabs were genocidal since the 1920s. Yosef Hecht (leader of the Haganah in the 1920s) confided in his diary, “we are always persecuted [&] murdered by the majority of ‘civilized’ peoples, or savage & cruel [peoples] like the Arabs…their intention toward us is not only to humiliate but also to destroy [us] physically.” haaretz.com/israel-news/20…Image
In Aug. 1947, David Ben Gurion said: “The aim of the Arab attacks on Zionism is not robbery, terror, or stopping Zionist growth, but total destruction of the Yishuv.” They are not “political adversaries,” but “pupils & teachers of Hitler, who claim there is only one way to solve the Jewish question… total annihilation." source:Image
Read 15 tweets
Oct 16
Was Zionism about rescuing Jews from persecution? A 🧵
Zionists believe Zionism was primarily about saving Jews fleeing persecution. Yet key Zionist leaders from the 1880s-1948 rejected this idea, believing the interests of the state-to-be trumped the interests of persecuted Jews. This 🧵 is a history of the #1 Zionist myth today.
From 1880s-1914, the Zionist leadership rejected the overwhelming majority of Jews hoping to settle in Ottoman Palestine. Arthur Ruppin and Menahem Sheinkin, in charge of Zionist immigration policy, told ~61% of Jews who wanted to move to the colonies not to come. Source: Image
Read 13 tweets
Oct 8
A brief history of Zionism (@harari_yuval style) 🧵
Zionism is about 500 years old. To tell a history of Zionism Harari style, we thus need to spend 2/3rds of the story on the pre-1850s period.

2/3rds of our story is before there were very many (any?) Jewish Zionists.
There was a return to scripture in the 16th century. the attitude was, to hell with the catholic church. go straight to the texts. the bible. translate it. learn the stories by heart. know the old testament inside out.
Read 9 tweets
Oct 6
Is Zionism is racist? A 🧵
Zionism says Jews should have a Jewish State in Palestine.

When Jewish Zionists developed this idea (1870s-1890s), Palestine was 90-95% non-Jewish.

At the time, 0 Zionists believed it was possible to establish a Jewish State in a land that was 90%-95% non-Jewish.
Instead, 100% of Jewish Zionists believed Palestine needed to be Judaized.

If you are trying to understand whether "Judaizing" a country that's mostly not Jewish is racist or not, ask yourself, if you happened to be one of those non-Jews (i.e. Arab Palestinian) living there...
Read 8 tweets

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