Hedi Viterbo Profile picture
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Law at Queen Mary University of London. Writes on childhood, state violence, and sexuality. RT ≠ endorsement
8 subscribers
Jul 30 31 tweets 16 min read
Palestinians are reportedly being raped in Israeli custody.

Israeli forces have a long record of sexually abusing #Palestinians (and others).

A thread 🧵

(Content warning: severe rape & sexual assault)

1/30

#Palestine #Gaza #WestBank Image During a massacre in 1948, Israeli forces raped several #Palestinians.

Documents that were previously available in the Israeli state archive mention "3 rapes", including one of a "14-year-old girl".

2/30 Image
Jul 29 13 tweets 6 min read
A court in the U.S. recently commuted the sentence of an Israeli diplomat's son.

Why? Because he's joining the Israeli military.

This reveals a lot about the U.S. and Israeli legal systems.

A thread 🧵

1/13

#Palestine #Palestinians Image The Israeli, who lives in Florida, was convicted of intentionally running over a police officer with his motorcycle and causing him incapacitating injuries.

He also has two previous run-ins with the local police:



2/13
Image
Jul 19 10 tweets 5 min read
The #ICJ (International Court of Justice) has just declared the Israeli "occupation" to be illegal.

But this terminology conceals a much worse reality:

Israel's regime of control isn't "occupation". It's "settler colonialism".

A thread 🧵

1/10

#Palestine Image Under international law, "occupation" is a temporary form of control.

Israel's control over the #WestBank & #Gaza is almost 60 years long. One in 20 Israelis lives in the #WestBank.

That's not "occupation".

2/10 Image
Jun 17 10 tweets 6 min read
Israel's export of weapons has now reached an all-time high.

These weapons were tested on #Palestinians.

So, what do we know about Israeli arms export?

A thread 🧵

1/10

#Palestine #Gaza #WestBank Image According to Israel's former Minister of Interior Security, Uzi Landau, "Israel is a laboratory for fighting terror".

The "laboratory" – #Gaza and the #WestBank – enables Israel to develop and test the weapons it later sells to other countries.



2/10 washingtontimes.com/news/2002/jun/…
Image
Jun 3 8 tweets 4 min read
Right-wing figure Nigel Farage recently cited on TV "recent surveys saying that 46% of British Muslims support #Hamas".

The mainstream media has repeatedly quoted this false claim – without refuting it.

So here are the facts 🧵

1/8

#Islamophobia Image As we'll see:

- In the poll that Farage was citing, 72% of British Muslim respondents said they DIDN'T have positive views of Hamas.

- The organization that commissioned the poll has been described as having an "anti-Islam agenda".

- The poll is statistically unreliable.

2/8 Image
Apr 14 11 tweets 4 min read
When #Israel recently assassinated 13 people in Iran's diplomatic building, this was described as an act of "deterrence".

#Iran's retaliation has also been described as an attempt to "restore deterrence".

But what does "deterrence" REALLY do?

A thread 🧵

1/10

#Palestine
Image
Image
A few years ago, I made several arguments about Israel's "deterrence" tactics:

First, acts of deterrence often DON'T prevent national security threats.

Instead, they create GREATER threats.

2/10 Image
Apr 2 11 tweets 4 min read
Israel is investigating its killing of 7 aid workers in #Gaza (who were from the UK, Australia, Poland, and Palestine, and included a U.S.-Canadian citizen).

But what do Israel's past investigations of similar killings tell us?

1/11

#Palestine Image Take, for example, James Miller – an award-winning British filmmaker.

He was killed by Israeli gunfire while filming a documentary in #Gaza.

Forensic experts from the London police found that the bullets were the same ones used by the Israeli military.

2/11 Image
Dec 18, 2023 15 tweets 9 min read
How has the Israeli government handled the hostage negotiations?

A thread 🧵

1/15

#Palestine #Gaza #WestBank Image On October 7th, Hamas first offered to release all the hostages for all imprisoned #Palestinians.

The next day, Israel's Finance Minister said Israel must "hit Hamas brutally and NOT take the matter of the captives into significant consideration".



2/15 apnews.com/article/palest…
Image
Dec 4, 2023 20 tweets 11 min read
Israel says that #Palestinians brainwash their children.

But what does Israel teach its own children?

A thread 🧵

1/20

#Palestine #Gaza #WestBank Image As we'll see, Israeli children are taught 3 things:

1. They can get away with harming #Palestinians, especially if they later serve in the military.

2. Service in the military (which oppresses Palestinians) is a sacred duty.

3. Palestinians are dangerous and primitive.

2/20 Image
Nov 27, 2023 15 tweets 8 min read
What do most Israelis think about #Palestinians?

A thread 🧵

1/15

#Palestine #Gaza #WestBank Image A fifth of Israel's citizens are #Palestinians.

In a 2016 poll, half of Jewish Israelis said these Palestinian citizens should be expelled from Israel:



2/15 pewresearch.org/short-reads/20…
Image
Nov 20, 2023 20 tweets 11 min read
Does Israel use civilians as human shields?

A thread 🧵

1/20

#Palestine #Gaza #WestBank Image "Israeli security forces have repeatedly used #Palestinians … as human shields," says Israeli NGO @btselem.

"As part of this policy, soldiers have ordered … civilians … to stand in front of [them] while the [soldiers] … shoot from behind":



2/20 btselem.org/human_shields
Image
Nov 13, 2023 15 tweets 7 min read
Israel has been oppressing #Palestinians for decades.

But how have the U.S. 🇺🇸 & U.K. 🇬🇧 contributed to this oppression?

A thread 🧵
(with sources at the end)

1/15

#Palestine #Gaza #WestBank Image First of all, Israel has been deeply inspired by U.S. & British colonialism and wars.

"We've learned a lot from you Americans, how you moved West," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told a U.S. official in 2013 (referring to the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans).

2/15 Image
Nov 6, 2023 20 tweets 11 min read
Can the Israeli military be believed?

A thread

1/20

#Palestine #Gaza #WestBank #Palestinians Image Let's start with Israel's use of white phosphorus, which can cause horrific burns and injuries.

New videos, verified by @amnesty & @hrw, appear to show Israel using this weapon in civilian areas in #Gaza & #Lebanon:





2/20 amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
hrw.org/news/2023/10/1…
Image
Oct 30, 2023 25 tweets 13 min read
Hamas says it would release all Israeli hostages in exchange for the #Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

But what do we know about these imprisoned Palestinians?

A thread 🧵

1/25

#Palestine Image First of all, more than a thousand (non-citizen) #Palestinians are currently imprisoned in Israel without charge or trial, in so-called "administrative detention."

Neither they nor their attorneys know the allegations against them.



2/25 btselem.org/administrative…
Image
Jul 14, 2022 15 tweets 4 min read
18 years ago, 13-year-old Palestinian Iman al-Hams was shot several times and killed by Israeli fire. Her parents sued the Israeli military for damages.

This week, the Israeli supreme court dismissed their claim.

🧵 1/15

#Palestine In theory, the Israeli rules of engagement forbid firing at children under the age of 14.

Iman al-Hams was 13 years old at the time of her killing.

But the Israeli supreme court judgment conveniently describes her as “approximately 14 years old.”

2/15