State of depravity

The settler-state of Israel which is often called the only democracy in the Middle East by the West is telling a tale of depravity that is hard to forgive or forget. Israel’s aggression against Gaza has led to various mask-off moments across the world, with the Global South realizing how dispensable it is in the eyes of the powerful seven. But what still is shocking for most people is the criminal silence these countries have observed over Israel’s war crimes. The latest horrific video is a short clip from the Sde Teiman prison that documents the gang-rape of a Palestinian detainee who subsequently died; the prisoner was reportedly a cancer patient. That rape and sexual assault are common in Israeli prisons is something most detainees have shared upon their release. It took a few reports by the UN for the Israeli military to acknowledge that the problem exists. Two officers who were involved in sexual assault (before the incident of gang rape surfaced) were detained. But turns out many Israelis are fully on board with their government’s sadistic torture tactics; after protests, the abusers were released. There have been actual debates in the Israeli parliament on whether it’s OK to rape Palestinian prisoners and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has defended the abuse.

Like everything else that comes out of Gaza, these stories have been conveniently ignored by the West and other countries that love to monitor human rights abuses in other parts of the world. When it comes to Israel, it seems no testimony is enough to generate outrage. From rights groups and war correspondents to surgeons who have earlier worked in conflict regions, everyone has said that what is happening in Gaza is beyond people’s imagination, and yet what we hear from global leaders is crickets.

The US, the powerful ally of Israel whose leaders bend over backwards to prove their loyalty to the settler state, has given a blank cheque to the country to ask for as many war weapons as it pleases. It says nothing about the horrific war crimes Israel keeps committing. In the most recent example of shameless Western exceptionalism, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the US and the European Union decided against attending Nagasaki’s memorial ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city. The way these countries have teamed up against Gaza is mind-blowing. The West is busy telling us how Palestinians harbour unjustified hate against Israelis, but the images coming out of Gaza show well-fed Israeli hostages and stick-thin Palestinian detainees who look like they’ve been tortured for months. The truth is there for everyone to see, but it seems the world has decided to shut its eyes – just like it has been doing for the last 76 years of this occupation.