The violence that has characterized the State of Israel since its establishment is, without a doubt, extreme and overwhelming. Over the years Israel has developed many “security” agencies that are renowned for their ruthlessness. The IDF, or the Israeli military; the Shabak, or internal security service; the Mossad; the various special commando units that are merely glorified terror squads; the Israeli police with its terror units, and on and on. And yet, it seems that the Israeli public’s appetite for violence has not been satisfied.
Israelis feel the work being done by Israel’s enormous security apparatus is insufficient and there are calls for citizens to take up arms. What is even more alarming is that we see the emergence of civilian-run militias already operating in Palestinian communities.
Ramadan violence
As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, Israel is ramping up violent attacks on Palestinians. The violence is perpetrated not only by the usual state-run agencies but by newly armed civilian militias operated mostly by well-organized and well-armed radical racist gangs.
Throughout the country, violence from both the Israeli authorities and armed Israeli nationalist gangs is spreading. One can expect that during Ramadan we may well see a repeat of the events of May 2021, and there is the possibility that things will be far, far worse.On March 22 of this year, Muslims gathered at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque to observe Isra and Miraj, when Muslims commemorate the prophet Mohammad’s night journey from Mecca to Al-Aqsa, and then from Jerusalem to the heavens. The celebration turned into violent chaos as Israeli police brutally assaulted Palestinians in the city.
The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that “Israeli forces detained at least 20 Palestinians in clashes in Jerusalem’s Old City, and 14 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, four of whom were rushed to hospital.” This, the Zionist paper admitted, was “signaling mounting tensions ahead of Ramadan.”
The Naqab
The Naqab – which makes up the entire southern half of Palestine, and in which close to three hundred thousand Palestinians live – has also been targeted by Israeli authorities and increasingly by violent Zionist militias. Several attacks, beatings and killings have been documented in the Naqab during March of 2022 alone.
Organizations like Lehava, which even the Israeli Minister of Internal Security is considering declaring illegal because of its racist and terrorist overtones, along with Regavim and other Zionist militant groups, incite and spread lies about a Palestinian “take over,” and attempts to create a lawless “Beduinstan” in the Naqab. Over the last few months, violence against Palestinians in the Naqab has increased and an armed para-military militia in uniform has been seen terrorizing the local population.The newest vigilante militia that was formed particularly for the Naqab is the “Bar’el Unit.” Haaretz reported that “[a] far-right activist has established an armed civilian unit of rangers to ‘save the Negev from problematic absence of personal security,’ amid heightened Jewish-Arab tensions in Israel’s south.”
According to the paper, “[f]ormer police officer Almog Cohen was set to sign over one hundred volunteers to what he envisioned as an armed citizen brigade.” Initially, this was done with the backing of the Israeli police. However, Haaretz continues, “marred by accusations of racism and funding issues, police [took] a step back.”
Yet Palestinian activists in the Naqab report that this vigilante unit is already operating, fully equipped with uniforms, vehicles, and semi-automatic weapons.
According to Aljazeera, “In the town of Rahat inside the Naqab desert, an undercover Israeli unit posing as Palestinians killed 27-year-old and father of three Sanad Salem al-Harbed.”
Local Palestinians suspect that the killing was the work of the vigilante militia and not the Israeli police.
On March 20, as the new vigilante militia “Bar’el” was formed, a Palestinian bus driver in the city of Rahat in the Naqab was attacked by Israeli settlers. Salah Abu Zaid, 48 was attacked, had tear gas sprayed on his face, and was then taken away by the police. According to activists in the Naqab, police pressured Abu Zaid not to press charges against his attackers.
During last year’s Ramadan, the city of Lyd was subjected to enormous amounts of violence by both the Israeli police and settler militias. The city became a center of resistance but also suffered a great deal, as Palestinian property was vandalized. One Palestinian, Musa Hassuna, was shot and killed, and armed settlers were roaming the streets of the Palestinian neighborhoods in the city and terrorizing people.
The settlers – members of the “Seeds of Torah” (or the Jewish Seed Program), Lehava, and Regavim, among others – led the charge into the city, particularly following the murder of Hassuna on May 10.
In one video, a gang of settlers was filmed next to the mosque in the old city of Lyd. The video clearly shows them armed with semi-automatic rifles and what look like baseball bats. Towards the end of the clip, one of the gang smashes the windshield of a car parked on the street. The video was taken by local Palestinians who watched the events unfold from their homes. The gang eventually ran away as Palestinians began throwing rocks and firecrackers at them.
Another video, which was taken by a settler gang and posted online, shows them clearly lynching a man in his car. The man in the video is 23-year-old Fayz Abu-Ghanem. The attack took place on May 12. Abu-Ghanem was badly beaten and stabbed twice, and his arm was fractured.
When he tried to file a complaint with the police, he and his father were told by the local police station that the police would not take their complaint.
Who protects Palestinians?
Multiple stickers calling for the forced transfer of Palestinians from Palestine are found on public buildings in Lyd. This photo, which shows multiple stickers on the walls, is of “Kupat Cholim,” a public-health clinic in the city of Lyd.
There is no body or organization, governmental or non-governmental, to which Palestinians can turn as their very existence is threatened. Outside of Palestine, in capitals around the world, Palestinian representation is weak at best. At worst, as is the case in Washington, it is nonexistent. Until these changes and the recommendations of the recent Amnesty International report on Israeli apartheid are adopted, life for Palestinians will go on getting progressively worse.
Source: MintPress News
