Israel and the international community have isolated the Palestinians

Last week Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations filed two petitions seeking to stop Israel snipers shooting at Palestinian civilians participating in the Great March of Return Protests at the Gaza border. In petitions filed by Adalah, Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Yesh Din, Gisha and HaMoked, the organisations insisted that since demonstrations are not prohibited in Gaza and damage to the border constitutes civil disturbance, Palestinian civilians should not be subjected to violence that is used in armed warfare.

Adalah reported that its attorney Suhad Bishara emphasised the fact that Israel had adopted the norms of international law regarding “law enforcement and order”. It referenced the Or Commission Report of October 2003, which found that the Israeli police used excessive force against Palestinians: “The committee determined that it is important that it be pointed out in a completely non-ambiguous way that the use of live fire, including live fire by snipers, is not a means of dispersing large crowds by police.”

Israeli state attorneys dismissed the organisations’ demands, stating that the use of live fire upon Palestinians was in line with international law. The Great March of Return protests were deemed as “part of the armed conflict between the Hamas terror group and Israel”, according to a report by The Times of Israel.

Israeli media has perpetuated the terror discourse to detract from the history which prompted the Great March of Return. Talk of border security was prioritised, despite the fact that discrepancies between fact and Israel’s fabricated narratives prevailed. A possible “mass breach of the border” was regularly reported as a concern however, given the disparity between a heavily guarded border and stationed snipers, and the Palestinian side with no access to sophisticated weaponry and little shielding from live fire, makes the possibility negligible.

READ: Abbas to Gaza: Keep children away from border protests

Furthermore, out of context, Israel has defined the Palestinian aim of liberation as a terror activity, contradicting the provision, under international law, which allows for anti-colonial struggle by all means. To substantiate its terror discourse, Israel has expounded upon the rudimentary means of retaliating against sniper fire as provocation. This despite the fact that prior to the Great March of Return protests, orders were given to the Israeli army to use live fire against Palestinians participating in the demonstrations. Social media has been teeming with footage and photographs of unarmed Palestinians murdered and maimed by Israel – the evidence is overwhelming against colonial aggression, as was that of its paramilitary Zionist predecessors during the Nakba of 1948.

It is possible that the Great March of Return protests will alter commemoration and remembrance of the Nakba this year, which would in turn place Israel under additional scrutiny. The border, fortified as it is, would be the least of Israel’s concerns. External perception, on the other hand, is something that Israel concerns itself with. Since it will not commit itself to ending the violence against Palestinian civilians demanding their legitimate rights, and will continue to murder Palestinians to fortify its terror narrative, Israel will continue to seek means through which it can manage both violence and justification, knowing full well that despite having no moral weight, it is assured of its political superiority, thanks to a complacent international community.

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