The normalisation of brutality: When will we reclaim our humanity? |
What we are witnessing today across occupied Palestine is not a glitch in the system of international order, nor is it a sudden detour from the established behaviour of the Israeli occupation. The greatest mistake observers can make is to treat the current escalation of atrocities as a momentary lapse in self-restraint or a chaotic exception that can be managed through diplomatic statements of concern.
In reality, what is unfolding before our eyes is the natural state of a colonial project. When we understand the structural foundations of the occupation, we realise that brutality is not a political choice, rather a functional necessity for its survival.
In reality, what is unfolding before our eyes is the natural state of a colonial project. When we understand the structural foundations of the occupation, we realise that brutality is not a political choice, rather a functional necessity for its survival.
The infrastructure of cruelty
In the logic of the occupier, it is entirely normal for a Palestinian prisoner and hostage to be tortured, humiliated, and stripped of his or her basic humanity. It is entirely normal for the halls of the Knesset to echo with calls for the summary execution of detainees, turning state institutions into platforms for legislated revenge. This is not a breakdown of democracy; it is the unfiltered expression of a regime that views the indigenous population as a security threat to be eliminated rather than a people with rights.
In occupied Jerusalem, the normal state of affairs is the systematic barring of worshippers from Al-Aqsa Mosque, while the sanctuary is open for radical settlers to perform provocative rituals under military protection. This is a calculated strategy of habituation. The goal is to repeat the violation so........