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The Four Frameworks of the Israel-Palestine Conflict Revisited

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The Four Frameworks of the Israel-Palestine Conflict Revisited The Four Frameworks of the Israel-Palestine Conflict Revisited By Cristina Zubizarreta ‘19 This article critically examines the four frameworks commonly utilized to interpret the Israel-Palestine conflict: Israeli self-defense, apartheid, genocide, and sociocide/eth- nic cleansing/settler colonialism. The article follows a pattern of presenting the political, legal, physical, economic, and social realities in Israel/Palestine that support each frame- work followed by a discussion of the realities that delegitimize the suitability of each framework for describing the ongoing conflict. The article concludes with a description of the fourth framework, the sociocide framework, arguing that this framework is the most suitable of the four for describing the present situation in Israel/Palestine since it acknowledges the importance of allowing the Palestinians to name their own experience. 53 Israeli Self-Defense - - Palestinian attacks. In addition to the creation- Israel’s fundamental position for self-de of a physical separation, the Israeli govern fense relies on the emotional argument that ment has decided to continue to invest mas since the Holocaust happened, everything and sive sums of money towards increasingvastly their anything Jewish individuals feel they must military capacities, despite the fact that their do in order to be safe should be justifiable military capacities are already superior and permitted. The Israelis undeniably face to those of all of the Palestinian armed groups real security threats that are both concerning combined. In 2009 the Israelis had around and unpredictable, evidenced by the fact that- 3,800 tanks and over 2,000 artillery units,- “Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups- while3 the Palestinians had zero tanks and only in Gaza have fired thousands of rockets de a few mobile Qassam and Grad rocket launch liberately or 1indiscriminately at civilian ar- ers. Though the Israeli government’s military eas in Israel.” The Israeli government fails to capabilities are already powerful enough to- connect the real risks they face with their ac obliterate the entire Palestinian population, tions; thus, their actions appear to contradict the government continues to spend a signifi and delegitimize their claims of self-defense. cant sum of money on military expenditures.- The Israeli government is in the process In 2016 alone, the Israeli government spent of constructing a Separation Barrier, 85% of 5.6% of their total GDP on military expendi which runs through Palestinian territory, in tures and signed a deal with the United States order to segregate Palestinians from Israelis, that ensures that the United States will give4,5 despite the fact that “in 2004, at the request of- Israel $38 billion in military aid before 2026. the General Assembly, the International Court The Israeli action of further expanding the- of Justice in the Hague ruled that Israel’s con Jewish settlement enterprise onto Palestinian struction of 2wall inside Palestinian territory- lands discredits the Israeli self-defense argu- is ‘contrary to international law’ and must be ment. While the Israeli government deems it dismantled.” Instead of abiding by interna- necessary to create a physical separation be- tional law, the Israeli government has chosen tween Palestinians and Israelis through the to continue along with construction of the bar building of the Separation Barrier, the govern rier, claiming that the barrier is necessary in ment simultaneously continues to subsidize order to protect Israeli civilians from potential the construction of Jewish settlements and- The United States has promised nationalallow for law. the establishment of Jewish outposts on Palestinian6 lands, thereby violating inter Despite the Israeli government’s $38B claim that safety is of utmost concern to them,- the government incentivizes Jewish settlers’ in military aid before 2026 movement to settlements in the occupied Pal estinian territory (hereinafter referred to as- “OPT”), which deliberately puts the settlers at risk. Today, there are over 670,000 Jewish set COLLOQUIUM | VOLUME II ISSUE I Israelis Palestinians 3,800 tanks 0 tanks 2,000 artillery units Very few artillery units of Apartheid - tlers living in illegal7 settlements and outposts defines apartheid as “similar pol- on Palestinian land. The Israeli government’s icies and practices of racial segregation and continuous expansion of the settler enterprise discrimination as practiced in southern Afri begs the question: if the Palestinians are so ca,” which serve “the purpose of establishing “dangerous” that the Israeli government feels and maintaining domination by one racial that a Separation Barrier must be created in group of persons over any other racial group- order to separate Israel from the OPT, then of persons9 and systematically oppressing why would the Israeli government decide them.” In other words, apartheid as a politi to incentivize Jewish settlement in the OPT? cal system deliberately separates members The Israeli self-defense position often argues of the population into either the privileged that while Israelis have been seeking to make group or the disadvantaged group based on peace with the Palestinians, the Palestinians their racial identity. Apartheid as a political- have continuously denied any Israeli attempts system relies on racismInternational in order toConvention function. at peace negotiations. The Israeli self-defense onThus, the theElimination Apartheid of ConventionAll Forms of is Racial inherent Dis- argument often excludes the fact that there is criminationly connected to the - a peace offer that has been suggested by the Arab League at every meeting they have held . In Article I, the convention de since 2002. The peace offer would provide fines racial discrimination as “any distinction,- Israel with the opportunity to reconcile with exclusion, restriction or preference based each one of their neighbors, which is precisely on race, colour, descent, or national or eth- what the Israelis insist they want. After fifteen- nic origin which has the purpose or effect of years of being offered the peace negotiation,- nullifying or impairing the recognition, en Israel continues to ignore it, often times claim8 joyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of ing that they do not trust that the Arab coun human rights and fundamental freedoms in Apartheidtries will hold true to their promise of peace. the political, economic, social,10 cultural or any International Convention for other field of public life.” This definition of- the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime racial discrimination recognizes that race is Article II of the socially constructed and can be based on mul tiple intersections of an individual’s identity. 55 The apartheid position emphasizes the- Palestinians are labeled “absentees” by the- fact that Israelis have purposely implemented- Israeli government. The Israeli government is segregationist policies in order to ensure Pal able to claim the land that belonged to the dis estinians have access to only small, non-con placed Palestinians, denying the Palestinians tiguous areas of land in less than 30% of the their right to the land. The government refers- West Bank and in 70% of Gaza, while Israel to the land as “abandoned land” that is now maintains control over the rest11 of the land state land. Another law that works to appro that constitutes Israel/Palestine. In the OPT,- priate the land of the Palestinians is the 1965 Israeli settlements are connected to major Planning and Building Law which “re-zoned- cities via settler-only roads, while Palestin communities and areas where building and ians who live in the OPT must travel on much construction is permitted and rendered ille longer roads along which they are forced to gal any building or habitations outside these stop at checkpoints and random blockades zones, and therefore subject to demolition.” in order for Israeli military officers to check- As a result of this law, homes in the areas that- their identification and often12 times subject exist outside of these zones are subject to the- them to random searches. The Israeli gov will of the Israeli government. Thus, if the gov ernment is using the Separation Barrier as a ernment decides they would like to take con- means of appropriating more land from the trol of these areas, they are able to demolish- Palestinians against their will, forcing further- the Palestinians’ homes without their con displacement of Palestinian individuals since- sent. The Israeli government forces the resi the barrier intrudes on internationally recog dents of the demolished homes to “relocate to nized Palestinian land. One of the discrimina one of seven planned ‘concentration towns’”13 tory laws in place that serves to further expel which are “the equivalent of reservations.” the Palestinians from their land is the 1950- The discriminatory legal system in Israel Absentee Property Law, which “allows the extends beyond housing rights to political and- state to acquire the lands of Palestinians dis civil rights. Palestinian citizens of Israel are placed during the Nakba,” since the displaced granted an inferior set of rights in compari- son to Jewish citizens of Israel, who are able to gain national status in addition to their cit 670,000 izen status. Palestinian citizens of Israel are denied the ability to purchase land through- # of Jewish settlers living the Jewish Agency, since the Jewish Agency in illegal settlements and is only allowed to sell land to Jewish Israe lis. Furthermore, Palestinians are denied the outposts on Palestinian right to family unification; if they are married- land to a Palestinian from the OPT, their partner is prohibited from gaining residency or citi zenship in Israel. Palestinian refugees living in the OPT live with an even more restrictive COLLOQUIUM | VOLUME II ISSUE I Palestinians have access to only small, non-contiguous areas of land in less than 30% of the West Bank and in 70% of Gaza, while Israel maintains control over the rest of the land that constitutes Israel/Palestine. - - set of rights, since they are subject to14 Israeli- the economy by denying them job opportuni military law instead of Israeli civil law.
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