Why sexual violence is integral to Zionist entity's settler-colonial project

By Xavier Villar

The presence of Israeli colonial troops in the vicinity of the Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza has not only left images of death and destruction since the early days of the regime’s genocidal war but has now led to reports of sexual violence against Palestinian women.

According to media reports, several eyewitnesses have recounted how Israeli soldiers "abducted, raped, and executed women in the vicinity of the hospital."

Jamila Al-Hisi, an eyewitness who managed to get out of the hospital complex, in remarks on Saturday said women have been subjected to rape, starvation, torture, and extrajudicial execution, adding that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is doing nothing.

She said the occupation troops “forced 65 families to leave the area around the al-Shifa Medical Complex whilst burning and killing entire families,” adding that a building where Palestinian civilians were taking shelter was burned down.

Her remarks came after Israeli forces stormed the al-Shifa hospital using tanks and drones when about 3,000 people were inside the hospital premises. Those who attempted to leave were targeted by snipers and fire from helicopters.

Hundreds of people – including patients and attendants – have been reportedly executed in cold blood at the hospital in recent weeks and the siege continues.

The latest reports about women being sexually abused and killed at the hospital have drawn widespread anger and outcry across the world

It is crucial to understand that sexual violence is yet another tool within the machinery of the settler-colonial Zionist entity and its project to occupy the Palestinian territories.

This conviction to dominate must be understood within the framework of settler colonialism, which seeks the elimination of the native population – Palestinians.

Settler colonialism, of which Zionism is a part, seeks to permanently erase the presence of natives at all levels, replacing it with a new society based on colonial norms. In most cases, this process leads, as in the Palestinian case, to indigenous genocide.

This violent campaign to replace the native Palestinian population is where we must locate the sexual violence against Palestinian women. This form of violence has always been part of the efforts of the Zionist colonial entity to achieve its ultimate goal of eradicating all Palestinian presence.

The use of sexual violence against Palestinian women is an integral part of the political history of the Zionist colonial entity since its foundation in 1948.

Prominent historians such as Ilan Pappé have documented that during the establishment of the Zionist regime, known as the Nakba, the Israeli army engaged in numerous rapes, both collective and individual, against Palestinian women.

In this context, the tragic story of a young Palestinian woman who was abducted and raped in the Negev by about 20 Israeli settlers and soldiers stands out, as part of a celebration, which ended in her being shot dead.

The majority of archives and historical documents from the Nakba era have been deliberately eliminated in an attempt to erase incriminating evidence.

Additionally, Palestinian oral history regarding the atrocities committed by Zionists has largely been discredited and deemed an unreliable source within historical research. This is compounded by the stigma surrounding sexual violence, which has led to silence and the concealment of these crimes.

Several historians have confirmed how, since the beginning of the last decade, teams from the regime’s war ministry have been examining archives and removing historical documents.

These documents range from information related to Israel's nuclear program to matters concerning the Zionist colony's foreign relations. As noted, they also include thousands of documents from the Nakba period and the early years of the colony's existence.

Overall, the majority of the removed documents seek to conceal massacres, the destruction of small villages, the expulsion of Palestinian Bedouins, and the numerous instances of sexual violence committed against Palestinian women.

The use of sexual violence should not be considered as something "peripheral" to the Zionist colonial project, but rather constitutes a central part of it.

For example, David Ben-Gurion, a key figure in the Zionist movement and the first premier of the Israeli regime, documented in his diary the practices of sexual violence against Palestinian women and girls, whom he considered a threat to the survival of the Zionist colony.

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Ben-Gurion also contributed to spreading a vision that criminalizes the fertility of Palestinian women, viewing it as an obstacle to the permanent eradication of the native population.

The connection between the past and the present is evident when we recall the words of former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked, who stated in 2014, when she was a parliamentarian, that "Palestinian mothers should be killed."

"Behind every terrorist, there are dozens of men and women who support him, without whom he could not carry out his acts of terror. They are all enemy combatants and the responsibility for their actions will rest on their heads,” she stated.

“This includes the mothers of the martyrs, who bid them farewell with flowers and kisses towards hell. They should follow the path of their sons, as nothing would be fairer. They should leave, just like the homes where they raised these snakes. Otherwise, new snakes will continue to be raised in those same places."

The use of sexual violence also occurs in Israeli prisons, which has been widely documented. More recently, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor published new testimonies by female Palestinian detainees from Gaza about being subjected to sexual violence, torture, inhuman treatment, strip searches, sexual harassment, etc.

While it is true that both men and children are subjected to such treatment, it is women who suffer the most horrendous abuse, scarring them for life.

Palestinian women, who have been through Israeli prisons, have recounted their experiences of torture and sexual harassment by regime forces in order to extract confessions.

An example of sexual abuse and harassment, one among many, could be seen in the leaked video of the interrogation of young Palestinian activist, Ahed Tamimi.

Tamimi, who was 16 years old at that time, was arrested during a nighttime raid for kicking and slapping an Israeli soldier. During her interrogation, recorded on video, it was evident how she was sexually harassed and physically intimidated by her interrogators.

The constant threat against women is a reality faced daily by Palestinian women living under colonial occupation. A striking example of this routine violence was evident in the repeated attacks perpetrated at the Al-Aqsa Mosque by both settlers and occupying military forces.

The sexual violence inflicted upon Palestinian women since at least 1948 is considered a vital method for protecting the colonial entity. This is because, in the Zionist colonial project, both land and bodies are perceived from a racial perspective that seeks to ethnically cleanse the native population.

Xavier Villar is a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies and researcher based in Spain.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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