No shortage of Israeli soldiers willing to kill all Palestinians
Six years ago, I anxiously wondered what orders the younger siblings of the soldiers sent to destroy Khan al-Ahmar would obey when their time came to enlist. The past year has provided a far more terrifying answer than anything I could have imagined. They will agree to carry out a Holocaust. And a people capable of inflicting a holocaust on another people, whose citizens see their neighbours as human dust, will not cease because of a shortage of soldiers. Don’t count on it.
By Orly Noy • Translated by Sol Salbe
Six years ago, on the day before police and military forces were supposed to raid Khan al-Ahmar in order to demolish the village and expel its residents, I wrote the following:
“I have no doubt that the policemen and soldiers who will commit this war crime tomorrow know nothing about Khan al-Ahmar. I’m convinced of that. They know two things: that the villagers are Arabs, that is, the enemy, and that those villagers shouldn’t to be there. These, as far as the State of Israel is concerned, are the only two things they need to know. From there, the way to motivate young people to carry out this diabolic task is very easy. After all, this was the purpose for which they enlisted. Subdue the enemy. What difference does it make if the enemy wears a uniform or not, holds a weapon or not, endangers you or not. They were told the villagers shouldn’t be there. That’s all. They will do it without blinking, some will even do it with considerable pleasure. They won’t have time to blink before they demolish the school the villagers built there out of mud and clay and toss the schoolchildren into the garbage dump domain near Abu Dis. God forbid what orders their little siblings will obey when their day comes.”
More than 15 years ago, as a spokesperson for Ir Amim, I happened to have guided on tour a group of high school students from one of the most elitist schools in Israel. One of the lookout points we visited was the Government House [Armon Hanatziv] promenade, overlooking the Old City basin, a Palestinian space that includes the neighbourhoods of Silwan, Ras al-Amud, Jabal Mukaber and more. I was talking about possible political solutions in light of the reality they were looking at, and one of the students suddenly said, “I’ll tell you what the solution is: drop two bombs here and eliminate them all.” He was in twelfth grade, just before being drafted.
A year into the war of extermination in Gaza, one of the most viral posts against the war was published a few days ago by a beloved valued Facebook friend, who wrote from his personal experience about the difficulties of reservists who are called up for endless rounds of fighting. “The only realistic option is to strive to end the war, not because of the disaster in Gaza and not because of the international boycott and not because of the shortage of ammunition, but for the simple reason that in order to fight you need soldiers, and there are no more soldiers.” This, more than any other motive to end the war, spoke to the hearts of Israeli readers.
The Gaza holocaust will not end due to a shortage of soldiers. Years of fundamental dehumanisation and the injection of loathing and fear into the collective attitude to the Palestinians have ensured that there will never be a shortage of soldiers here to kill Palestinians. It just won’t happen. Six years ago, I anxiously wondered what orders the younger siblings of the soldiers sent to destroy Khan al-Ahmar would obey when their time came to enlist. The past year has provided a far more terrifying answer than anything I could have imagined. They will agree to carry out a Holocaust. And a people capable of inflicting a holocaust on another people, whose citizens see their neighbours as human dust, will not cease because of a shortage of soldiers. Don’t count on it.
