Epilogue: The ethnic cleansing accusation.
The ethnic cleansing accusation is less heard in the anti-Israel
discourse. Even though it shares similarities with the act of genocide. This
similarity is the concept of the destruction of a community. It is less defined
in international law, and therefore less useful for those that wish to harm
Israel and its population. The main difference between ethnic cleansing and
genocide, is that when it comes to the former, mass murder is a means to end,
and not the end itself. When it comes to later mass killing is the final goal.
This accusation is false largely for the same reasons
the genocide accusation is false. No one from the Israeli war cabinet made such
a statement. And the same measures Israel took to prevent needless deaths of
Palestinian civilians exonerate it from both accusations. However, this one is
easier to sell. Because there is a political movement in Israel that tries to
push this idea. And the level of destruction in many parts of the Gaza Strip
raises the dire possibility that there is nothing to return to. Since this is
the case, why Israel’s “critics” wasted their time focusing on genocide? No matter how we look at it, the integrity of
the intentions of the accusers will always come into question.
However, this matter relates to something that is real
and serious. It is something that the international media has largely
overlooked. This is the role of Palestinian civilians in the atrocities of
October 7th, 2023. The fact is that once Hamas’ forces took control
of a large portion of Israeli territory, with several Israeli communities in
it, hundreds of Palestinian civilians followed them, and stormed those
communities. There they took part in the slaughter, torture, rape, and
abductions of Israeli civilians. Those civilians included children that helped
the adults find places where people, including children, were hiding. This fact,
along with the surveys that shows that the majority of Palestinians in the WB
and Gaza support the atrocities undermined the convictions of many Israelis
that there is a significant body of Palestinian civilians that want peace and
co-existence. The worse part is that for those living around the Gaza Strip
life became frightening and traumatizing. So much so that most have been
evacuated to other parts of the country. The idea that you are living next to a
large population that is willing to kill you, your family, and your entire
community, is naturally traumatizing. And it is not only Israelis that are
fearful. So do foreign governments that had farmworkers working in Israel.
Those governments ordered their citizens to leave Israel completely, creating a
crisis in the field of Israeli agriculture. Because of that evicting the
hostile population of the Gaza Strip is the simplest looking solution. Every
critic has the right to challenge the morality of this solution. But doing it
while ignoring what happened on October 7th and its impact is
hypocritical and dishonest. Ignoring this also helps the far right in Israel to
push for this solution. It is not unheard of that extremists from opposite ends
can be an asset to one another.
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