7 july 2019
Israel’s ministry for military affairs has formed a secret unit tasked with concealing sensitive historical documents, with a special focus on censoring chilling revelations related to the expulsion of Palestine’s original inhabitants, according to a report.
Malmab, also known as the military affairs ministry’s department for “defense establishment security”, has been conducting the operation for two decades, placing historic documents in concealed vaults, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported, according to the PNN.
The now-concealed documents, which contain previously accessible files sometimes even cited by researchers, cover various aspects of Israel’s murky history, including its nuclear weapons program, foreign relations and the expulsion and genocide of the Palestinian people.
Yehiel Horev, who launched and headed the project until 2007, believes concealing the documents, specifically the ones related to the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians in 1948, remembered as “Nakba Day”, is essential in avoiding further upheaval among the region’s Palestinian residents.
Asked by Haaretz about the motive behind hiding previously published documents, Horev explained that the measure was taken to delegitimize studies done about the expulsion of Palestinians, denying researchers credible references to back up their claims.
“The question is whether it can do harm or not. It’s a very sensitive matter. Not everything has been published about the refugee issue, and there are all kinds of narratives. Some say there was no flight at all, only expulsion. Others say there was flight. It’s not black-and-white,” he said.
‘The Jewish Nazis’
Israel has asserted that the mass exodus of Palestinians, which paved the way for the formation of the regime in 1948, happened as a result of Arab politicians who had encouraged the population to leave the territory.
Concealed documents revealed by the report, however, present a different narrative, admitting that as much as 70 percent of displaced Palestinians were driven out of their lands as a direct result of “Jewish military operations.”
One such document from 1948 even describes the specific causes of the exodus from specific Arab localities, making references to the notorious Jewish Irgun and Lehi (also known as the Stern Gang) killing squads.
Ein Zeitun – “our destruction of the village”; Qeitiya – “harassment, threat of action”; Almaniya – “our action, many killed”; Tira – “friendly Jewish advice”; Al’Amarir – “after robbery and murder carried out by the breakaways”; Sumsum – “our ultimatum”; Bir Salim – “attack on the orphanage”; and Zarnuga – “conquest and expulsion.”
The Irgun and Lehi militias were most notorious for their role in the April 1948 Deir Yassin massacre, killing hundreds of villagers in a village populated by no less than 600 residents.
According to the report, among other chilling revelations describing systematic killings, looting and abuse that were later concealed by Israeli authorities, was a document describing the 1948 destruction of the Palestinian Safsaf village in 1948 where an Israeli settlement was later built upon.
“Safsaf [former Palestinian village near Safed] – 52 men were caught, tied them to one another, dug a pit and shot them. 10 were still twitching. Women came, begged for mercy. Found bodies of 6 elderly men. There were 61 bodies. 3 cases of rape, one east of from Safed, girl of 14, 4 men shot and killed. From one they cut off his fingers with a knife to take the ring,” read the document.
One concealed document detailing the Jewish expulsion operations described the raids as being comparable to “Nazi acts”.
The revelations come as Israel has been facing growing international scrutiny over its occupation and abuse of Palestinians in recent years, with the Tel Aviv regime finding itself struggling to assert its legitimacy in world public opinion.
Influential pro-Zionist historian Benny Morris has predicted that Israel may disintegrate in the near future, given that it can no longer subjugate Palestinians using the openly discriminatory practices it was founded upon, given increasingly sensitive global public opinion on the matter.
Malmab, also known as the military affairs ministry’s department for “defense establishment security”, has been conducting the operation for two decades, placing historic documents in concealed vaults, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported, according to the PNN.
The now-concealed documents, which contain previously accessible files sometimes even cited by researchers, cover various aspects of Israel’s murky history, including its nuclear weapons program, foreign relations and the expulsion and genocide of the Palestinian people.
Yehiel Horev, who launched and headed the project until 2007, believes concealing the documents, specifically the ones related to the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians in 1948, remembered as “Nakba Day”, is essential in avoiding further upheaval among the region’s Palestinian residents.
Asked by Haaretz about the motive behind hiding previously published documents, Horev explained that the measure was taken to delegitimize studies done about the expulsion of Palestinians, denying researchers credible references to back up their claims.
“The question is whether it can do harm or not. It’s a very sensitive matter. Not everything has been published about the refugee issue, and there are all kinds of narratives. Some say there was no flight at all, only expulsion. Others say there was flight. It’s not black-and-white,” he said.
‘The Jewish Nazis’
Israel has asserted that the mass exodus of Palestinians, which paved the way for the formation of the regime in 1948, happened as a result of Arab politicians who had encouraged the population to leave the territory.
Concealed documents revealed by the report, however, present a different narrative, admitting that as much as 70 percent of displaced Palestinians were driven out of their lands as a direct result of “Jewish military operations.”
One such document from 1948 even describes the specific causes of the exodus from specific Arab localities, making references to the notorious Jewish Irgun and Lehi (also known as the Stern Gang) killing squads.
Ein Zeitun – “our destruction of the village”; Qeitiya – “harassment, threat of action”; Almaniya – “our action, many killed”; Tira – “friendly Jewish advice”; Al’Amarir – “after robbery and murder carried out by the breakaways”; Sumsum – “our ultimatum”; Bir Salim – “attack on the orphanage”; and Zarnuga – “conquest and expulsion.”
The Irgun and Lehi militias were most notorious for their role in the April 1948 Deir Yassin massacre, killing hundreds of villagers in a village populated by no less than 600 residents.
According to the report, among other chilling revelations describing systematic killings, looting and abuse that were later concealed by Israeli authorities, was a document describing the 1948 destruction of the Palestinian Safsaf village in 1948 where an Israeli settlement was later built upon.
“Safsaf [former Palestinian village near Safed] – 52 men were caught, tied them to one another, dug a pit and shot them. 10 were still twitching. Women came, begged for mercy. Found bodies of 6 elderly men. There were 61 bodies. 3 cases of rape, one east of from Safed, girl of 14, 4 men shot and killed. From one they cut off his fingers with a knife to take the ring,” read the document.
One concealed document detailing the Jewish expulsion operations described the raids as being comparable to “Nazi acts”.
The revelations come as Israel has been facing growing international scrutiny over its occupation and abuse of Palestinians in recent years, with the Tel Aviv regime finding itself struggling to assert its legitimacy in world public opinion.
Influential pro-Zionist historian Benny Morris has predicted that Israel may disintegrate in the near future, given that it can no longer subjugate Palestinians using the openly discriminatory practices it was founded upon, given increasingly sensitive global public opinion on the matter.
19 june 2019
By: Dr. Mohsen Saleh
Israel has marked lately the 71st anniversary of its establishment, with an overwhelming feeling of pride and power, for the state believes that it has reached its best strategic status since its establishment. However, facts reveal the continued presence of challenges and risks, which may increase in the future to hit its survival foundations, i.e., its security, economy and settlement blocs.
This article tries to extensively review Israel’s strategic positioning, in terms of its strategic achievements and potential risks.
Strategic Achievements
Israeli strategic achievement can be summed up in nine points:
1. The largest congregation of world Jewry: Israel managed to achieve a central Zionist objective, becoming the largest congregation of world Jewry. As it was celebrating the 71st anniversary of its establishment, it was also announcing that its population has reached 6.74 million Jews, constituting 46.5% of world Jewry.
2. Military superiority: Israel won most of its wars with the Arabs, and has taken over most of Palestine, and the Golan Heights. The Israeli army is ranked among the top in the world, it has the world’s most advanced weapons especially by having full US support and cooperation, and has an advanced weapon industry that manufactures most kinds of weapons and ammunition. The Israeli nuclear arsenal exceeds 200 nuclear weapons granting it strategic superiority, not to mention the unlimited military support, especially from the US.
3. A stable political system: Despite the vexations between Israeli political parties, their multiplicity and numerous leanings; right, left and religious, they generally agree on the basics and the general framework of the Zionist project. They have been capable of managing their differences within an effective political system, and are still capable of tactically and strategically managing the general Zionist track. They maintain a Westerly acceptable secular general appearance, while maintaining an effective national and religious core that practices all forms of aggression against the Palestinian people.
4. An advanced economy: Israel has achieved advanced economic conditions similar to those in European countries and founded an attractive environment for Jewish settlement. In 2018, Israel’s Gross National Product has reached $369 billion, and its Gross Domestic Product per capita $41,560.
5. Industrial, scientific and technological advancement: Israel has become significantly superior in Hi-Tech sectors, and is considered among its leaders worldwide. Israeli Hi-Tech exports grew to a total of $50.5 billion in 2018, and they include electronic components, computing services and software, telecommunication services, aircraft, medical and surgical equipment, artificial intelligence… and others
6. International support and unprecedented global influence: Israel has managed to impose itself (With US and Western support) on the international scene. It has reinforced its “legitimacy” and its political relations, in particular, after the Oslo Accords and the peace process. It has maintained also its position as a state above the law, practicing with impunity all forms of occupation, oppression and siege against the Palestinian people, backing it a US “veto” and western support that face any attempts to impose resolutions on it. Consequently, it was able to avoid and ignore hundreds of international resolutions supporting Palestinian rights. Moreover, many countries now consider a relation with Israel a key to US satisfaction.
7. Management of the peace process: Israel has succeeded in investing in the peace process agreements, especially in the Oslo Accords signed with the Palestinians, to its favor. Dozens of states forged political relations with Israel, which was able to neutralize major Arab forces and a large part of the Palestinian factions out of the conflict zone. At the same time, it continued the Judaization and settlement projects in the West Bank (WB), especially in Jerusalem… hence emptying the “two-state solution” of its contents and attempting to close the Palestinian dossier and impose what is known as “the deal of the century,” in cooperation with the US.
8. The reduction of the Palestinian national project and the transformation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) into a functional tool: The PA that was established in the hope that someday it becomes an independent Palestinian state within the borders of 4 June 1967, has become a functional entity that serves the occupation more than the aspirations of Palestinians. It spends large sums of money on its security forces that coordinate with the occupation and chase resistance forces, while linking its economy to the occupation itself.
9. Penetrating the Arab and Islamic environment: Especially with respect to declared and undeclared official relations with Arab and Muslim countries. Rather, many countries stared running in the normalization process, building relations and being responsive to the “deal of the century,” before Israel even paying any of the prices that it should for the sake of the peace process.
Challenges and Risks
Israel is exposed to a number of challenges and risks, which may develop in the medium to long term into a “serious threat.”
1. The steadfastness of the Palestinian people in their land and the increase in- the Palestinian population in Historic Palestine: The number of Palestinians has exceeded that of the Jews, and it is expected that the difference between them will reach 300 thousand within five years. This “demographic bomb” poses a great challenge to the Zionist project and the future of the conflict over the identity of the occupied land.
2. The growing strength of the Palestinian resistance: Despite the commitment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the PA to the peace process, the resistance forces have maintained a popular majority that opposes the peace process and Oslo Accords. As the combat and missile capabilities of the Gaza Strip (GS) developed, where more than 60 thousand fighters are based, having now a three-war expertise with Israel, and as the strip has stood steadfast while facing the 12-year Israeli-enforced blockade, it is now considered a resistance base and a global inspiration. This is in addition to the high performance of the resistance in WB, despite the great difficulties it faces.
3. The continuation of the anti-Israel popular, Arab and Islamic environment: and Israel’s failure to become a natural entity in the region. Most normalization attempts with Israel remain within official circles and are imposed on the people of the region. This means that any regional change reflecting the aspirations of the people will return Israel to square one, surrounded by a hostile environment, which—in case the power balance developed—will become in the medium to the long term a “serious threat.”
4. The peace process crisis: Throughout the past period, Israel has succeeded in managing the peace process to its benefit; however, its governmental arrogant and greedy behavior has blocked the way for any “reasonable” agreement, within the standards of the pro-peace Palestinian and Arab parties. Consequently, the failure of the peace process would open the door for the Palestinian people to reunite in choosing the resistance and annulling past Israeli gains.
5. The continuation of foreign threats, including the “Iranian threat,” the resistance forces in the countries surrounding Palestine, and the chances of new wave of revolutions in the region, are all strategic threats to Israel. In addition, the pro-resistance popular environment is considered strong in the countries surrounding Israel, and in other Arab and Muslim countries.
6. The Israeli society crises: The Israeli society has been able to absorb immigrants from more than one hundred countries, speaking dozens of languages, and it has also been relatively successful in managing their differences. However, there are some gaps in this society that may widen, especially when security and economic conditions deteriorate, and consequently there would be a growing desire to leave the “Promised Land” to better places. Furthermore, there are real differences regarding the eastern and western origins of the Jews, and regarding belonging to Israel, and religious and secular affiliation. There are as well widespread manifestations of corruption and disintegration, a desire for a life of luxury and pleasure, in addition to the fact that the quality of the Israeli “fighter” has deteriorated, and “Israel’s establishing generation” has gone.
7. Palestinians abroad have preserved their national identity, and more than three quarters of them are living in the strategic environment surrounding Israel. They have rejected various forms of naturalization and developed institutions and societies that affirm their right of return and the liberation of Palestine.
8. Despite the wide international Israeli influence, there are internationally increasing popular trends that sympathize with the Palestinian right. There is an increasing negative popular impression about Israel even in the US and other western countries. The BDS movement is on the rise, which is a growing concern to Israel.
In general, the state of power of the Zionist project is unprecedented, but the challenges and risks it faces are big and real, and they may even start to counter the balances in the foreseeable medium term.
- The article was published by Al-Zaytouna Center for Studies and Consultations.
Israel has marked lately the 71st anniversary of its establishment, with an overwhelming feeling of pride and power, for the state believes that it has reached its best strategic status since its establishment. However, facts reveal the continued presence of challenges and risks, which may increase in the future to hit its survival foundations, i.e., its security, economy and settlement blocs.
This article tries to extensively review Israel’s strategic positioning, in terms of its strategic achievements and potential risks.
Strategic Achievements
Israeli strategic achievement can be summed up in nine points:
1. The largest congregation of world Jewry: Israel managed to achieve a central Zionist objective, becoming the largest congregation of world Jewry. As it was celebrating the 71st anniversary of its establishment, it was also announcing that its population has reached 6.74 million Jews, constituting 46.5% of world Jewry.
2. Military superiority: Israel won most of its wars with the Arabs, and has taken over most of Palestine, and the Golan Heights. The Israeli army is ranked among the top in the world, it has the world’s most advanced weapons especially by having full US support and cooperation, and has an advanced weapon industry that manufactures most kinds of weapons and ammunition. The Israeli nuclear arsenal exceeds 200 nuclear weapons granting it strategic superiority, not to mention the unlimited military support, especially from the US.
3. A stable political system: Despite the vexations between Israeli political parties, their multiplicity and numerous leanings; right, left and religious, they generally agree on the basics and the general framework of the Zionist project. They have been capable of managing their differences within an effective political system, and are still capable of tactically and strategically managing the general Zionist track. They maintain a Westerly acceptable secular general appearance, while maintaining an effective national and religious core that practices all forms of aggression against the Palestinian people.
4. An advanced economy: Israel has achieved advanced economic conditions similar to those in European countries and founded an attractive environment for Jewish settlement. In 2018, Israel’s Gross National Product has reached $369 billion, and its Gross Domestic Product per capita $41,560.
5. Industrial, scientific and technological advancement: Israel has become significantly superior in Hi-Tech sectors, and is considered among its leaders worldwide. Israeli Hi-Tech exports grew to a total of $50.5 billion in 2018, and they include electronic components, computing services and software, telecommunication services, aircraft, medical and surgical equipment, artificial intelligence… and others
6. International support and unprecedented global influence: Israel has managed to impose itself (With US and Western support) on the international scene. It has reinforced its “legitimacy” and its political relations, in particular, after the Oslo Accords and the peace process. It has maintained also its position as a state above the law, practicing with impunity all forms of occupation, oppression and siege against the Palestinian people, backing it a US “veto” and western support that face any attempts to impose resolutions on it. Consequently, it was able to avoid and ignore hundreds of international resolutions supporting Palestinian rights. Moreover, many countries now consider a relation with Israel a key to US satisfaction.
7. Management of the peace process: Israel has succeeded in investing in the peace process agreements, especially in the Oslo Accords signed with the Palestinians, to its favor. Dozens of states forged political relations with Israel, which was able to neutralize major Arab forces and a large part of the Palestinian factions out of the conflict zone. At the same time, it continued the Judaization and settlement projects in the West Bank (WB), especially in Jerusalem… hence emptying the “two-state solution” of its contents and attempting to close the Palestinian dossier and impose what is known as “the deal of the century,” in cooperation with the US.
8. The reduction of the Palestinian national project and the transformation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) into a functional tool: The PA that was established in the hope that someday it becomes an independent Palestinian state within the borders of 4 June 1967, has become a functional entity that serves the occupation more than the aspirations of Palestinians. It spends large sums of money on its security forces that coordinate with the occupation and chase resistance forces, while linking its economy to the occupation itself.
9. Penetrating the Arab and Islamic environment: Especially with respect to declared and undeclared official relations with Arab and Muslim countries. Rather, many countries stared running in the normalization process, building relations and being responsive to the “deal of the century,” before Israel even paying any of the prices that it should for the sake of the peace process.
Challenges and Risks
Israel is exposed to a number of challenges and risks, which may develop in the medium to long term into a “serious threat.”
1. The steadfastness of the Palestinian people in their land and the increase in- the Palestinian population in Historic Palestine: The number of Palestinians has exceeded that of the Jews, and it is expected that the difference between them will reach 300 thousand within five years. This “demographic bomb” poses a great challenge to the Zionist project and the future of the conflict over the identity of the occupied land.
2. The growing strength of the Palestinian resistance: Despite the commitment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the PA to the peace process, the resistance forces have maintained a popular majority that opposes the peace process and Oslo Accords. As the combat and missile capabilities of the Gaza Strip (GS) developed, where more than 60 thousand fighters are based, having now a three-war expertise with Israel, and as the strip has stood steadfast while facing the 12-year Israeli-enforced blockade, it is now considered a resistance base and a global inspiration. This is in addition to the high performance of the resistance in WB, despite the great difficulties it faces.
3. The continuation of the anti-Israel popular, Arab and Islamic environment: and Israel’s failure to become a natural entity in the region. Most normalization attempts with Israel remain within official circles and are imposed on the people of the region. This means that any regional change reflecting the aspirations of the people will return Israel to square one, surrounded by a hostile environment, which—in case the power balance developed—will become in the medium to the long term a “serious threat.”
4. The peace process crisis: Throughout the past period, Israel has succeeded in managing the peace process to its benefit; however, its governmental arrogant and greedy behavior has blocked the way for any “reasonable” agreement, within the standards of the pro-peace Palestinian and Arab parties. Consequently, the failure of the peace process would open the door for the Palestinian people to reunite in choosing the resistance and annulling past Israeli gains.
5. The continuation of foreign threats, including the “Iranian threat,” the resistance forces in the countries surrounding Palestine, and the chances of new wave of revolutions in the region, are all strategic threats to Israel. In addition, the pro-resistance popular environment is considered strong in the countries surrounding Israel, and in other Arab and Muslim countries.
6. The Israeli society crises: The Israeli society has been able to absorb immigrants from more than one hundred countries, speaking dozens of languages, and it has also been relatively successful in managing their differences. However, there are some gaps in this society that may widen, especially when security and economic conditions deteriorate, and consequently there would be a growing desire to leave the “Promised Land” to better places. Furthermore, there are real differences regarding the eastern and western origins of the Jews, and regarding belonging to Israel, and religious and secular affiliation. There are as well widespread manifestations of corruption and disintegration, a desire for a life of luxury and pleasure, in addition to the fact that the quality of the Israeli “fighter” has deteriorated, and “Israel’s establishing generation” has gone.
7. Palestinians abroad have preserved their national identity, and more than three quarters of them are living in the strategic environment surrounding Israel. They have rejected various forms of naturalization and developed institutions and societies that affirm their right of return and the liberation of Palestine.
8. Despite the wide international Israeli influence, there are internationally increasing popular trends that sympathize with the Palestinian right. There is an increasing negative popular impression about Israel even in the US and other western countries. The BDS movement is on the rise, which is a growing concern to Israel.
In general, the state of power of the Zionist project is unprecedented, but the challenges and risks it faces are big and real, and they may even start to counter the balances in the foreseeable medium term.
- The article was published by Al-Zaytouna Center for Studies and Consultations.
18 june 2019
|
The Israeli international TV channel i24 News last week aired a call for the total ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
“There will never, ever be a two-state solution,” British far-right demagogue Katie Hopkins stated. “Israel will become the super force here. You will have to have a one-state solution.” video But she wasn’t talking about a single state with equal rights for all. video “There will not be peace in Israel until you remove the people who don’t belong there,” Hopkins asserted. Another guest, former Israeli diplomat Daniel Shek, objected that they – the Palestinians – “are indigenous people, not migrants.” |
But Hopkins added that “it will be a one-state solution, and in so far as you will have to remove certain individuals, you would just take more land.”
Shek asked: “You mean 50 percent of the population will have to go?”
“Yes, they will have to go,” Hopkins affirmed. “If some of their population still stab you with knives, then I would say yes, the rest have to go.”
Palestinians constitute half – and likely a slight majority – of the approximately 13 million people who live in what is today Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Hopkins’ call for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians may even meet the international legal definition of genocide.
The Genocide Convention defines numerous acts as genocide if they are committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.”
Indeed, prominent scholars of genocide argue that Israel’s policies towards the Palestinian people over decades constitute a form of genocide.
In recent years, Israeli political leaders have habitually advanced genocidal plans for the expulsion of the Palestinians and their destruction as a national collective.
“Natural home”
Hopkins is a notorious far-right racist who has caught the favorable attention of US President Donald Trump for her Islamophobic vitriol.
She has a well-documented record of using her high-profile media appearances to spread conspiracy theories and incite racial, ethnic and religious hatred. tweet
Hopkins also used her i24 News appearance to claim that Muslims are “forcing the Jews out of western Europe,” as well as her “own population.”
And in perhaps one of her only credible statements – politically speaking at least – she called Israel her “natural home.”
Hopkins embodies the increasingly warm embrace between Israel, on the one hand, and far-right Islamophobes, white supremacists, anti-Semites and neo-Nazis in Europe and North America, on the other.
She has previously referred to migrants in Europe as “cockroaches.”
Hopkins was perhaps channeling Rafael Eitan, the army chief who commanded Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon and once notoriously called Palestinians “drugged cockroaches in a bottle.” tweet
That Shek challenged Hopkins’ call for the ethnic cleansing of millions of people in no way mitigates i24 News’ responsibility for airing dangerous racist incitement.
Would any channel defend as legitimate debate, say, a discussion on whether Jews should be expelled from Europe, or whether slavery should be reinstated in the United States? Even if free speech entitles people to hold such repugnant and abhorrent views, no media platform is obligated to give them space.
Some matters are beyond debate, and to provide their adherents with a platform in any format serves only to legitimize extremist viewpoints.
Yet i24 News is attempting to whitewash and downplay Hopkins’ comments as merely “controversial” – that is to say within the scope of acceptable debate.
EU embraces racist municipalities
The intense and arguably genocidal racism Hopkins expresses is all too common and normalized in Israel, an ethno-state where Palestinians are conceived first and foremost as a “demographic threat” to the violently gerrymandered Jewish majority. tweet
A fresh example of that came last Saturday when the mayor and city council members in the northern city of Afula took part in a demonstration against the sale of a home to an Arab family.
Council member Itai Cohen told media the municipality would continue to “ensure that Afula preserves its Jewish character.”
“Anyone looking for a mixed city – Afula is not the address,” Cohen told Israeli army radio on Sunday. “We are a right-wing place with Jewish characteristics.”
The demonstration was joined by members of Lehava, a Jewish extremist group that agitates against mixed marriages and whose members habitually participate in violent rampages calling for Palestinians to be “wiped out.”
With the blessing of state-financed official rabbis and legislation, Israeli municipalities regularly act to prevent integration and equal housing opportunities for Palestinian citizens in Israel. tweet
This systematic racism has done nothing to deter the self-declared human rights champions at the European Union from embracing Israeli municipalities.
Last month, Emanuele Giaufret, the EU ambassador in Tel Aviv, met the chair of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel to “deepen cooperation between the EU and Israeli municipalities.”
There is no indication that the EU is requiring Israeli municipalities to end their racism against Palestinians and people from African states as a condition for such cooperation.
Shek asked: “You mean 50 percent of the population will have to go?”
“Yes, they will have to go,” Hopkins affirmed. “If some of their population still stab you with knives, then I would say yes, the rest have to go.”
Palestinians constitute half – and likely a slight majority – of the approximately 13 million people who live in what is today Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Hopkins’ call for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians may even meet the international legal definition of genocide.
The Genocide Convention defines numerous acts as genocide if they are committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.”
Indeed, prominent scholars of genocide argue that Israel’s policies towards the Palestinian people over decades constitute a form of genocide.
In recent years, Israeli political leaders have habitually advanced genocidal plans for the expulsion of the Palestinians and their destruction as a national collective.
“Natural home”
Hopkins is a notorious far-right racist who has caught the favorable attention of US President Donald Trump for her Islamophobic vitriol.
She has a well-documented record of using her high-profile media appearances to spread conspiracy theories and incite racial, ethnic and religious hatred. tweet
Hopkins also used her i24 News appearance to claim that Muslims are “forcing the Jews out of western Europe,” as well as her “own population.”
And in perhaps one of her only credible statements – politically speaking at least – she called Israel her “natural home.”
Hopkins embodies the increasingly warm embrace between Israel, on the one hand, and far-right Islamophobes, white supremacists, anti-Semites and neo-Nazis in Europe and North America, on the other.
She has previously referred to migrants in Europe as “cockroaches.”
Hopkins was perhaps channeling Rafael Eitan, the army chief who commanded Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon and once notoriously called Palestinians “drugged cockroaches in a bottle.” tweet
That Shek challenged Hopkins’ call for the ethnic cleansing of millions of people in no way mitigates i24 News’ responsibility for airing dangerous racist incitement.
Would any channel defend as legitimate debate, say, a discussion on whether Jews should be expelled from Europe, or whether slavery should be reinstated in the United States? Even if free speech entitles people to hold such repugnant and abhorrent views, no media platform is obligated to give them space.
Some matters are beyond debate, and to provide their adherents with a platform in any format serves only to legitimize extremist viewpoints.
Yet i24 News is attempting to whitewash and downplay Hopkins’ comments as merely “controversial” – that is to say within the scope of acceptable debate.
EU embraces racist municipalities
The intense and arguably genocidal racism Hopkins expresses is all too common and normalized in Israel, an ethno-state where Palestinians are conceived first and foremost as a “demographic threat” to the violently gerrymandered Jewish majority. tweet
A fresh example of that came last Saturday when the mayor and city council members in the northern city of Afula took part in a demonstration against the sale of a home to an Arab family.
Council member Itai Cohen told media the municipality would continue to “ensure that Afula preserves its Jewish character.”
“Anyone looking for a mixed city – Afula is not the address,” Cohen told Israeli army radio on Sunday. “We are a right-wing place with Jewish characteristics.”
The demonstration was joined by members of Lehava, a Jewish extremist group that agitates against mixed marriages and whose members habitually participate in violent rampages calling for Palestinians to be “wiped out.”
With the blessing of state-financed official rabbis and legislation, Israeli municipalities regularly act to prevent integration and equal housing opportunities for Palestinian citizens in Israel. tweet
This systematic racism has done nothing to deter the self-declared human rights champions at the European Union from embracing Israeli municipalities.
Last month, Emanuele Giaufret, the EU ambassador in Tel Aviv, met the chair of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel to “deepen cooperation between the EU and Israeli municipalities.”
There is no indication that the EU is requiring Israeli municipalities to end their racism against Palestinians and people from African states as a condition for such cooperation.