As if the thousands of children who died, the death toll approaching 20 thousand, the thousands who were displaced from their homes, tens of thousands of wounded, and the famine, disease and destruction in Gaza, all of that was not enough. What is more important is that they must be humiliated to the core in order for them to learn.
With this introduction, which contains sarcasm and harsh criticism, the Israeli writer Gideon Levy began his article in the Haaretz newspaper.
He continued his sarcasm, speaking on behalf of the leaders and the majority of Israelis, when they say, “We must show them and ourselves who they are, and who we are. And prove to them how strong we are and how weak they are. This is good for morale, as it is good for the soldiers and the home front. It is the gift of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.” For the humiliated Palestinians, what could please the heart more than this?
The leftist writer starts from this beginning critically, and says, “There is no greater proof that we have lost our way than the despicable attempts to humiliate the Palestinians in front of everyone. There is no greater proof of moral immorality than insulting them while they are defeated.”
“Until they give up”
Levy continued, “After we claimed the lives of the people of Gaza, destroyed their property and homes, and eliminated their children, we will now also crush what remains of their dignity. We will force them to kneel until they surrender.”
He explained that the photos and videos taken last week showed dozens of men on their knees, wearing only underpants, with their hands tied behind their backs, with their eyes blindfolded and looking down.
Levy went on to describe the contents of these pictures, and said that they show a small number of masked Israeli soldiers, “perhaps because they feel ashamed of their behavior,” adding that their victims are young and old as well, some of whom are obese, others are emaciated, and others have pale skin and some of them are dark in color. The horrors of war. “Maybe their children were watching this spectacle, and perhaps their wives, and that would add to the greatness of the achievement.”
“They were taken from a shelter”
According to reports, these prisoners were transferred from a shelter run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Beit Lahia and held for interrogation. Levy said that no one knows for sure whether any of them were members of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and after taking a “victory photo” they were transferred to an unknown location, and their fate was not known.
What is the point of all this? The writer wonders and says that this is not the first time that the Israeli army has stripped Palestinians of their clothes in this way with the aim of humiliating them. This happened during the marches that were organized in the past in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Lebanon.
The writer emphasized that wanted and unwanted men wear underpants for everyone to see. This is what Israel does, and it is important to record the event and publish pictures. But the truth – according to the Haaretz article – is that the pictures insult the occupation army much more than they insult its naked victims.
They destroyed the monuments
He went on to say that Israeli forces destroyed the parliament building and the court headquarters in Gaza. In the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, they destroyed all the antiquities, including the “Key of Return” at its entrance.
The Israeli army also destroyed and “looted” the large tin horse at the hospital entrance, which was built by a German sculptor from the rubble of destroyed Palestinian ambulances, and is a memorial to the dead. In Tulkarm, it demolished the memorial to Yasser Arafat. “And soon we will burn their consciousness,” Levi said in a sarcastic tone.
“At the height of sarcasm, the commander of the 932nd Battalion of the Nahal Infantry Brigade – in a video clip of the Israeli army spokesman’s unit – boasts of Ismail Haniyeh’s credit card, which expired in 2019.”
The writer concluded his article with biting sarcasm, saying, “The great victory is closer than ever before.”