It is right to say that the current Israeli Knesset (parliament) has proved the most racist with unprecedented laws aimed at the exclusion of Palestinians (including those who are Israeli citizens), thus instituting fascism. It has passed laws that could be ‘distinguished’ from previous ones characterised by their general strategic goal, such as regulation of Palestinian land seizure, the Law of Return (exclusively for Jews) and occupied Jerusalem and Golan annexation laws. The current Knesset — directly or indirectly — sought to formulate its legislations to target details in the life of Palestinians in occupied West Bank and in the 1948 areas. Others appeared as amendments to criminal laws that were approved following political developments relating to Israel’s racial discrimination policy, war, occupation and Jewish colonisation of Palestinian lands (“settlement”/ colony building).
Since March 2015 and until last July, the Knesset debated 72 draft laws targeting Palestinians’ presence on their land. Twenty two of them are under discussion, eight others were passed, six were approved in the first reading, while eight have been introduced for debate. Three of the laws passed approved forced feeding of prisoners on hunger strike, tougher penalties of up to 20 years in prison against minor Palestinians who throw stones at Israeli soldiers and exempting police of recording interrogations of detainees. Another bill allowed detention of ‘convicted’ Palestinian children as young as 12 years and transferring them to jail at the age of 14.
A law approved in the first reading drew a line between incitement of terrorism and that of violence, which aimed at separating popular Palestinian resistance from acts of terrorism committed by Jewish colonists in a bid to ease their impact, as well as any judicial procedure. Another draft law would impose large financial penalties on social networks if they reject Israeli government’s requests to remove publications that the Zionist state may deem as incitement to terrorism.
Other draft laws listed for debate include ten on annexation of the West Bank to the so-called Israeli sovereignty, with drafts dealing separately with each of its regions. A draft bill has again been listed for debate on death penalty for Palestinian attackers, after being rejected in earlier voting by the government. A bill proposal on ‘Israel, the nation state of the Jewish people’ (nationality law) has not been voted due to differences between the members of the Israeli government coalition on internal issues, such as the relation between religion and the state and the definition of a Jew. Two other draft laws deal with a proposal to ban ‘adaan’ (Muslim call for prayer) from minarets and permitting Jews to pray at the famous Al Haram Al Sharif.
A recently approved bill in the series of racist legislations is the so-called “suspension bill” that allows the Knesset to suspend or depose a serving member by a majority of 90 votes in an act that targets Palestinian Arab Knesset members. Israeli newspaper Haaretz has criticised the law, saying that the legislature will now turn into a judicial authority. The newspaper said that, “In Israel, there are criminal offences related to incitement to racism and support for terrorism that are not covered by parliamentary immunity. If a Knesset member is accused by a court of such irregularities, the membership in the Knesset will stop immediately”. Haaretz indicated that the law will transfer this power into the hands of the Knesset, which will then turn into an investigative authority with judicial and executive powers”. Under such circumstance, Haaretz said, Knesset members motivated mostly by political, electoral and populist considerations will gain excessive judicial powers, while lacking the means to determine facts and arrive at judicial conclusions. The newspaper concluded that the law will be Eden’s garden for extremists, who will be haggling amongst themselves and with other Knesset members to grab headlines, adding that “it is a law that will turn Knesset members against each other”.
Lawyer Debbi Gild-Hayo noted that a relentless campaign of incitement has been going on in recent years to delegitimise those who do not agree with the position of the political majority in Israel, including Knesset members, senior cabinet ministers, head of state, the army’s commander-in-chief, the defence minister, artists, intellectuals, academics, mediapersons and journalists among others. Gild, director of Policy Advocacy of the Association for Civil Rights, said the result will be a heavy price to be paid by the society and critics will be gagged.
The deep-rooted racist mentality in the Israeli society was the result of the Zionist ideology and the policies of subsequent Israeli governments that managed to widen the circle of hostility against Palestinians.
Thus, it is normal now to witness extremists such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman dominating the political scene in the country.
Professor As’ad Abdul Rahman is the chairman of the Palestinian Encyclopaedia.
