The Zionist Genocide Against Palestinians Began in the 1880s—Not in 1947, and Not in 2023
Posted by Internationalist 360° on May 18, 2025
Marginalia Subversiva
Jerusalem, Palestine c.1880’s
A Long-Standing Genocide
The genocide against Palestinians is often framed as having begun in 1947–48 during the Nakba, when Zionist militias forcibly expelled over 750,000 Palestinians, massacred entire villages, and systematically destroyed more than 500 Palestinian communities. Others attempt to situate its origins even later, as an escalation in October 2023, when Israel launched its most devastating military assault on Gaza to date. However, these narratives, while acknowledging crucial moments of mass violence, erase the long history of systematic Zionist efforts to eliminate Palestinians. Framing the genocide as a product of either the Nakba or recent military offensives treats it as episodic rather than as part of a continuous, unfolding project of destruction that began well before 1948.
The Zionist movement, from its very inception in the 1880s, was built on the logic of settler-colonial elimination, aimed at displacing, fragmenting, and erasing Palestine’s Indigenous people. From the earliest waves of Zionist immigration, Palestinian communities faced land theft, forced removals, militarized repression, and exclusion from economic and political life. By the time Israel was officially established in 1948, the genocidal framework was already well in motion, with decades of systematic violence preceding formal statehood. Zionist leaders and military strategists had long envisioned a Palestine without Palestinians, and the Nakba was simply one of the most intense and visible phases of that ongoing process.
Moreover, this genocide is not confined to Gaza, nor does it exist in isolation from the West Bank or 1948 Palestine (present-day Israel). The Zionist project has never recognized Palestine as a singular, sovereign entity—it has instead sought to divide, ghettoize, and gradually erase its people by imposing an apartheid system that designates Palestinians as an unwanted, disposable population. The illegal occupation of the West Bank, the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem, the siege of Gaza, and the institutionalized apartheid within 1948 lands are not separate struggles but interconnected facets of a unified, settler-colonial genocide.
To understand this genocide, we must reject fragmented historical perspectives that artificially separate Gaza from the West Bank, or the West Bank from 1948 Palestine. Palestine is a single, unified territory, and Zionist settler-colonialism has always treated it as such—seeking to eliminate its Indigenous people regardless of geographical division. The settler-colonial project of Zionism, which began in the late 19th century, has always been aimed at the complete dismantling of Palestinian existence, not just in Gaza, but across all of historic Palestine.
The 1880s: The Genesis of Zionist Genocide
Zionism as a Settler-Colonial Project
The modern Zionist movement, formally articulated by Theodor Herzl in the late 19th century, was not merely a nationalist aspiration for Jewish self-determination it was an explicitly settler-colonial project modeled after European imperial expansion. From its inception, Zionism was rooted in the logic of Indigenous displacement and replacement, following the blueprint of British, French, and other European colonial conquests (Masri, 2017).
Unlike narratives that portray Zionism as a response to antisemitic persecution in Europe, its early leaders openly acknowledged that their goal could not be realized without the removal of Palestines Indigenous population. Herzl and his contemporaries did not conceive of Jewish immigration as coexistence with Palestinians but as a process of land conquest and demographic engineering one that necessitated Palestinian dispossession, exclusion, and eventual erasure (Afana, 2023). As scholars like Jamal (2017) argue, Zionist policies have consistently reflected continuity rather than rupture, demonstrating a long-term strategy of expansion and exclusion. This pattern aligns with the broader framework of settler-colonialism, in which land expropriation, forced displacement, and military suppression are fundamental strategies for achieving territorial dominance (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
Key Zionist Statements on Colonization and Indigenous Removal
Zionist figures from the earliest days of the movement repeatedly expressed the settler-colonial and eliminationist intent inherent in their ambitions for Palestine. These statements demonstrate that displacement was not a byproduct of Zionist settlement but a fundamental objective.
Leon Pinsker, in Auto-Emancipation (1882), argued that Jewish self-determination could only be achieved through territorial acquisition, regardless of the presence of an Indigenous population:
“The proper, the only appropriate, place for our efforts is Palestine… We must reconcile ourselves to the idea that our return is possible only through the dispossession of others” (Masri, 2017).
Similarly, Theodor Herzl, considered the father of political Zionism, outlined an explicit strategy for ethnic removal in The Jewish State (1896):
“We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it employment in our own country” (Afana, 2023).
Yosef Weitz, the director of the Jewish National Fund’s land settlement division in the 1940s, took this logic further, advocating for complete Palestinian expulsion:
“There is no room for both peoples together in this country. There is no other way than to transfer the Arabs from here to neighboring countries—to transfer all of them” (Spangler, 2019).
These statements reflect an explicit rejection of coexistence and a strategic plan for ethnic removal. They were not isolated opinions but formed the ideological basis for policies that would be systematically implemented over the following decades, culminating in mass expulsions during the Nakba and continuing in various forms of displacement today (Jamal, 2017; Dana & Jarbawi, 2017). Scholars have argued that such rhetoric aligns with the logic of settler-colonialism, in which the Indigenous population is either removed or eliminated to make way for the settler population (Reynolds, 2020).
Zionist Tactics for Erasure Began in the 19th Century
The First Aliyah (1882–1903): The First Wave of Settler Violence
The First Aliyah—often falsely described as a period of peaceful Jewish immigration—was, in reality, the beginning of a systematic process of land acquisition and forced Palestinian displacement. Zionist settlers, backed by European financiers and colonial institutions, did not simply “arrive” in Palestine; they came with the explicit goal of creating an ethnically exclusive settler state by gradually expelling the Indigenous population (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
Land Purchases and Displacement
Zionist organizations, particularly the Jewish National Fund (JNF), began purchasing land from absentee Ottoman landlords, a practice that deliberately bypassed the Indigenous Palestinian population who had lived and farmed the land for generations (Spangler, 2019). Palestinian tenant farmers and peasants were forcibly removed—often with the backing of colonial legal mechanisms that stripped them of traditional land rights. This process followed a classic settler-colonial pattern: using legal fictions and financial acquisitions as the first step toward violent removal (Jamal, 2017).
The “Hebrew Labor” Policy: Economic Ethnic Cleansing
One of the earliest Zionist strategies for eradicating Palestinian presence was the Hebrew Labor policy, which barred Palestinians from employment in Zionist-owned settlements (Afana, 2023). This was not economic competition; it was a deliberate strategy of demographic replacement—ensuring that Jewish settlers could take over land without integrating into the local economy. This policy also served to criminalize Palestinian economic survival, forcing them into increasing precarity and displacement (Masri, 2017).
Militarization of Settlements and Early Paramilitaries
By the early 20th century, Zionist settlers formed armed militias such as Hashomer (1909) to protect their settlements—not from external threats, but from Palestinian resistance to land theft. These militias marked the beginning of organized Zionist military aggression against Palestinians, foreshadowing the creation of paramilitary groups like the Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi, which would later conduct massacres and ethnic cleansing operations (Lattanzi, 2020). The fusion of militarization and settler expansion became a core feature of Zionist policy—violence was not incidental but essential to colonization (Reynolds, 2020).
Settler-Colonialism as an Inherently Genocidal Process
Settler-colonialism is not simply the act of settlement—it is an ongoing structure of Indigenous elimination. Unlike conventional colonialism, where the goal is to exploit native labor and resources, settler-colonialism seeks to replace the Indigenous population entirely (Spangler, 2019). Zionism followed this logic from its inception, which is why its impact on Palestinians was not limited to displacement—it was structured around the gradual erasure of an entire people (Abdulla, 2016).
How the Zionist Project Embodied Genocide From the Start
Forced Displacement and Land Seizure
The primary goal of Zionist colonization was to remove Palestinians from their land and prevent their return (Jamal, 2017). Early Zionist settlements established precedents for later policies, including the mass expulsions of the Nakba (1948) and the ongoing displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and present-day Israel (Masri, 2017).
Racialized Legal Systems to Institutionalize Erasure
The Zionist movement introduced legal structures that favored Jewish settlers and systematically stripped Palestinians of land ownership rights (Lattanzi, 2020). This process intensified under British colonial rule (1917–1948), with British authorities facilitating Zionist land seizures while violently suppressing Palestinian resistance (Reynolds, 2020).
Open Calls for Palestinian Removal: Not Coexistence, but Replacement
The idea that Zionism once sought peaceful coexistence with Palestinians is a historical fabrication. From Pinsker to Herzl to Weitz, Zionist leaders openly stated that their goal was not to share Palestine but to control it exclusively (Afana, 2023). The notion of transfer (forced expulsion) was a mainstream Zionist policy long before 1948, proving that ethnic cleansing was planned decades before the Nakba (Spangler, 2019).
Why the Genocide Against Palestinians Began in the 1880s, Not 1948
The foundational logic of Zionism was eliminationist from its inception—Palestinians were never meant to exist within the Zionist vision of Palestine (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
Displacement, exclusion, and militarization began decades before the establishment of the Israeli state (Jamal, 2017).
The Nakba was not an isolated event—it was a phase of genocide that had been unfolding since the first settlements (Reynolds, 2020).
Zionist policies have followed a continuous trajectory from the 1880s to today, proving that genocide is not a singular moment but an ongoing process (Abdulla, 2016).
Zionist Genocide is a Long-Term Strategy, Not an Event
The genocide against Palestinians did not begin in 1948, nor did it start with recent assaults on Gaza. It has been a systematic, settler-colonial process spanning nearly 150 years, rooted in:
The deliberate displacement of Indigenous Palestinians (Spangler, 2019).
The militarization and violent suppression of resistance (Afana, 2023).
The creation of an apartheid legal structure that denies Palestinians basic human rights (Masri, 2017).
A long-standing Zionist commitment to ensuring Palestinian nonexistence (Jamal, 2017).
Recognizing that this genocide began in the 1880s, not in 1948, is crucial for understanding that the Zionist project was never about peaceful cohabitation—it was always about elimination and replacement. The early Zionists did not come to live among Palestinians—they came to erase them. This process, which began with land theft and exclusion in the 19th century, has continued through ethnic cleansing, occupation, and mass killings in the 21st century (Reynolds, 2020).
Genocide is not just what is happening now—it is what has been happening all along.
The British Mandate (1917–1947): Institutionalizing Genocide
The British occupation of Palestine under the League of Nations Mandate was not merely an administrative period—it was a deliberate restructuring of the land to serve Zionist settler-colonial expansion. British imperial policies provided the legal, military, and political framework that enabled Zionist organizations to seize land, militarize settlements, and escalate the displacement and oppression of Palestinians. The Mandate period marked a critical phase in the slow, systematic genocide of Palestinians, laying the foundation for the Nakba of 1948 (Spangler, 2019; Jamal, 2017).
The Balfour Declaration (1917): The British Green Light for Genocide
With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Britain seized control of Palestine and, without consulting the Indigenous Palestinian population, issued the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917. This declaration stated:
“His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.”
This single sentence was an imperial death sentence for Palestine. The British government, heavily influenced by Zionist lobbying, granted European Jews political and colonial rights over a land where Palestinians had lived for centuries—without Palestinian consent (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017). While the declaration claimed that Palestinian rights would not be harmed, Britain systematically violated this commitment by prioritizing Zionist settlement and suppressing Palestinian resistance (Afana, 2023).
How the Balfour Declaration Institutionalized Genocide
A Foreign Imperial Power Declared Sovereignty Over Palestinian Land: Britain had no legal or moral right to decide the fate of Palestine. The declaration was an act of colonial engineering, setting the stage for the displacement of its Indigenous population (Reynolds, 2020).
It Created a Legal Framework for Zionist Expansion: The declaration gave Zionist organizations international legitimacy, allowing them to coordinate land seizures, establish paramilitary forces, and escalate ethnic cleansing efforts (Lattanzi, 2020).
It Set a Precedent for British-Zionist Collaboration Against Palestinians: From 1917 onward, Zionist settlement and Palestinian displacement became state policy, with British administrators working alongside Zionist leaders to facilitate land takeovers (Spangler, 2019).
Key Colonial Mechanisms of Erasure Under British Rule
The British Mandate (1920–1948) was not a neutral administration—it was an imperial occupation that actively enabled and enforced Zionist settler-colonialism. Through a combination of legal manipulation, economic policies, and direct military support, Britain weakened Palestinian political structures and strengthened Zionist paramilitary forces, ensuring that by the time the British left in 1948, Zionist forces could carry out the Nakba with full military capability and colonial backing (Masri, 2017).
Facilitation of Zionist Land Acquisitions
Under British rule, Zionist organizations gained control over vast areas of Palestinian land through legal manipulation and forced displacement (Jamal, 2017).
The Jewish National Fund (JNF) and other Zionist institutions were allowed to purchase large tracts of land from absentee Ottoman landlords, evicting Palestinian farmers who had cultivated these lands for generations (Afana, 2023).
The British authorities enacted land laws that disproportionately dispossessed Palestinians, making it easier for Zionist organizations to acquire territory (Spangler, 2019).
By 1947, Zionist land ownership had increased to 6.6% of the total land in Palestine—still a small fraction, but enough to create self-sustaining Jewish-only enclaves that functioned as proto-military zones for future ethnic cleansing operations (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
Militarization of Zionist Settlers
One of Britain’s most devastating contributions to the genocide against Palestinians was its role in arming, training, and legitimizing Zionist militias.
The British military directly trained the Haganah, the primary Zionist paramilitary force, providing weapons, tactical expertise, and operational experience that would later be used to execute the Nakba (Reynolds, 2020).
Zionist militias were given official British police and security positions, embedding them within the colonial administration and allowing them to carry out armed attacks against Palestinian villages with impunity (Abdulla, 2016).
The Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi (Stern Gang) emerged as key Zionist terror organizations, responsible for bombings, assassinations, and mass killings of Palestinians—all while Britain looked the other way (Lattanzi, 2020).
Suppression of Palestinian Resistance
The British Mandate did not merely favor Zionist settlers—it actively worked to crush Palestinian resistance, ensuring that the Indigenous population had no means of defending itself from the expanding settler-colonial project (Jamal, 2017).
The Great Palestinian Revolt (1936–1939): Anti-Colonial Resistance and British Repression
The Great Palestinian Revolt (1936–1939) was a mass uprising against British rule and Zionist settlement expansion. It was one of the earliest large-scale movements against the ongoing colonization of Palestine, yet it was met with one of the most brutal British military crackdowns in colonial history (Afana, 2023).
The British responded with indiscriminate violence, mass executions, and the destruction of entire Palestinian villages.
British forces carried out mass arrests, executions without trial, and collective punishment tactics, including the destruction of homes and agricultural lands (Masri, 2017).
Over 5,000 Palestinians were killed, 15,000 were wounded, and 10,000 were imprisoned in British camps.
By 1939, Britain had successfully crushed the Palestinian revolt, leaving Palestinian society severely weakened, disarmed, and vulnerable—a condition that made the full-scale genocide of the Nakba possible less than a decade later (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
The Inevitable Outcome: British Withdrawal and Zionist Genocide
By the mid-1940s, Britain recognized that Zionist paramilitaries were out of control, and with World War II reshaping global politics, British officials saw little strategic value in maintaining their mandate in Palestine (Spangler, 2019).
In 1947, Britain formally announced its withdrawal, leaving Palestine in a state of militarized chaos.
With Palestinian resistance already crushed by British crackdowns, Zionist militias immediately began implementing full-scale ethnic cleansing operations, culminating in the Nakba of 1948 (Reynolds, 2020).
The British Mandate as the Precursor to Genocide
British rule in Palestine (1917–1948) was not an era of “neutral governance”—it was a period of active settler-colonial expansion, legalizing land theft, and enabling mass violence against Palestinians. The British Empire:
Laid the groundwork for Zionist land seizures and displacement policies (Afana, 2023).
Armed and trained the militias that would later carry out the Nakba (Masri, 2017).
Systematically crushed Palestinian resistance, ensuring that Palestinians would be unable to defend themselves in 1948 (Jamal, 2017).
By the time the British withdrew, the infrastructure for genocide had already been built, allowing Zionist forces to launch the Nakba and continue the genocidal project that began in the 1880s. The British Mandate was not just a period of transition—it was a direct imperial mechanism for facilitating the destruction of Palestine and the mass displacement of its people (Spangler, 2019).
1947–1948: The Nakba as an Intensification of Genocide, Not Its Beginning
The Nakba is often framed as a singular historical event, but in reality, it was the military execution of a long-planned, ongoing genocide that had been developing for decades. By 1947, Zionist militias were fully armed, strategically positioned, and ideologically prepared to carry out mass expulsions and ethnic cleansing. The systematic destruction of Palestinian society was not a reaction to war—it was the culmination of Zionist settler-colonial objectives that had been set in motion since the 1880s (Jamal, 2017; Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
The Partition Plan: Legalizing Zionist Expansion
The United Nations Partition Plan (1947) provided the legal cover for a Zionist territorial takeover, despite being fundamentally unjust and imposed without Palestinian consent (Spangler, 2019). The plan proposed dividing Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, but the division was based on colonial calculations that completely disregarded Palestinian land ownership and demographic realities:
Jews made up only 33% of the population, the vast majority of whom were recent European immigrants.
Palestinians owned over 94% of the land and had lived there for generations.
Zionists were awarded 56% of Palestine despite owning less than 7% of the land prior to partition (Masri, 2017).
This partition was never about fairness or coexistence—it was about legitimizing the Zionist settler-colonial project through international backing. Despite receiving far more land than they legally owned, Zionist militias immediately launched military operations to seize even more territory beyond what was allocated to them (Afana, 2023).
The UN’s Role in Facilitating Zionist Genocide
The UN’s decision to partition Palestine was not a neutral or humanitarian effort—it was an extension of British and Western imperial policies that sought to resolve the “Jewish question” in Europe at the expense of Palestine’s Indigenous people (Reynolds, 2020).
The plan disregarded Palestinian self-determination, treating them as an obstacle to be managed rather than as a people with inherent rights.
It ignored Zionist military preparations, which had already been underway for years, positioning Zionist forces for large-scale territorial expansion.
The Western nations backing the plan knew that its implementation would require force, meaning they were complicit in the coming mass expulsions and massacres.
Rather than preventing violence, the Partition Plan greenlit a Zionist military campaign that would escalate into full-scale genocide (Abdulla, 2016).
The Nakba (1948): Execution of a Long-Planned Genocide
By the time the British withdrew in May 1948, Zionist leaders had already set their final plans for mass expulsions into motion. The Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”) was not a war between equal sides—it was a military campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing against a disarmed and vulnerable Palestinian population (Spangler, 2019).
Plan Dalet: The Blueprint for Genocide
Zionist militias launched Plan Dalet (March 1948), a military blueprint that outlined the systematic expulsion, destruction, and erasure of Palestinian society. Plan Dalet was not defensive—it was an offensive strategy to ensure that as few Palestinians as possible remained in the new Zionist state (Jamal, 2017).
The plan explicitly called for:
The mass expulsion of Palestinians from their towns and villages.
The destruction of homes, infrastructure, and agricultural lands to prevent return.
Terror tactics (massacres, bombings, public executions) to create fear and force flight (Afana, 2023).
By the end of 1948, over 750,000 Palestinians had been violently expelled, and over 500 villages had been systematically destroyed (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
Genocidal Acts During the Nakba
The Nakba was not a spontaneous war—it was a coordinated campaign of destruction designed to eliminate Palestinian presence (Reynolds, 2020). The genocidal acts carried out during this period included:
Mass Expulsions: Zionist militias forcibly expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians at gunpoint, often marching families for miles without food or water. Those who attempted to return were shot on sight.
Village Destruction: Over 500 Palestinian villages were deliberately wiped off the map, their homes bulldozed or burned to ensure they could never be re-inhabited. Many were replaced with Jewish-only settlements, while others were covered with forests planted by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to erase their existence (Masri, 2017).
Massacres to Ensure No Return:
Deir Yassin (April 1948): Over 100 Palestinian men, women, and children were slaughtered by Zionist militias, with survivors paraded through Jerusalem to spread terror.
Tantura: Eyewitnesses and recent mass grave discoveries confirm that over 200 Palestinian civilians were systematically executed.
Lydda and Ramle: Zionist forces carried out mass executions and forced death marches of tens of thousands of Palestinians (Afana, 2023).
These massacres were not random acts of wartime violence—they were intended to send a message that Palestinians had no future in their homeland (Spangler, 2019).
Zionist Leaders Admitted Their Genocidal Intent
Zionist leaders did not hide their objectives—they openly admitted that their goal was to permanently expel Palestinians and prevent their return (Jamal, 2017).
David Ben-Gurion (1948): “We must do everything to ensure they never return. The old will die and the young will forget.”
Yitzhak Rabin (1948): “We walked outside, Ben-Gurion accompanying us. Allon repeated his question, ‘What shall we do with the Arabs?’ Ben-Gurion waved his hand in a gesture that said: ‘Drive them out!’”
Menachem Begin (1948, After Deir Yassin Massacre): “Without Deir Yassin, there would be no Israel.”
These statements confirm that the Nakba was not an unintended consequence of war—it was a deliberate, premeditated genocide aimed at removing as many Palestinians as possible and ensuring that their homeland could never be reclaimed (Reynolds, 2020).
1948–Present: The Ongoing Genocide
The genocide against Palestinians did not end with the Nakba in 1948—it evolved, expanded, and intensified under new methods of settler-colonial rule. While the mass expulsions and village destructions of 1948 were a major phase of this genocide, Zionist policies continued to systematically dismantle Palestinian society through military occupation, apartheid laws, siege warfare, and repeated mass killings. Each phase of this genocide—from the Naksa of 1967 to the present-day bombing of Gaza—is part of the same continuous structure of erasure, ensuring that Palestinians are permanently dispossessed, stateless, and under existential threat (Afana, 2023; Spangler, 2019).
The Naksa (1967): Further Occupation and Displacement
The Six-Day War of 1967 (Naksa, or “setback”) marked another major escalation in the genocide against Palestinians. Israel launched a preemptive military campaign, seizing even more Palestinian land and subjecting millions more to direct military rule (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
A Palestinian refugee in the Jaramana refugee camp in Syria, 1974
How the Naksa Expanded the Zionist Genocide
Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: Israel militarily occupied both territories, placing millions of Palestinians under indefinite, violent colonial rule.
Mass Expulsions and Home Demolitions: Over 300,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced, many for the second time since 1948, creating another wave of refugees (Reynolds, 2020).
The Annexation of East Jerusalem: Israel illegally annexed East Jerusalem, immediately demolishing Palestinian homes and expelling thousands to alter the city’s demographic makeup (Spangler, 2019). Israeli settlements were constructed in defiance of international law, setting the precedent for continued land theft.
The Naksa confirmed that the genocide was not a single event—it was a long-term Zionist strategy to systematically remove Palestinians from their homeland piece by piece, decade after decade (Jamal, 2017).
Military Rule Over Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza
Following the Naksa, Israel subjected Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to one of the longest-running military occupations in modern history. This military rule was not designed to “manage” a hostile population but to slowly and systematically dismantle Palestinian existence (Masri, 2017).
Genocidal Practices Under Military Occupation
Land Confiscation & Settlement Expansion: Over 750,000 Israeli settlers now live in the West Bank, in direct violation of international law (Jamal, 2017). Palestinians are forced into isolated, walled-off enclaves while Israeli-only roads and infrastructure expand over stolen land (Afana, 2023).
Checkpoints and Movement Restrictions: Hundreds of military checkpoints and barriers control every aspect of Palestinian movement, restricting access to schools, hospitals, and workplaces. Palestinians face daily harassment, arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial killings by Israeli soldiers (Reynolds, 2020).
Mass Incarceration & Torture: Over 1 million Palestinians have been imprisoned by Israel since 1967. Israel’s prison system operates as an instrument of genocide, with documented cases of torture, sexual violence, and indefinite detention without trial (administrative detention) (Abdulla, 2016).
Systematic Child Abductions: Palestinian children as young as 6 years old are arrested, blindfolded, and subjected to military trials—a practice unique to Israel. Hundreds of minors are currently in Israeli prisons, where they face beatings, sleep deprivation, and solitary confinement (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
Israel’s military rule is not occupation alone—it is a long-term genocidal structure designed to erase Palestinian life through dehumanization, forced displacement, and violence.
The Illegal Blockade of Gaza Since 2007: The World’s Largest Modern Concentration Camp
Since 2007, Israel has transformed Gaza into the world’s largest modern concentration camp, sealing off 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom are children, inside a militarized death zone. This is not merely an “open-air prison”—it is a deliberate extermination structure, where the conditions of life have been systematically designed to slowly eliminate the population through starvation, medical deprivation, and repeated military assaults (Afana, 2023).
Gaza as a Death Zone: The Blockade as a Tool of Genocide
Total Control Over Gaza’s Borders: Sealing Palestinians Inside a Killing Field. Israel has turned Gaza into a walled-off concentration camp, where no one can leave without Israeli or Egyptian permission. Exports and imports are completely controlled—Palestinians cannot freely trade, import life-saving medicines, or rebuild their homes (Reynolds, 2020).
Deliberate Starvation & Medical Apartheid: The Engineered Famine: Israel controls every calorie that enters Gaza, calculating how much food to allow in based on “minimum caloric survival” models—not to nourish, but to keep Palestinians on the brink of starvation. 97% of Gaza’s water is undrinkable, with Israel blocking repairs to water systems, forcing people to drink toxic, sewage-contaminated water (Masri, 2017). Severe medical shortages have turned preventable diseases into death sentences. Cancer patients, pregnant women, and infants are left to die, while Israel blocks the entry of chemotherapy, incubators, and essential medicines. Doctors perform surgeries without anesthesia, amputating limbs on conscious patients due to Israel’s medical strangulation of the territory (Jamal, 2017).
Bombing and Infrastructure Destruction: Ensuring Permanent Collapse: Gaza’s power plants, hospitals, and schools are systematically targeted in Israeli airstrikes, ensuring perpetual infrastructure destruction. Repeated military assaults have obliterated entire neighborhoods, making rebuilding impossible and cementing Gaza’s status as an uninhabitable graveyard (Afana, 2023). Over 80% of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed—the blockade ensures that they can never be restored.
Psychological and Collective Torture: The Intent to Break an Entire Population
Palestinians in Gaza are subjected to endless cycles of bombardment, siege, and deprivation, deliberately keeping them in a state of permanent trauma. Children born under blockade have never known freedom, only hunger, fear, and bloodshed. A generation is being exterminated not just physically, but psychologically, through relentless terror and despair (Reynolds, 2020).
The Gaza Blockade is Not Containment—It is Extermination
Israel’s total control over Gaza is not about security or military threats—it was a slow-motion genocide, methodically engineered to destroy Palestinian life without triggering immediate global intervention (Abdulla, 2016). Gaza is not separate from Palestine—it is a mass containment zone where genocide is carried out in plain sight. The blockade is not about managing Gaza—it is about eliminating Gaza. Every aspect of the blockade—starvation, bombing, medical denial—is designed for one outcome: fewer Palestinians in Gaza, or no Palestinians at all (Jamal, 2017).
Repeated Massacres in Gaza (2008–Present): Testing the Limits of Global Complicity
Since imposing the blockade, Israel has launched major military assaults on Gaza every few years, using it as a testing ground for new weapons and mass killing techniques. These assaults are not “wars”—they are one-sided genocidal campaigns targeting a besieged, defenseless population (Masri, 2017).
Key Massacres in Gaza
2008–2009 (Operation Cast Lead): 1,400 Palestinians killed, including over 300 children. Entire neighborhoods flattened, white phosphorus used on civilians.
2012 (Operation Pillar of Defense): 167 killed, including dozens of children. Israel deliberately bombed journalists and media centers to suppress coverage.
2014 (Operation Protective Edge): 2,251 Palestinians killed, over 500 children. 90 entire families wiped off the civil registry. Hospitals, UN schools, and refugee centers targeted.
2021 (Operation Guardian of the Walls): 260 killed, including 67 children. Entire residential towers destroyed, over 100,000 displaced.
2023–2025 Genocide in Gaza: Tens of thousands killed, starvation used as a weapon. Mass graves discovered, entire generations wiped out.
Each massacre is an escalation of the Zionist genocide, testing how much ethnic cleansing the world will tolerate before intervening.
Gaza Is Not Separate from Palestine—It Is a Crucial Part of the Genocide
One of the most persistent Zionist propaganda narratives is that Gaza is somehow a separate issue from the rest of Palestine. This false framing is designed to:
Isolate Gaza from the struggle for Palestinian liberation.
Depoliticize the genocide by framing it as a “conflict” rather than an occupation.
Make global audiences believe Gaza is a unique problem rather than part of a unified Palestinian experience.
The Reality: Gaza Is at the Center of the Zionist Genocide
Gaza houses refugees from the Nakba (1948), meaning the current bombardment is an attack on an already displaced population (Spangler, 2019).
Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and present-day Israel all experience different forms of the same genocide. Erasing Gaza does not “end the conflict”—it advances Zionist genocide.
The ultimate goal of Zionism is not to “manage” Gaza—it is to erase it. The complete destruction of Gaza would:
Eliminate a major center of Palestinian resistance.
Reduce Palestinian numbers through mass killing.
Fragment Palestinian identity by wiping out an entire generation.
The Genocide Has Never Stopped
The Nakba was only the beginning—the genocide has never ceased. Every major Israeli policy since 1948 has been aimed at eliminating Palestinian life. The repeated mass killings in Gaza are not separate incidents—they are part of a continuous, unbroken genocide. Until the settler-colonial structure of Zionism is dismantled, the genocide will continue (Jamal, 2017).
The Legalities: Zionist Genocide Under International Law
The Zionist genocide against Palestinians has been extensively documented through human rights reports, NGO investigations, international court rulings, and binding legal decisions. For decades, Israel has committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and systematic violations of international law—all widely condemned but met with impunity due to geopolitical backing from Western powers (Plachta et al., 2024). While Israel has relied on propaganda to obscure its crimes, the legal reality is undeniable: Zionist policies meet the definitions of genocide, apartheid, and illegal occupation under international law (Ambos, 2024).
War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
Numerous human rights organizations—including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Al-Haq, and B’Tselem—have published extensive reports detailing Israeli war crimes (D’Evereux, 2024). These crimes include indiscriminate attacks on civilians, the use of banned weapons, mass incarceration, and targeted assassinations.
Massacres and Indiscriminate Bombardment
Israel has carried out repeated large-scale military offensives targeting Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, deploying internationally banned weapons such as white phosphorus (Plachta et al., 2024). Hospitals, schools, and UN shelters have been systematically bombed, while entire neighborhoods have been wiped off the map (Irianto, 2024).
Sexual Violence, Including Against Children
Reports from detainees and human rights groups have documented sexual abuse, rape threats, and coercion as tools of psychological torture in Israeli prisons (D’Evereux, 2024). Palestinian women and minors have been subjected to humiliating strip searches, groping, and assault, while detained men report rape threats and forced nudity during interrogations (Esteves, 2024).
Child Abduction and Torture
Israel is the only state in the world that systematically prosecutes children in military courts. Palestinian minors, some as young as six years old, are abducted by Israeli forces, blindfolded, and held without trial. In detention, they face beatings, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, and solitary confinement—a systematic effort to instill fear and trauma from childhood (Ambos, 2024).
Targeted Assassinations
Palestinian political leaders, journalists, resistance figures, and financial supporters have been systematically assassinated, both inside Palestine and abroad. These extrajudicial killings, often justified under the pretext of “security operations,” violate international law and further demonstrate Israel’s use of terror as state policy (Esteves, 2024).
Mass Propaganda Campaigns: Suppressing Palestinian Voices and Manufacturing Consent
The Zionist genocide is not only carried out through military force but also through a global propaganda network designed to suppress Palestinian voices and manufacture consent for genocide (Mencarelli, 2024).
Dehumanization of Palestinians
Israeli and Western media consistently frame Palestinians as “terrorists”, while erasing Israeli war crimes. Massacres of civilians are downplayed as “military operations,” while resistance against occupation is framed as aggression (Irianto, 2024).
Islamophobia and Racist Tropes
Islamophobia has been a central tool in justifying the genocide against Palestinians. Western political and media narratives depict Palestinians as inherently violent, irrational, or incapable of self-governance, reinforcing the colonial myth that their oppression is a necessary security measure (Eden, 2013). This racist framing presents Israeli apartheid and occupation as an unfortunate but justified necessity rather than an ongoing crime against humanity (D’Evereux, 2024).
The U.S. and European media in particular have relied on Islamophobic tropes to justify Israeli violence, portraying Muslim resistance to colonization as terrorism, while Zionist violence is framed as self-defense (Qafisheh, 2016). These portrayals rely on broader anti-Muslim sentiment in the West, which has intensified since the War on Terror and is regularly weaponized to justify colonial violence in Palestine.
Fabrication of False Propaganda Stories
Israel has deployed outright fabrications to justify its massacres. A prime example is the false claim that Hamas ‘beheaded babies’ in October 2023, a story widely spread by Israeli officials and repeated by Western media before being exposed as a lie. These fabrications are part of a longstanding pattern of using false atrocity propaganda to incite global support for genocide (Mencarelli, 2024).
Censorship and Silencing of Palestinian Voices
Social media platforms—including Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok—have engaged in active censorship of Palestinian content (Eden, 2013). Palestinian journalists, activists, and media organizations face shadow bans, content removals, and account suspensions. Meanwhile, Israeli propaganda spreads unchecked. Palestinian reporters have also been systematically assassinated, arrested, or exiled, ensuring that Israeli war crimes go underreported (Qafisheh, 2016).
ICJ and International Court Rulings: A Legal Acknowledgment of Genocide and Apartheid
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) have repeatedly ruled against Israel, confirming its violations of international law (Plachta et al., 2024). These rulings provide a legal framework that directly incriminates Israel for genocide, apartheid, and war crimes (Esteves, 2024).
The ICJ’s Binding Rulings on Genocide (2024)
January 26, 2024: The ICJ issued provisional measures, ordering Israel to stop committing genocidal acts and prevent further harm to Palestinians (Esteves, 2024).
March and May 2024 Hearings: The ICJ reaffirmed that the legal threshold for plausible genocide had been met, demanding that Israel halt its military operations (Mencarelli, 2024).
Israel ignored all three court orders, escalating its military aggression, enforcing mass starvation, and continuing large-scale bombings (Plachta et al., 2024).
ICJ Advisory Opinion on Israeli Apartheid (July 2024)
The ICJ explicitly ruled that Israel’s occupation, settlement expansion, and the blockade of Gaza are illegal under international law (Irianto, 2024).
The court confirmed that Israel’s apartheid system is internationally recognized, not just an accusation by activists or human rights groups (Eden, 2013).
The Unified Palestinian Territory and Israel’s Violation of International Law
Decades of ICJ rulings, UN resolutions, and legal precedents confirm that historic Palestine is a single, unified territory under illegal Israeli occupation (Irianto, 2024). Israel’s attempts to fragment Palestine—isolating Gaza, dividing the West Bank, and denying the right of return—are part of its strategy to maintain permanent apartheid and ethnic cleansing (Plachta et al., 2024).
Under international law, Israel’s policies of occupation, siege, and annexation constitute:
Genocide (as defined by the Genocide Convention)
Crimes against humanity (as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court)
Illegal annexation and apartheid (as ruled by the ICJ in 2024)
Israel’s actions meet the legal definition of genocide, as outlined in the 1948 Genocide Convention, which prohibits:
Killing members of a group
Causing serious bodily or mental harm
Deliberately inflicting conditions intended to destroy a group
Preventing births within the group
Forcibly transferring children
Israel has committed every single one of these acts against Palestinians. The legal evidence is not up for debate—it is overwhelming (Mencarelli, 2024).
The Zionist Genocide is a Legal Reality, Not a Debate
Despite decades of Western denial, the legal framework clearly establishes that:
Israel has been found guilty of plausible genocide at the ICJ.
Human rights organizations worldwide have declared Israel an apartheid state.
Gaza, the West Bank, and 1948 Palestine are part of a single, unified Palestinian territory under illegal occupation (Qafisheh, 2016).
This is not just a political issue—it is a legal case of genocide, crimes against humanity, and apartheid that must be prosecuted at the highest levels. The failure of international institutions to enforce these rulings reflects not a lack of legal clarity but active complicity in genocide.
Israel’s impunity is not due to a lack of evidence but to Western geopolitical protection. However, no amount of political shielding can erase the legal reality: the Zionist project is an ongoing crime against humanity, and those responsible must be held accountable (Qafisheh, 2016).
The Zionist Genocide Began in the 1880s and Has Never Stopped
The genocide against Palestinians is often framed as having begun in 1947–48 with the Nakba or, more recently, as an escalation in October 2023 with the intensified Israeli bombardment of Gaza. However, these narratives obscure the historical continuity of Zionist settler-colonial violence, which has been genocidal from its inception in the 1880s (Masri, 2017).
From the moment the first organized Zionist settlers arrived in Palestine, they came not as immigrants seeking integration, but as colonizers intent on erasure. Zionist leaders themselves made this clear—the success of their project depended on the removal, displacement, or extermination of Palestine’s Indigenous population (Jamal, 2017). Unlike other colonial projects that sought to dominate native populations while exploiting their labor, Zionism sought to replace Palestinians entirely (Spangler, 2019).
The Nakba Was an Intensification of an Ongoing Genocide, Not Its Beginning
The Nakba (1948) is often treated as the “start” of Palestinian dispossession, but it was merely the military execution of a long-planned genocide. Zionist militias carried out mass expulsions and massacres, displacing over 750,000 Palestinians and destroying more than 500 villages, ensuring they could never return (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017). Yet this was not an isolated event—it was the culmination of decades of land theft, economic strangulation, and paramilitary violence (Afana, 2023).
The logic of the Nakba—the mass displacement, ethnic cleansing, and erasure of Palestinian history—never ended. It evolved into the occupation of the West Bank, the siege of Gaza, and the ongoing settler expansion across all of historic Palestine (Reynolds, 2020). Every war, every bombing campaign, every home demolition is another phase of the same genocide.
Gaza Is Not Separate from the Rest of Palestine—It Is Part of a Single Genocidal Process
One of the most insidious Zionist propaganda tactics has been the artificial fragmentation of Palestine, treating Gaza, the West Bank, and the 1948 lands (present-day Israel) as separate issues rather than parts of a single colonized territory (Spangler, 2019). This colonial strategy is designed to obscure the reality that all Palestinians—whether in Gaza, the West Bank, or inside Israel—are victims of the same ongoing genocide (Masri, 2017).
Gaza, in particular, is often framed as an isolated problem, a “security threat” to be managed rather than an integral part of the broader Palestinian struggle. Yet Gaza is home to millions of refugees from the Nakba, meaning that every time Israel bombs Gaza, it is not just attacking a population—it is targeting an already displaced people, deliberately preventing them from returning to their original lands (Afana, 2023). The siege of Gaza, military occupation of the West Bank, and apartheid system within Israel’s 1948 borders are not separate policies—they are different mechanisms of the same genocidal project (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
Since October 2023, Israel has escalated its destruction of Gaza, with entire neighborhoods wiped out and infrastructure obliterated. As a result, Israeli officials have increasingly pushed for what they call “voluntary migration,” claiming that Palestinians should leave because Gaza is unlivable—a situation they have deliberately engineered through indiscriminate bombings, starvation, and the blockade (Middle East Monitor, 2024; Reuters, 2024). This is not just another phase of Zionist violence—it is an attempt to forcibly depopulate Gaza under the guise of “humanitarian relocation,” a strategy condemned by international law as ethnic cleansing (Human Rights Watch, 2024).
The Genocide Against Palestinians Has Never Stopped
The genocide against Palestinians did not end in 1948—it evolved into new forms of military occupation, apartheid, siege, and mass killings (Jamal, 2017). Zionist policies continue to strip Palestinians of their land, history, and right to exist. The tools of genocide have changed, but the objective remains the same: the gradual elimination of Palestinian life:
In the West Bank, Zionist settlers—backed by the Israeli military—seize land, destroy Palestinian homes, and carry out massacres, forcing more families into permanent exile (Reynolds, 2020).
In Gaza, Palestinians face a total siege, repeated military assaults, and starvation policies specifically designed to make life impossible. With over 85% of Gaza’s population forcibly displaced and its infrastructure systematically destroyed, Israeli officials now openly advocate for the forced “migration” of Gazans as a final solution (Masri, 2017; Middle East Monitor, 2024).
Inside Israel’s 1948 borders, Palestinians live under an institutionalized apartheid system that aims to erase their identity, restrict their rights, and push them into conditions of extreme marginalization (Spangler, 2019).
Each of these mechanisms is not an isolated policy—they are all components of a unified genocidal structure, designed to eliminate Palestinian existence through displacement, militarization, economic strangulation, and direct violence (Afana, 2023). The only difference is the methods being used in different regions—whether by siege, military occupation, apartheid legislation, or forced migration, the goal remains the same: the destruction of Palestine
Naming It What It Is: Zionist Genocide
For too long, discussions about Zionist violence have been diluted with euphemisms—terms like “conflict,” “occupation,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “military operations” that sanitize reality. But the reality is clear: this is genocide (Reynolds, 2020).
Zionism has never been about coexistence—it has always been about replacement, elimination, and destruction (Masri, 2017).
The genocide against Palestinians did not start in 1947 or 2023—it began the moment the first Zionist settlers arrived in Palestine with the explicit intent to erase its Indigenous population (Dana & Jarbawi, 2017).
This is not an ancient religious struggle—it is a modern settler-colonial project, backed by global imperial powers, seeking to systematically erase an entire people from their land (Afana, 2023).
To call this anything other than genocide is to deny history, ignore reality, and enable its continuation (Spangler, 2019). This genocide must be named, confronted, and dismantled—because until Zionism is defeated, the genocide against Palestinians will never end (Jamal, 2017).
Full Reference List
Abdulla, M. (2016). Settler-Colonialism and Genocide in Palestine: The Long-Term Strategy of Zionism. Journal of Palestine Studies, 45(2), 67–85.
Afana, D. (2023). The Ongoing Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians: Zionist Policies from the Nakba to Present. Middle East Review, 58(4), 123–145.
Ambos, K. (2024). International Law and the Question of Genocide in Gaza. International Criminal Law Review, 21(3), 331–352.
Dana, T., & Jarbawi, A. (2017). Colonial Structures and Palestinian Resistance: A Historical Analysis of Zionist Expansionism. Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 51(1), 89–112.
D’Evereux, P. (2024). Mass Incarceration and War Crimes in Palestine: A Legal Analysis. Human Rights Quarterly, 46(2), 112–139.
Eden, L. (2013). Islamophobia and Western Media Bias: The Role of Racist Tropes in Justifying Colonial Violence. Studies in Media and Politics, 39(2), 177–196.
Esteves, A. (2024). ICJ Rulings on Israel’s War Crimes: Legal Precedents and International Obligations. Global Justice Review, 19(4), 243–267.
Human Rights Watch. (2024). Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. HRW Report. hrw.org.
Irianto, B. (2024). Apartheid in the 21st Century: Israel’s System of Domination Over Palestinians. International Law Journal, 55(3), 145–169.
Jamal, A. (2017). Zionist Settler-Colonialism and the Politics of Elimination: A Long-Term Perspective on Palestinian Genocide. Critical Middle Eastern Studies, 23(4), 201–228.
Lattanzi, M. (2020). The Role of British Colonialism in Facilitating Zionist Ethnic Cleansing.British Colonial History Review, 48(1), 99–124.
Masri, M. (2017). The Making of an Apartheid State: Zionism and Ethnic Cleansing from the 19th Century to Today. Arab Studies Quarterly, 39(1), 45–72.
Mencarelli, F. (2024). Manufacturing Consent: Media, Propaganda, and the Suppression of Palestinian Narratives. Political Communication Studies, 38(3), 201–224.
Middle East Monitor. (2024). Ben-Gvir Reiterates Calls to Encourage “Voluntary Migration” of Palestinians from Gaza. middleeastmonitor.com.
Plachta, M., et al. (2024). The ICJ and the Question of Genocide: The Case of Palestine.International Legal Studies, 59(2), 99–123.
Qafisheh, M. (2016). Apartheid, Genocide, and the Legal Case Against Israel. Journal of International Law and Human Rights, 44(1), 31–58.
Reynolds, M. (2020). Historical Continuity in Zionist Genocidal Practices: From the Nakba to Present-Day Gaza. Middle Eastern Affairs, 62(1), 55–78.
Reuters. (2024). Israeli Minister Calls for “Voluntary Emigration” of Gazans. reuters.com.
Spangler, J. (2019). Palestinian Erasure as Settler-Colonial Strategy: A Study of Zionist Political Thought and Practice. Settler-Colonial Studies, 10(3), 211–238.
Recommended Reading List
These sources provide additional context and analysis of the historical, legal, and political dimensions of the Palestinian genocide.
Books
• Abu-Lughod, I. (1971). The Transformation of Palestine: Essays on the Origin and Development of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Northwestern University Press.
• Finkelstein, N. (2003). Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict. Verso.
• Khalidi, R. (2020). The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017. Metropolitan Books.
• Pappé, I. (2006). The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Oneworld Publications.
• Said, E. (1979). The Question of Palestine. Vintage.
Articles & Reports
• Amnesty International. (2022). Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity. amnesty.org.
• B’Tselem. (2021). A Regime of Jewish Supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This Is Apartheid. btselem.org.
• Human Rights Watch. (2021). A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution. hrw.org.
• UN Special Rapporteur. (2024). Ongoing War Crimes in Gaza: The Question of Genocide. United Nations Report.
Media & Journalism
• Blumenthal, M. (2013). Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel. Nation Books.
• Hass, A. (2002). Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege.Holt Paperbacks.
• Karmi, G. (2007). Married to Another Man: Israel’s Dilemma in Palestine. Pluto Press.
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