The borders of Apartheid Israel confine the erased homes, villages and towns of Palestine. Ever since the 1948 Nakba, Zionists have forged ahead with a project to drive out Palestinian people and impose a Jewish state. Palestinian territory is under threat.
That was the key take away from a panel discussion on the occupation on Wednesday. The panellists reminded the world, once again, that Palestine was not a land without people for people without a land.
“Israel’s project is part of a bigger project of trying to get rid of Palestinians and replace them with Israelis,” said Palestinian writer, lawyer and analyst Diana Buttu.
She described the removal of Palestinians from their homes to make way for Jewish settlers as a process of “erase to replace”. The theft of land was central to this project, she said.
“One of the areas in which they focus the most is on stealing Palestinian land as a means of erasing our presence, erasing our history, and to somehow pretend as though Palestinians never existed on that land.”
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Land theft
The case of the West Bank is a primary example of how the Zionists have sought to eat away at Palestine. Occupied since 1967, the Palestinian territory has seen some 700 000 illegal (Jewish) settlers from around the world.
Adnan Barq, a Jerusalem-based content creator and journalist, said news of evacuations and demolition were not uncommon in the Holy land. All sorts of excuses were offered, he said, but it was always about pushing out Palestinians.
“We always wake up to news of house demolition or notices of evacuation. Usually, demolition comes under the argument that legally this land is state land, or green land, or they want to build a road.”
He said demolitions were “nothing but a tool” to drive Palestinians out and replace them with Jewish settlers. This, he said, was meant to bolster the claim of the ancient city as the capital of Israel.
The removal of Palestinians from their homes to make way for Jewish settlers was discussed on News & Views. You can watch the full discussion here.
