Ya'alon tries to absolve Israel of its role in regional violence

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon has availed himself of yet another opportunity to embellish the already distorted history that has alienated the international community from reality in occupied Palestine. At a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Memorial Day, Ya’alon’s rhetoric combined loss, peace and security, framed against a backdrop of Operation Protective Edge and the alleged Iranian threat.

The usual bigoted attitude is easily discernible in both his choice of words and the arguments brought forth. Most notable was the intentional dissociation of Israel from any responsibility for its its colonial violence, as well as its presence being a prime factor of the already deformed parameters characterising the Middle East.

After a hypocritical emphasis on educating “future generations” about peace, Ya’alon embarked upon simplistic propaganda that summarised the turmoil gripping the region. “The Middle East is changing beyond recognition,” he intoned, “and the place of armies is being taken by bloodthirsty reckless groups alongside an Iranian terror state which is currently financing, training and arming terror, and that has its hands in every place in the region and even beyond.”

Israel has increasingly utilised Iran’s support for anti-colonial struggles to further the portrayal of Hamas as having increased its allegiances and capabilities, as well as promoting the settler-colonial state’s security concerns. “In order to ensure our security against these challenges,” said the minister, “Israel needs a strong, well-trained and high-quality army that acts with determination and strength along the borders and even far from them.”

While Ya’alon’s speech emphasised regional security concerns for Israel, the theme shifted when last summer’s Operation Protective Edge came up once again within the Zionist narrative, in relation to the Israeli soldiers killed during their brutal assault unleashed against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Speaking about efforts to bring back the bodies of missing soldiers, Ya’alon declared, “It is a primary moral obligation for us, first and foremost to their families, to the soldiers and commanders of the IDF [Israel “Defence” Forces] who we send on life-threatening missions, and to the Israeli people.”

The ambiguity in Ya’alon’s discourse reigns supreme. Israel has expounded selectively upon recent history while neglecting the foundations of settler-colonialism in Palestine, thus enabling evolving narratives and the appropriation of themes. The Arab Spring and its aftermath have indeed altered the region; however, Israel’s role in shaping turmoil and violence in order to continue with its expansion has shifted between acknowledgement and impunity; the latter is a gesture bequeathed by the international community.

The issue of the missing soldiers has been ingrained within the coloniser’s rhetoric and symbolism. Yet, Israel is responsible for various manifestations of “the missing”. Within the Israeli narrative, the missing soldiers have been glorified, yet Israel absolves itself of any accountability for deciding their fate, despite the offensive nature of Operation Protective Edge.

On the Palestinian front, the concept of “the missing” has encompassed every aspect of life as a result of violent colonisation and international complicity. Israel’s self-inflicted grievances are nothing but isolated manifestations. Conversely, Palestinian experience of loss has become ingrained within everyone’s memory. In some cases this is also subjected to the coloniser’s enforced erasure of memory that in turn incarcerates the Palestinian historical narrative.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.