The congratulatory video message by the head of the European
Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Israel's 75th Independence Day on April 26
was a blatant insult to millions of Palestinians under occupation and in the
diaspora. It was an affront to anyone who is disgusted by Israel's immoral and
illegal 56-year occupation of Palestinian territories, the 16-year-siege of
Gaza, the building of illegal settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes,
the incarceration and killing of children, and the repugnant violation of UN
resolutions and international conventions and laws, in addition to numerous
human rights violations.
اضافة اعلان
The fact that such an unabashed message failed to make
reference to the occupation and Palestinian right to self-determination is
either a sign of ignorance, which cannot be forgiven, or acquiescence, which is
criminal. The colonial-era trope uttered by her about making the desert bloom
resurrects falsehoods spread by the Zionist hasbara propaganda machine many
decades ago about a promised land that had no native inhabitants and no
civilization that goes back thousands of years.
How can a state that has occupied an entire people for more than five decades be described as a democracy?
It is no wonder that her message, celebrating "Israeli
vibrant democracy in the heart of the Middle East", was condemned by the
Palestinian Authority and thousands of social media activists. For starters,
one cannot mention Israel's so-called independence without referring to the
Palestinian Nakba, or catastrophe, of 1947–48 and beyond. The two events are
intertwined and will be forever; one people's independence had come at the
expense of another. And suppose Von der Leyen rejects the Palestinian
narrative. In that case, she should check the historical accounts of respected
Israeli historians such as Ilan Pappe, Tamar Novick, and Benny Morris about the
massacres and ethnic cleansing crimes committed by Irgun, Lehi, also known as
Stern gang, and Haganah during Israel's war of independence against
Palestinians. Over 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their ancestral homes,
and hundreds of villages were destroyed forever.
One does not even have to go far back in history. The claim
that Israel is a democracy is also false. How can a state that has occupied an
entire people for more than five decades be described as a democracy? Again the
European commissioner should check the indictment of one of Israel's most
respected human rights organizations, B'Tselem, which in January 2021 concluded
that "in the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan
River, the Israeli regime implements laws, practices, and state violence
designed to cement the supremacy of one group – Jews – over another –
Palestinians." It further concluded that "a regime that uses laws,
practices, and organized violence to cement the supremacy of one group over
another is an apartheid regime." And finally it concluded that "form
the basis for our conclusion that the bar for labeling the Israeli regime as
apartheid has been met." Its case also rested on Israel passing the
Nation-State of the Jewish People in 2018.
The European commissioner should check the indictment of one of Israel's most respected human rights organizations, B'Tselem, which in January 2021 concluded that ‘in the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, the Israeli regime implements laws, practices, and state violence designed to cement the supremacy of one group – Jews – over another – Palestinians.’
The same label was adopted by Amnesty International in 2021
when it declared that its investigation shows that "Israel imposes a
system of oppression and domination against Palestinians across all areas under
its control: in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and against
Palestinian refugees, to benefit Jewish Israelis. This amounts to apartheid as
prohibited in international law." The same conclusion was reached by Human
Rights Watch, also in 2021.
Regarding Von der Leyen's provocative statement that Europe
and Israel share common values, she should check some figures related to
Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank and its siege of the Gaza Strip.
In the first quarter of 2023, the Israeli military killed 95 Palestinians in
the occupied West Bank, including 15 children, according to Palestinian Health
Ministry. At least 4,765 Palestinian prisoners and of whom 971 were
administrative detainees, were held in Israeli jails at the start of March this
year, according to Haaretz. Administrative detainees can be held for an
open-ended period of time without charges and without trial.
Regarding Von der Leyen's provocative statement that Europe and Israel share common values, she should check some figures related to Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank and its siege of the Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, since the start of this year, Israeli forces
have demolished at least 47 Palestinian-built structures in occupied East
Jerusalem, including inhabited and uninhabited homes, stores, and other structures.
This is a war crime under international law. Moreover, Israel continues to
approve new illegal settlement buildings in the West Bank, violating
international laws. Are these the shared values that Von der Leyen is referring
to?
And finally, Israel blocked a visit by the EU's top
diplomat, Josep Borrell, earlier this year because he dared criticize Israel's
policies in the West Bank. It has also barred UN envoys from visiting the
occupied territories on numerous occasions. And concerning the EU partnership
with Israel, Von der Leyen should check how many EU-funded schools in the West
Bank Israel has demolished in the past decades. By 2017 Israel had destroyed at
least $74 million worth of EU-funded projects, including schools, playgrounds,
and agricultural initiatives in the occupied territories, according to
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, or Euro-Med. In response, eight EU
countries demanded that Israel compensate them for demolishing new school
facilities for Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank. No compensation
was ever made.
Concerning the EU partnership with Israel, Von der Leyen should check how many EU-funded schools in the West Bank Israel has demolished in the past decades. By 2017 Israel had destroyed at least $74 million worth of EU-funded projects, including schools, playgrounds, and agricultural initiatives in the occupied territories.
Last year, an EU delegation visiting Palestinian territories
said it was "appalled" after Israeli forces destroyed a primary
school in the Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank. And in 2021, 160
academics representing 21 countries have urged the European Commission to
"use its leverage" and ban Israeli universities from receiving funds
from an EU program worth over $100 billion. In a letter, they said that
"the complicity of Israeli academic institutions in Israel's structural
violence perpetrated against Palestinians across historic Palestine has been
broadly and systematically documented."
Echoing Israeli propaganda about making the desert bloom and
the shared democratic values with Europe is an attempt to whitewash an
apartheid regime. Von der Leyen's rhetoric reeks of obscene Orientalist
bigotry, and she must apologize to Palestinians who continue to suffer under
the oldest colonial occupation in modern times.
Osama Al Sharif is a journalist and political commentator
based in Amman.
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