Israel shows there is no limit to the imagination of colonial violence

Forget the importance of preserving and protecting wildlife. For Israel, certain wildlife also serves a purpose in colonial violence. In December last year, Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir proposed building moats for crocodiles around prisons holding Palestinian prisoners. This month, Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman created a loophole for Ben Gvir’s macabre idea. The Nile crocodile is now classified as a ‘cultivated wild animal kept for security purposes’, according to Israeli media.  

A 170 metre long moat is already being dug at Ketziot Prison, which holds Hamas members among other Palestinian political prisoners. The news was confirmed by Ben Gvir’s office. The National Security Ministry allocated a budget of $21 million for the moat construction. 

The decision was taken against the Environmental Protection Ministry’s legal adviser Neta Drori, who noted that there are no precedents of crocodiles being used as security around prisons. The US example, which Ben Gvir cited last year, was a discontinued trial occurring in a place which is the crocodile’s natural habitat.

Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority also expressed concerns about Ben Gvir’s plan, declaring the proposal unfeasible and pointing out that crocodiles need to be protected, not used as a security measure. 

Silman defended her decision to alter the classification, saying, “At the end of the day, we must remember that as a result of October 7, the number of security prisoners increased considerably, and there is a real need to reckon with means of deterrence.” In a radio interview, Silman declared, “We are speaking a language our enemies know.”

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The number of prisoners increased considerably because Israel rounded up thousands of Palestinians in the aftermath of October 7, justifying mass detention by stating it was acting in accordance with international law despite evidence to the contrary. As for speaking a language which Israel’s alleged enemies know, it is closer to reality to state that Israel is speaking the language it has proficiency in; that of violence. No other country in the world uses crocodiles as a security deterrent. 

Are world leaders silent about this depravity because it seems unreal, or is it because they expect nothing less from Israel? The latter is likely more possible, since Israel’s genocide in Gaza exposed to the world what the colonial enterprise has hidden in its archives in terms of colonial violence.

Only now, Israel has sophisticated weaponry to carry out ethnic cleansing. Of course, rudimentary measures such as crocodiles are not excluded. Allowing Israel’s violence by all means possible has become unfortunately unquestionable. Anticolonial resistance by all means as stipulated in international law? That needs to be exterminated.

If the international community expects nothing less from Israel in terms of violence, there is much rethinking to be done, including expecting Palestinians to subjugate themselves to international demands. Using crocodiles as a security deterrent is not merely an internal matter for Israel to determine, not in the colonial context in which the animals will be exploited on the chance that Palestinians might get mauled. If international law gives Palestinians the right to resist, then colonial violence in all forms should unequivocally be stopped. Anything less is a complicit contradiction. 

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