Select date

October 2024
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

A Final Solution to the Palestinian Question

25-6-2024 < Counter Currents 37 1271 words
 

Image source: Wikimedia Commons


1,105 words


The Israeli solution to the perennial Palestinian problem has emerged: The only way to be rid of them once and for all is to purge them from Gaza altogether. It has been difficult to achieve this aim, however, as fighting in the war-torn region is ongoing.


It is unethical to bandy about terms such as genocide and ethnic cleansing when it is not in fact happening. It is essential to substantiate these claims. In the case of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the terms “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” have been used by several commentators. Regardless of whether they use these terms, however, the results are the same. It is apparent that the Israelis are engaged in a war of annihilation against their enemies, a strategy that has always been the hallmark of Jewish dealings with all of their foes, real or imagined.


Much of Jewish ethnic identity is tied to their experience of — or perceived experience of — being subjected to massacres, repressions, or some other existential threat. As Kevin MacDonald has written in Culture of Critique and elsewhere, instances of conflict always result in an intensification of Jewish identity. Their sense of victimhood is matched by their propensity for destruction and desire for violent revenge. Thus, today they are committing atrocities against their bitter Arab rivals in Israel’s backyard, and there is no end in sight.


In an article entitled “Death and Destruction in Gaza,” John Mearsheimer states:


What Israel is doing in Gaza to the Palestinian civilian population — with the support of the Biden administration — is a crime against humanity that serves no meaningful military purpose. As J-Street, an important organization in the Israel lobby, puts it, “The scope of the unfolding humanitarian disaster and civilian casualties is nearly unfathomable.”


Some commentators have defended the Israeli response; however, any rationalizations that were initially valid have been subsumed by the dark shadow of genocide.


You can buy Leo Yankevich’s book, Tikkun Olam, here.


The ghettoized Bantustans of the Gaza Strip are now in open revolt and have been since the October 7 attacks. Israel has used this attack as justification for the atrocities that they are now committing. But is it working? The answer is no. The Israeli press have reported that a top Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military official, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, recently said that the destruction of Hamas is an impossible task. Although the IDF is a technologically superior force, urban warfare against a determined and well dug-in adversary is a terrible slog at the best of times.


According to Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN, officials in the Israeli military and intelligence community were aware of Hamas’ extensive preparations prior to the October 7 attacks. A document predicated on intelligence gathered by Unit 8200 reveals that Israeli intelligence in fact knew about the training that was being undertaken by Hamas fighters before the attacks. According to the unnamed sources which provided the document to the press, the report was initially given to senior intelligence officials. The report details Hamas’ widespread preparations, including rehearsals for the attacks. This document, entitled Detailed End-to-End Raid Training, provides great detail about the training the Hamas commandos underwent. Furthermore, the report outlines instructions and objectives in regard to the taking of prisoners. The glaring implication is, of course, that the Israeli political leadership purposefully ignored the prospect of an attack in order to provide a pretext for invading Gaza.


Meanwhile, tensions along Israel’s northern front with Lebanon has been growing more and more intense as Hezbollah and the Israelis have been continually exchanging fire since October 7. Hezbollah has been bombarding northern Israel, forcing Israelis to flee their homes. The conflict is also widening. An article in the Wall Street Journal indicates that 17 IDF soldiers and nine civilians have been killed as a result of Hezbollah’s attacks thus far; moreover, 60,000 Israelis were forced to leave their homes. While this pales in comparison to the Palestinian experience, it nonetheless indicates an escalation of hostilities.


As John Mearsheimer pointed out in his lecture on the conflict that was hosted by Australia’s Centre for Independent Studies, the Israelis no longer have “escalation dominance.” Escalation dominance “refers to a nation’s ability to control and dictate the pace and intensity of a conflict . . .” Their regional rivals can now strike back effectively. Mearsheimer pointed out that Israel no longer has that advantage given that other regional actors, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and even the Houthis, can now use new technologies such as drones and missiles to strike targets in Israel.


Why Israel is in deep trouble: John Mearsheimer with Tom SwitzerWhy Israel is in deep trouble: John Mearsheimer with Tom Switzer

A document that was leaked to the Israeli media revealed that the ethnic cleansing of Gaza has been on the table for some time. The fiction that the operations in Gaza are purely military in nature is impossible for Israeli officials to maintain. If we take a brief look at some of the more recent events in the Gaza conflict, we can see that not only have the Israelis continued their attacks on civilians, but they have also intensified them. Airstrikes and bombardments of hospitals, schools, refugee camps, and so on are all aimed at killing as many Palestinians as possible. The war has devastated Palestinian families:


Branch by branch, 173 of Youssef Salem’s relatives were killed in Israeli airstrikes in a matter of days in December. By spring that toll had risen to 270 . . .To a degree never seen before, Israel is killing entire Palestinian families, a loss even more devastating than the physical destruction and the massive displacement.


Moreover, a story dated June 21 indicates that upwards of 45 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes that day alone.


Even though the IDF is a technically superior force, Hamas’ irregular fighters can inflict casualties on the Israelis thanks to their extensive tunnel infrastructure and irregular tactics. Al Jazeera continues to release combat footage from the ongoing conflict, some of which gives viewers an indication of the guerrilla tactics being employed by Hamas fighters, who emerge from tunnels and fire shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons at Israeli armor to great effect.


Israel’s plan is to commit genocide against the Palestinians through death and displacement, ethnically cleansing Gaza and in turn allowing the resulting mass of refugees to be used as weapons against Israel’s neighbors and ethnic rivals. I oppose both Israel’s actions as well as the exertion of Jewish power in their diaspora to crush dissent. Throughout their history, the Jews have been adept at masking their genocidal intentions toward their enemies, but today we are witnessing the veil coming off. By way of this conflict and the tumult we are experiencing in our own embattled homelands, the true nature of Jewish behavior is being laid bare for all to see.










Print