Statistics, complicity and the erosion of Palestinian rights

In the wake of government-supported, Zionist settler violence in Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, violations and destruction have been documented and analysed by Euro-Med Monitor. A report titled “Fire under the ashes provoking Muslims in Jerusalem” insists that the Israeli incitement against Palestinian Muslims is likely to trigger an uprising “that would likely result in disastrous consequences.”

Statistics show that 2015 has seen an increase in violence against Muslims in Jerusalem, with the majority of violations, such as deportations and detentions, occurring before Jewish holidays.

Between January and June this year, 7,200 settlers participated in incursions at Al-Aqsa, under the protection of Israeli soldiers. In addition, 225 Palestinians were detained at the mosque: 118 men, 95 women and 44 children. The number of settlers participating in incursions in 2015 up to June is already higher than half the total of settler incursions in 2014, which amounted to almost 11,000.

The report details provocative acts and use of excessive violence against Palestinians in Jerusalem, with a special focus upon violations committed at Al-Aqsa. Provocation has included the throwing of rubbish, death threats, preventing Palestinian Muslims from worshipping at the mosque and the performance of Talmudic prayers by Jewish settlers in the vicinity of Muslims.

In conclusion, the organisation called upon the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) and the international community to urge Israel “to adhere to international law, including the Geneva Conventions” and demanded that the UN Security Council ends “the Israeli illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.”

Statistics are becoming a dangerous tool in the hands of organisations clamouring for Palestinian rights. While not detracting from the importance of analysis, the results remain confined to data interpretation and exhibition. Dissemination of analysis provides ample fodder for speeches, meetings and infographics; however, away from the regurgitation of information, such studies are achieving nothing for Palestinians.

The trend of dissociation is clear even within such reports. It is a foregone conclusion that most international organisations will not veer from the path of futile diplomacy. Hence, the value of such studies and assessment is already constrained. In addition, these reports exhibit a common trend of legitimising the international community’s power, in the full knowledge that the self-same international community and its hypocritical organisations are ultimately complicit in and thus responsible for the colonisation of Palestine.

The lack of coherence between history and current violations is also usually missing. One must question why there is constant, extreme emphasis on ending “the occupation” when it is clear that the entire Israeli entity is illegal and its very existence on ethnically-cleansed Palestinian land should be challenged. There are many precedents leading to the current violence which are being ignored, and statistics provide the perfect opportunity to persist in the creation of such oblivion.

Diplomacy has failed Palestinians, and all sorts of organisations claiming support for Palestine continue to indulge in a path that has benefited Israel for decades. It is obvious that neither UNSCOP, nor the Security Council for that matter, will act upon any recommendations that seek to reprimand Israel politically. Hence, the alternative is clear. By all means, collect statistical information. However, the findings should be put towards the development of a solid, ideology of resistance for Palestinian unity and liberation, rather than provide another layer of comfortable detachment for both researchers and recipients alike.

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