By REGINALDO NASSER*
The history of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip does not begin on October 07, 2023, as those who make a clean slate of history want.
Since October 07, 2023, following the massacres led by Hamas that caused the death of more than a thousand Israelis, including military personnel and civilians, the Israeli military action that followed has placed us before an unprecedented historical process. From the height of her long experience in the fight against racism in the United States, activist Angela Davis could not have defined the moment we are living in better: “Palestine is a moral test for the world.”
But the history of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip does not begin on October 07, 2023, as those who make a clean slate of history would have it. Since 2007, the 2,5 million inhabitants, 75% of whom are refugees, have been living in inhumane conditions in a territory measuring 360 kmXNUMX.2 under siege by Israel by land, sea and air, with deprivation of water, medicine and food. This is, without a doubt, an exemplary case of necropolitics, a policy of planned death of a certain population in a slow, progressive and fulminating way.
If that were not enough, starting on October 07th, Palestinians began to relive a tragic memory: Nakba (catastrophe in Arabic) more intensely than in the past. At least 42 people have died (about 16.700 children), more than 96 people are missing, more than half of Gaza's homes have been damaged or destroyed, and 50% of the health infrastructure has been rendered useless.
Gaza is a true dystopia. One hour after I wrote this article, note well, not one day, which would already be catastrophic, add to the numbers above another 15 people killed (6 children). But, to arrive at these horrific numbers, there was the convergence of three factors: the intentionality of the Israeli government, the support of powers and the condescension of the international community.
Israeli politicians and military officials have made numerous statements attributing collective guilt to Palestinians in Gaza for the mass murder of Israelis. Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Israel’s biblical enemy, Amalek. “Now go and strike Amalek,” “destroy everything they have, and do not spare them; kill man, woman, child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has ordered a “total siege” of the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, he said, no food, no fuel.
In addition to intentionality, another important element for genocide to become a reality is political and material support. Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in history, receiving an inflation-adjusted $251 billion since 1959. Furthermore, the $18 billion sent since October 7, 2023, is by far the largest military aid sent to Israel in a year, even after the International Court of Justice ordered interim measures to stop the genocide in Gaza.
As regards the role of the international community, it is true that Israel has never been criticized as much as it is today, whether at the diplomatic level or in international institutions (UN, International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice), but, on the other hand, there has been no concrete action by any State that could stop Israel's actions. Which reminds us, not by chance, of the strong analogies between the colonization of Palestine and the case of apartheid in South Africa and therefore this racist regime was overthrown only when there were economic measures of sanctions and boycott.
On the other hand, it is also necessary to recognize that, for the first time, the so-called “Palestinian question” has become global, to the point that it has even pushed the war in Ukraine into the background of international disputes. Large popular demonstrations have taken to the streets not only in Arab countries, but on all continents, especially in governments that most support Israel, such as the United States, England and Germany.
In this regard, it is worth mentioning, in particular, the scale of the student protests that began in the United States and spread to European, Canadian and Australian universities. It is not surprising that the repression of the movements in universities was so brutal, after all, the bombs and planes guided by sophisticated military technology are the result of research funded and designed by the Pentagon in universities.
In addition to protesting against the genocide, the students managed, to an unprecedented degree, to place on the international agenda the protection of Palestinian lives, the demand for a Palestinian State and the end of the universities' partnerships with the US military-industrial complex, a true war machine responsible, directly or indirectly, for the destruction of a large part of the lives in the world.
It is true that the Palestinian issue has its historical particularities and geopolitical complexity that need to be understood in depth, but this is not a precondition for us to repudiate, loudly and clearly, a genocide that is naturalized in our eyes, it is enough to awaken the feeling of justice.
*Reginaldo Nasser is a professor of International Relations at PUC-SP. Aauthor, among other books, of The fight against terrorism: the United States and its Taliban friends (Contracurrent Publisher). [https://amzn.to/46J5chm]
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