The Israel-Palestine 'Conflict' - Some Facts, Thoughts and Reflections

A response to the mainstream media's reporting of the recent escalation in violence

The recent escalation in violence involving Israel and Hamas has - predictably - sent the Western media into overdrive. As a response, I’ve pulled together some facts, thoughts and reflections to highlight some of the things that rarely get any attention in media reporting and which for me at least, need to be given some additional thought. This article is - sadly - far from exhaustive.

Israel Repeatedly Criticised by the United Nations for its Treatment of the Palestinians

According to the Times of Israel, in 2022 the United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed more resolutions that were critical of Israel than against all other nations around the world combined: all were in relation to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. As it went on, of the 28 resolutions passed, 15 centred on Israel. For context, only six of the remaining 13 centred on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Considered over a longer period of time, the article adds that since 2015 the UN has passed 140 resolutions criticising Israel over its treatment of Palestinians, its relationships with neighbouring countries and various other wrongdoings. Over the same period, the UN passed 68 resolutions against all other countries. Go back even further and in the period from 2006 through to 2013, the UN passed 45 resolutions criticising Israel which comprised almost half (45.9%) of all country-specific resolutions.

In spite of the UN’s persistent criticism of Israel, it is extremely rare for its repeated criticism to be mentioned let alone detailed in the mainstream media’s coverage of events in the region.

For More than Half a Century, Israel has Illegally Occupied Palestinian Territories

Since 1967, Amnesty International state that Israel has ruthlessly and systematically imposed policies on the Palestinians that have resulted in extensive land confiscation, illegal settlement and dispossession. As they go on, coupled with rampant discrimination Israel has not only inflicted immense suffering on the Palestinian people but so too have they been deprived of their basic rights. As Amnesty International go on:

“Israel has been forcing thousands of Palestinians off their land, occupying and illegally using it to create settlements that exclusively house Jewish Israeli settlers”

In half a century, this has resulted in the following:

• 600,000+ Jewish Israeli settlers living on occupied Palestinian land

• 100,000+ hectares of land appropriated by Israel from Palestinians

• 50,000 homes and structures being demolished by Israel in the Palestinian territories

• 4.9+ million Palestinians facing daily restrictions on their movement

Today, there are at least 147 Israeli settlements that are illegal even under Israeli domestic law. More so and according to the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the very existence of settlements in the Palestinian Territories (the West Bank and Gaza) not only violates international humanitarian law but is also a war crime.

In 2022, Amnesty International evidenced the following:

“Tens of thousands of Palestinians remained at risk of forced evictions in Israel and the OPT, including some 5,000 living in shepherding communities in the Jordan Valley and South Hebron Hills. Israeli authorities demolished 952 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing 1,031 Palestinians, and affecting the livelihoods of thousands of others.

On 4 May, the Israeli Supreme Court upheld a decision to forcibly transfer over 1,000 residents of Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills from their ancestral land, which Israel had designated as “firing zone 918”, a military training zone closed to Palestinian access.

In July, the Israeli Supreme Court legalized the settlement outpost of Mitzpe Kramim, built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, claiming that it was “purchased in good faith”. This reversed its 2020 decision that ordered the government to evacuate the outpost.

According to OCHA, 2022 was the sixth consecutive year that saw an increase in state-backed settler violence against Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, reaching a peak in October during the olive harvest season. The Israeli army and police continued to fail to investigate complaints by Palestinians about such violence.

In Israel, the authorities continued to deny official recognition to 35 Palestinian villages in the Negev/Naqab, depriving them of essential services. In January, the Israeli Land Authority and the Jewish National Fund began planting trees on lands belonging to the village of Saawa al-Atrash in the Negev/Naqab to forcibly transfer its Palestinian population.

In December, Israeli authorities demolished tents and structures in al-Araqib for the 211th time since 2010.”

As before, it is extremely rare for the mainstream media to make any reference whatsoever to the continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements into the Palestinian Territories.

Reporting Worldwide Condemnation is Selective and Disingenuous

According to the Guardian, there was “widespread condemnation across the globe” following the recent attacks in Israel. Like many similar reports in the Western media, the reporting was at best selective in its focus centring on a handful of countries, most typically the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and Germany.

Despite being concerned with the attacks in Israel, the Guardian could not resist the opportunity to remind its readers who the ‘bad guys’ were. As the same article went on:

“While western countries with many African and Latin American countries focused their response on condemning the Hamas attack, Russia, China and Turkey issued general appeals for restraint, as did several Arab states. But some parts of the Islamic world blamed Israel exclusively”

While wholly unsurprising, what is interesting is just how selective the Western media’s coverage of the response to the attacks has been. Take for instance the Guardian being damning of the response of “Russia, China, Turkey…[and] several Arab states” on the basis all merely issued “general appeals for restraint” which in truth, isn’t necessarily a bad idea. Look at what they actually said however and you will see that the Guardian’s reporting was either conveniently selective or entirely disingenuous on the basis that all also called for a resumption of the peace process based on the Two State Solution.

To illustrate this Al-Arabiya reported how a statement from Beijing not only stated that it was “deeply saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the conflict, and opposes and condemns actions that harm civilians” but so too did it call on the international community to “effectively play its role and jointly promote lowering the temperature of the situation” before adding:

“The path to solving the cycle of Palestinian-Israeli conflicts lies in resuming peace talks…implementing a two-state solution, and promoting the early comprehensive and proper settlement of the Palestinian issue through political means, so that reasonable concerns of all parties can be guaranteed.”

In its entirety, the statement by China - and other nations - clearly did not fit with the narrative preferred by the Western media. What chance the Two State Solution was dismissed on the basis that Israel does not favour it?

There were some responses to the attacks the Western media just flatly ignored. A case in point is South Africa. As the ruling African National Congress’ (ANC) national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri put it, the attacks were "unsurprising" because of Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian land. As she unequivocally stated:

"It can no longer be disputed that South Africa's apartheid history is occupied Palestine's reality. As a result, the decision by Palestinians to respond to the brutality of the settler Israeli apartheid regime is unsurprising”

Adding:

“The ANC stands with the people of occupied Palestine as it is clear that the degenerating security situation is directly linked to the unlawful Israeli occupation. Israel's policy of settling its civilians in occupied Palestinian territory and displacing the local population contravenes fundamental rules of international humanitarian law.”

If it doesn’t fit with the Western media, the Western media chooses to ignore it.

Military Aid for a Militarised Oppressor

A day after the attacks, the New York Times reported that US President Joe Biden had agreed to send military assistance to Israel. Elsewhere, the BBC reported that this would include an additional $6 billion dollars of military aid. Just in case the combined military might of Israel and the US wasn’t enough, the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added that the British military was also “poised” to act if required.

As with the situation in Ukraine, there would appear to be very little appetite for a peaceful solution among Western leaders.

It is unclear what an additional $6 billion would do given the amount of military aid already given to Israel by the US. As reported by the BBC in 2016, the US agreed a military aid package worth $38 billion over 10 years, replacing a previous package that saw Israel receive $3.1 billion per year. The new deal was the largest in US history.

On top of this, the US also gave Israel around $5 million towards resettling migrants, some - one can only assume - in the illegal settlements referred to previously.

In response to the question “How has Israel used US money?”, the BBC offered the following:

• The US has helped Israel develop one of the most advanced militaries in the world,

• Israel has purchased 50 F-35 combat aircraft, which can be used for missile attacks

• Israel also bought eight KC-46A Boeing 'Pegasus' aircrafts that are capable of refuelling planes such as the F-35 in mid-air

• Israel has also spent $500 million on missile defence, including the Iron Dome and other systems which can intercept incoming rockets.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, since 2008 the Israeli military has killed 6,407 Palestinian civilians which include 1,162 boys, 275 girls and 626 women. In the same period of time, they have injured 152,560 Palestinian civilians including 29,8618 boys and 8,953 women.

Guardian: “Netanyahu says Israel’s siege ‘just getting started’”

In 2022, Amnesty International cited the Israeli military as being integral to the apartheid and oppression imposed on the Palestinians. As they put it:

“Israel’s continuing oppressive and discriminatory system of governing Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) constituted a system of apartheid, and Israeli officials committed the crime of apartheid under international law. Israeli forces launched a three-day offensive on the occupied Gaza Strip in August during which they committed apparent war crimes. This compounded the impact of a 15-year ongoing Israeli blockade that amounts to illegal collective punishment and further fragments Palestinian territory. Israel escalated its crackdown on Palestinians’ freedom of association. It also imposed arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement and closures that amounted to collective punishment, mainly in the northern West Bank, ostensibly in response to armed attacks by Palestinians on Israeli soldiers and settlers. The year saw a rise in the number of Palestinians unlawfully killed and seriously injured by Israeli forces during raids in the West Bank. Administrative detentions of Palestinians hit a 14-year high, and torture and other ill-treatment continued. Israeli forces demolished al-Araqib village in the Negev/Naqab for the 211th time.”

Again, you’ll be hard pressed to find any reference to such events in the Western media’s reporting.

A Humanitarian Nightmare

As Palestinian civilians face the horror of major airstrikes by the Israeli military, Islamic Relief - a member of the Disaster Emergency Committee - is warning that the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza is worsening. With the number of casualties increasing, the relief agency claims that in the Gaza Strip alone the strikes are thought to have already forced in excess of 20,000 people to flee their homes. Many are believed to be seeking shelter in schools where they are in urgent need of food and other basic survival items.

BBC: “Gaza 'soon without fuel, medicine and food'“

The situation in Palestine is unbearable for many.

Described as an “open-air prison”, even before the current escalation in conflict Israel’s occupation, blockade and recurring conflict had resulted in deep poverty and suffering for many. Take for instance the Gaza Strip which is one of the most densely populated places on Earth. With a population of approximately 2.1 million people, it has been under a land, sea and air blockade imposed by Israel since 2007. Ongoing power shortages impact essential services like health, water and sanitation have left people desperate.

According to Islamic Relief, this has resulted in:

• 80% of the population being dependent on humanitarian assistance to survive

• 95% of the population not having access to clean water

• 50% of civilians not having enough food

• 60% of children being anaemic and suffering from stunted growth due to malnutrition

The plight of ordinary Palestinian civilians is easily lost in the retributive reporting and rhetoric.

The People Who Are Doing the Oppressing

As Malcolm X put it:

“If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”

Humanitarian Aid Fundraiser

To raise money for the humanitarian aid effort in the Palestinian Territories, I am committed to donate £5.00 from the sale of every book purchased through my online shop - available here - to Islamic Relief. The books in question include:

• Writings in Contemporary Islamophobia Volume 1: Politics, Women & Social Issues

• Problematising Muslims, Normalising Islamophobia: A Decade of Commentary 2010-20

• Constructing the Muslim Enemy: The Legacy of 9/11 and the War on Terror

Remember, the commitment only applies to books directly purchased.