Afrasianet - Ismail Jumaa Al Rimawi - One of the most disturbing phenomena today is the discourse that raises the slogan of "blocking the excuses" until it has become, in some quarters, a justification for silence or for the criminalization of any Palestinian defensive act that holds the victim responsible for what she is exposed to, the problem is not in the call for wisdom or the avoidance of escalation itself, as this may be up for discussion, but in the transformation of this discourse into a lens through which to look at everything that is happening.
So that the occupation becomes a secondary act, while first highlighting the behavior of the Palestinians We have reached a stage where the Palestinian is looking for a moral way out for the settler, at a time when many of the leaders of the settlement project no longer hide their declared goals, as settlements, according to their critics, are not just a dispute over borders or a political dispute.
But a project based on controlling and expanding the land, accompanied by documented attacks that include the confiscation of land, the burning of property, attacks on civilians, and the uprooting of trees, under the protection of Israeli state institutions and security services.
"Conflation between condemning violations and holding the victim responsible for what falls on them blurs the moral and legal distinction between those who exercise force and those who are subjected to them"
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However, there are those who try to interpret these facts as a mere "reaction", or make the debate begin with condemning the Palestinian before talking about the occupation, and this is where the flaw lies, as the balance of the debate shifts from the accountability of the occupying power to the accountability of the society under occupation.
This concern is heightened when statements or articles are issued calling on Palestinian villagers to stay in their homes when they are attacked by settlers, or to make self-protection an accusation rather than focusing on stopping the attacks themselves.
Defending rights, rejecting attacks, and demanding the protection of civilians does not contradict the call to abide by international law or avoid targeting civilians, but confusing condemnation of violations with holding the victim accountable for what happens to them blurs the moral and legal distinction between those who use force and those who are subjected to it.
The problem is not only that the occupation has been able to promote its narrative to the world, but also that some people in the region have become repeating its vocabulary, and consider it a title of objectivity and rationality, without sufficient accountability for its effects on understanding reality, and when the language of power becomes the only acceptable language, the battle of consciousness has entered a very dangerous stage, because the restoration of the land always begins with the restoration of the ability to name things, distinguish between the aggressor and the victim, and between justifying the violation and defending rights.
Consciousness is not an intellectual luxury, but it is the first line of defense for truth, dignity and existence, and every speech that empties a person of his right to defend himself, or demands that he remain silent in the face of violence, does not create peace or protect life, but opens the way for further excesses and impunity, and what the Palestinian needs today is not to redefine his right according to the standards imposed by his opponent, but to restore his confidence in the justice of his cause, and to adhere to his right to life, freedom and dignity, because the people who abandon their narrative soon find themselves abandoning their future as well.
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Ismail Jumaa Al Rimawi - Palestinian writer
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