Let’s call Israel’s violence what it is: terrorism, not clashes

Israel and Palestine have been at loggerheads for decades, with a deep-seated history of violence and conflict between the two nations. Every few years, this conflict flares up, and violence erupts, leading to countless casualties. The latest conflict, which has been dubbed a “clash” by the Western media, is no exception. The violence erupted in April 2023 when Israeli police attacked Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.

The media, however, prefers to deploy the term “clashes”, obscuring the Israeli monopoly on violence, which kills, maims, and mutilates at a far higher rate than its supposed counterpart in the “clashes”. The Western media has often been criticized for their coverage of the conflict, which tends to focus on the supposed “clashes” between the two sides. This article analyses the use of the term “clashes” in the media and calls for an end to it.

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The Current Situation

The latest round of so-called “clashes” began in April 2023 when Israeli police repeatedly attacked Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque. As a result, hundreds of Palestinians were arrested and wounded as Israeli forces flaunted their handiness with rubber bullets, batons, stun grenades, and tear gas. The police, on the other hand, suffered minimal injuries. Israel has also launched a barrage of air strikes on the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon following reported rocket fire. This latest episode of violence is just one more in a long line of Israeli military assaults that have taken countless lives.

The Use of the Term “Clashes”

The media’s choice to deploy the term “clashes” serves to obscure the Israeli monopoly on violence and the fact that Israel kills, maims, and mutilates at an astronomically higher rate than its supposed counterpart in the “clashes”. The term “clashes” implies that both sides are equally responsible for the violence, which is simply not the case. It also obscures the reality that Palestinian violence is in response to a now nearly-75-year-old Israeli policy defined by the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, the occupation of Palestinian land, and the periodic perpetration of massacres.

The Reality of the Conflict

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is one of the most complex and long-standing conflicts in the world. It is rooted in the Zionist movement, which sought to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and the Arab response to that movement. Since then, there has been a long history of violence and conflict between the two sides. Israel has engaged in numerous military assaults over the years, killing countless Palestinians, including women and children. However, the media often chooses to focus on the “clashes” between the two sides, implying that both sides are equally responsible for the violence.

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The Media’s Bias

The media’s obsequiousness vis-à-vis the Israeli narrative is nothing new. Much of this has to do with the fervent backing of the US, in particular, from the Israeli point of view, which casts victimizers as victims and slaughter as self-defense. The media’s failure to call out Israeli violence for what it is, terrorism, is deeply concerning. The use of the term “clashes” only serves to validate Israel’s use of violence, which is cast as merely part of a fair, tit-for-tat competition between two equitable sides.

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The Propaganda War

Israel has long been engaged in a propaganda war aimed at legitimizing its policies and delegitimizing those of the Palestinians. This is done through the manipulation of language, images, and narratives that create a false equivalence between Israeli and Palestinian violence.

By using the term “clashes,” the media perpetuates the myth of a two-sided conflict in which both sides are equally culpable for the violence. This narrative obscures the power imbalance between Israel, a highly militarized state with the full backing of the US, and the Palestinians, who are a largely stateless people with limited resources and support.

Furthermore, the media’s reliance on Israeli sources and the framing of Palestinian violence as terrorism reinforces the Israeli government’s narrative that it is fighting a war on terror rather than engaging in an occupation.

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The Role of Western Governments

The Western media’s coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is heavily influenced by the political and economic interests of Western governments, particularly the US. The US provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid every year and has consistently vetoed UN resolutions critical of Israel.

This support for Israel is driven by a variety of factors, including domestic politics, geopolitical interests in the Middle East, and a shared ideology of liberal democracy and free-market capitalism.

As a result, Western governments and their media outlets are often hesitant to criticize Israel, even in the face of egregious human rights abuses. This reluctance to hold Israel accountable perpetuates the cycle of violence and reinforces the Israeli government’s sense of impunity.

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Conclusion

The use of the term “clashes” to describe the ongoing violence between Israel and the Palestinians is not only inaccurate but also serves to perpetuate the myth of a two-sided conflict. The reality is that Israel is a highly militarized state engaged in a decades-long occupation of Palestinian land, and the Palestinians are a largely stateless people who are fighting for their basic human rights.

It is the responsibility of the media to accurately report on this conflict and to hold all parties accountable for their actions. This requires a willingness to challenge the dominant narrative and to recognize the power dynamics at play.

It also requires Western governments to reassess their support for Israel and to prioritize the human rights of all people in the region. Only by doing so can we hope to achieve a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.