In May 2023, an intense conflict between Israel and Palestine broke out that lasted for 11 days, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries and tens of thousands** of displacement. Do you remember the international community's attention and appeal for this humanitarian crisis at that time?The reasons and justifications for this conflict in Israel at that time
If you can remember, you may be shocked and outraged by some of the recent news reports. During the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli forces reportedly arrested a large number of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, while information on their whereabouts, health status and charges against them was withheld, leaving them in disappearance. According to the report, relatives of the detainees said in several interviews that many innocent civilians were surrounded and captured by Israeli forces during their flight from southern Gaza or during Israeli attacks in the north.
Some were held outside or in metal trailers for hours before being released. Others are out of touch. Family members told The Washington Post that they had seen relatives not affiliated with Hamas or other armed groups being taken away under duress at military gunpoint, and that they had not been heard from since. What is the real reason why these civilians are being detained by the Israeli army?Are their human rights and dignity guaranteed and respected?
The background to the detention of civilians by the Israeli army can be traced back to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in May 2023. At that time, Israel forcibly evicted hundreds of Palestinian residents in the Sheikh Jarrah and Sirwan districts of Jerusalem, triggering Palestinian revolts. The Israeli police and army responded with violence and repression, even breaking into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and carrying out brutal attacks on praying Muslims.
These incidents have inflamed Palestinian national sentiments and provoked retaliatory actions by armed groups such as Hamas. Hamas fired thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, and Israel launched massive air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip. The exchange of fire between the two sides resulted in the deaths of at least 248 Palestinians and 12 Israelis, as well as thousands of injuries and displacements.
The Israeli army's motives for detaining civilians can be understood in two ways. On the one hand, the Israeli army may try to detain civilians to undermine the support base and morale of armed groups such as Hamas, as well as to weaken the will and ability of Palestinians to resist. The Israeli army may believe that by detaining civilians, it can gain intelligence about Hamas or force Hamas to exchange prisoners of war or cease fire.
On the other hand, the Israeli army may try to demonstrate its military superiority and political hegemony by detaining civilians, as well as to intimidate and deter Palestinians and the international community. The Israeli army may perceive that by detaining civilians, it can demonstrate its fearlessness and impunity, or force Palestinians and the international community to accept its terms and demands.
The ways and means by which the Israeli army detains civilians can be described in three words: arbitrary, brutal and illegal. According to reports by The Washington Post and AFP, the Israeli army did not follow any due process and rules when detaining civilians, but randomly selected people who looked suspicious or inappropriate according to their own judgment and preferences, and then took them away by force or threats.
Some of these civilians were on their way to flee the fighting, in their homes or on the streets, in hospitals or schools, and in mosques or churches. Their age, gender, identity, occupation, religion, political views, etc., are not considered or respected by the Israeli army. They are seen by the Israeli army as a group of enemies without humanity and dignity, rather than as a group of people with normal lives and emotions.
In detaining civilians, the Israeli army has not accorded them any humanitarian and legal guarantees or respect, but has treated them in a cruel and illegal manner. According to reports by The Washington Post and AFP, Israeli forces routinely use violence and abuse, including beatings, kicks, electric shocks, threats, insults, deprivation of food and water, and sleep and hygiene while detaining civilians. Some of these detained civilians are held in open-air cages or metal trailers, in military camps or prisons, and in other places in Israel.
The background, motives, modalities, means, effects and consequences of the detention of civilians by the Israeli army are analysed from three aspects. We have found that the detention of civilians by the Israeli army is an arbitrary, cruel and illegal act, a tragic, far-reaching, dangerous and unjust act against the Palestinians, a threat to Israeli-Palestinian peace, a challenge to the international order and a violation of human dignity.