Speaking about Palestine by leaving Palestinians out

by Ramona Wadi

A Pro-Palestinian student holds placard saying ‘Free Palestine’ as Pro-Palestinians students, holding banners and Palestinian flags, in front of the White House in Washington D.C., United States on May 24, 2024 [Celal Güneş/Anadolu Agency]

EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell reiterated recently the importance of a ceasefire in Gaza to avoid “a full blown war” in the Middle East. Ceasefires started out as the means to get humanitarian aid into Gaza; the reasons given now are as far removed from Gaza as can be. Or, if related to Gaza, the effect is completely negligible. For example, Borrell’s call for a three day ceasefire to administer the polio vaccines. And after that? Israel resumes bombing and creates the conditions for more disease outbreaks. A ceasefire as the first step to stop the genocide? Diplomats would scuttle away from that reality. A three-day ceasefire on the other hand? Manageable, profitable for the humanitarian paradigm, and still guaranteeing enough Palestinians for Israel’s rising kill toll.

Borrell has now warned against Israel operating similarly against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. “The Israeli major military operation in the occupied West Bank must not constitute the premises of a war extension from Gaza, incl[uding] full scale destruction,” wrote Borrell on X. “The parallel drawn by Minister Katz, especially on evacuating Palestinian residents, threatens to fuel further instability.”

Borrell’s comments were in response to Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz calling for dealing with the occupied West Bank “exactly as we deal with terror infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian civilians and any other step needed.”

Israel launched a large incursion in Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas in the occupied West Bank, which Al Jazeera has described as the largest since 2002. The Israeli military is using fighter aircraft, drones and bulldozers. So far, 11 Palestinians have been killed in the incursion. Israel’s narrative is that it is “working to dismantle an Iranian-backed terror network being built up in the West Bank.”

On the contrary, as attention remains concentrated on Gaza, and not necessarily in a constructive way, Israel is availing itself of the opportunity to destroy segments of the occupied West Bank to weaken both society and resistance to its brutal military occupation. Since 7 October, Israel has killed at least 652 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. In December last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that both Hamas and the PA want to destroy Israel; the latter “in stages”. The PA has no power to destroy Israel, but for Israel’s narrative, any Palestinian entity can be cast as an enemy. Netanyahu also recently described the occupied West Bank as “part of our homeland” and “we intend to stay there,” as he told TIME magazine.

How did Zionist settlers end up in the occupied West Bank in the first place?

History repeats itself and the international community merely focuses on the present, in the most disjointed and detached way possible. What happens when Israel escalates its attacks in the occupied Palestinian territory, and the forced displacement previously normalised becomes on a par with that of Gaza? The charade of two separate areas falls away, but Palestinians will also fall and the accountability is global.

So, while diplomats speak of Palestinians only to marginalise them, here’s a reminder that such narratives are only supporting Israel’s ethnic cleansing and genocide. Whether this is done by focusing on regional unrest to avoid talking about Palestinians specifically, or unsustainable ceasefires that wouldn’t even make sense at elementary school level, the global agenda remains oblivion, while Palestinians are killed, both in the real world and in memory.