A space cleansed of Palestinians
“No Arabs allowed” can only exist within the framework of an Apartheid regime
By Rogel Alpher • Translated by Sol Salbe
I have not yet shopped at the mall at the Gush Etzion junction. Council mayor Yaron Rosenthal declared that “as of October 7, no Palestinians other than those working here with permits will be allowed to enter this place… Arabs will no longer come here to shop.” Great, a shopping centre for Jews only. Rosenthal explained that “the coexistence that existed here until October 7 cannot continue.” Oh. Too bad. It would have warmed the cockles of our hearts. “And in fact, on our initiative, there is no permit for Arabs to enter here to shop.” Providing services, yes. Shopping alongside Jews, no. Rosenthal doesn’t know, and his interviewers didn’t draw his attention to it, and perhaps they themselves don’t understand it, but a policy (is there a sign?) “No Arabs allowed” can only exist within the framework of an Apartheid regime. The regular customers at the mall continue to come precisely because of the atmosphere of Jewish mastery that is offered to them. A space cleansed of Arabs.
And where do the untouchables live? Well, in the swamp. Rosenthal and the rest of the settlers are not satisfied with Apartheid. “We need to make sure that what is happening in Gaza happens in this area,” he declared. “If in Gaza we know that there is an area where there are terrorists, then we demolish all the houses. It also has to happen here.” Demolish. Kill. Indisciminately. Cleanse.
Follow-up questions made it clear that he now expects the IDF to destroy the nearby Palestinian city of Halhul (which he called “the swamp”), or at least large sections of it (“to arrive at an area where there is terrorist activity and simply destroy all the houses”), and to cease the Sisyphean pursuit of what he called, in an act of dehumanisation necessary to justify mass destruction and killing, “the mosquitoes.” The settlers demand that the IDF render Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank uninhabitable. Rosenthal explicitly stated that he does not shrink from the thought of thousands of homeless Palestinians as a result of any such cleansing and flattening operation. “We’ve settled here as pioneers of the entire Jewish people,” he emphasised.
And at this point I am forced to pause. In the past, this was the moment when I automatically made it clear that the settlers do not represent me. But the truth is that they do. It is true. Allow me to introduce my vanguard to you. As an Israeli citizen, I am a silent partner in all their activities, and contribute to their finances as much as I can through paying taxes. In fifty years, my great-grandchild will buy a house where the “swamp” of Halhul was dried up, as befitting the ancient Zionist practice, and will teach their children that his primitive great-grandfather believed that Arabs are just as much human being as Jews, and they will laugh to their heart’s content over the sacramental wine.
