Op-Ed: Hardline Israeli Supporters Never Mention the Israeli Occupation and Settlements

By David Starr

The Israel-Palestine conflict has been a major tragedy for decades; and it still is. The political divide between the pro-Israel supporters and pro-Palestinian supporters has widened with the latest turmoil in the form of another war, this time between Israel and specifically Hamas.

 

The Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel may have begun this latest tragedy, but the underlying causes have not, and are not, being addressed: the Israeli occupation and settlements. Ideally, it can be said that the Hamas attack was wrong which included the killing of innocent Israeli civilians, but Israel’s response was worse with more Palestinian deaths; and it continues with the heavy bombardment of Gaza. But in this situation, as with others, the root of occupation and settlements are ignored by hardline Israeli supporters.

 

There’s a hysteria about the hardline support for Israel. It’s a straight B/W stance with no shades of gray. If one gives even the slightest criticism of Israel they are targeted by reactionaries who whip out the antisemitic card. A critic is also labeled as a hater and a Hamas supporter, or labeled “pro-Hamas.” The absurdity of these claims goes to show how ignorant and how much the hardliners are in denial. Meanwhile, they look at Israel as pure and a victim. 

 

There have been accusations like, “Only Hamas is to blame for the war,” “Hamas uses Palestinian children as human shields,” “Hamas is to blame for all the bloodshed in Gaza,” etc. And the accusers, those hardline Israel supporters, think that if only Hamas was eliminated everything would be fine and everyone can get back to a sense of normality. Nothing is further from the truth.

 

While the hardliners never bring up the occupation and settlements, Palestinians have been treated, putting it mildly, with disrespect. Putting it directly, they have been  thoroughly oppressed. Over the decades, land has been taken from Palestinians by draconian Israeli measures, leaving settlers to take advantage of situation. Olive trees have been destroyed and houses demolished. The settlers are religious fanatics who think they have a “right” to further establish the “Holy Land,” on Palestinian land. 

 

There have been checkpoints where Palestinians are searched and are restricted to travel. In Gaza, the people there are trapped because of an Israeli blockade, not allowing them to move out of Gaza. It has been called an open-air prison and a concentration camp. Because of their unequal status, Palestinians are called “inferior” and “animals.” Sound familiar? When Palestinians rise up to protest, they are usually not armed, but they are killed by Israeli snipers. Palestinian youth, not having the same military prowess as Israel, resort to throwing rocks at Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The latter have been called Israeli Occupation Forces. 

 

There have been of course inevitable clashes with settlers, since the settlers have been occupying more and more Palestinian land. Fights have broken out, sometimes with the use of weapons by the settlers. As a result, several Palestinians have been shot and killed. In return, Palestinians have killed settlers. But it’s more the case of violence by the settlers.

 

Encouraged by Israel’s latest bombardment on Gaza, settlers, as wells as soldiers of the IDF, have killed Palestinians in the West Bank, and in other occupied territories. Right-wing members of the Israeli government, and former officials, make it pretty clear what their objective is: Attempted genocide. They want the Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank where the right thinks that those territories are a part of Israel. Examples of these war criminals are:

 

Meir Ben Shabbat, head of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist strategy, which is an ultranationalist think tank. The institute is taking on a “more hawkish stance in Israel’s policy community.” In Israel Hayom, an ultranationalist newspaper, Shabbat wrote an op-ed that had a tone of brutality in it. Shabbat proposed a “war of annihilation” against Palestinians, similar to what the U.S. did in Iraq. Regarding Israel’s siege of Gaza, which includes a cut off of water, food and electricity, Shabbat had no regrets, saying, “Gaza’s humanitarian needs will not be Israel’s concern.” Spoken like a true fascist.

 

Amir Weitmann, a member of the Likud Party’s “free market liberal” wing. Far from liberal, Weitmann supports Israel clearing Gaza of all Palestinians to impose more settlements. In other words, forced relocation. Further, Weitmann said that Israel must take advantage of the “international sympathy it currently enjoys” following the Hamas Oct. 7 attack. Weitmann, sadist that he is, is promoting an Israeli form of the Final Solution.

 

Raphael Ben Levi, former IDF intelligence officer, suggested that the U.S. can play a role to forcibly displace Palestinians by pressuring countries like Egypt and Turkey to accept them. According to Ben Levi, this would be an act of “self-defense” for Israel even though it violates international law and thus amounts to a war crime.

 

What was particularly shameful was U.S. president Joe Biden’s hugging Netanyahu as part of his visit to Israel to talk to Netanyahu about the latest conflict. Biden gave his full support to Israel, and has sent billions of military aid. Over the decades, the U.S. has been a mediator between Israelis and Palestinians but that has amounted to an overall failure. For one thing, the U.S. has not been a neutral mediator, showing its full support to Israel. U.S. concern for Palestinians has been secondary, or its’ leaders have ignored their conditions under Israeli apartheid.

 

The chasm between hardline Israeli supporters and Palestinian supporters is supposedly permanent. It’s difficult to reason with an entity that imposes both its ultranationalism and religious fanaticism on an oppressed group. 

 

One question should be posed repeatedly to the hardliners: What about the occupation and settlements? They have significantly ignored these violations, as though they don’t care. They have been intoxicated with Israel’s objective: to further the spread of Israel through these violations in the process of establishing more of a homeland, or “Holy Land.”