IF war is hell, there is no war in Gaza for Israel – not while IDF soldiers continue to have such a raucous good time in the ruins of Palestine. Even a just war, if such a thing exists, comes with a terrible, terrible cost to human life and the collective consciousness of soldiers and societies. War digs its scars deep – and they bleed still long after the declarations of “mission accomplished”.
Our own supposedly glorious wars have inspired many warnings to the young and zealous in the form of poems and stories that unmask the real face of conflict, the one only revealed after the propaganda stops and enlistment offices are closed. It’s the old lie “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” – it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.
I do not see the heaviness of war in the faces of occupying soldiers when they post online about the schools and universities they have reduced to rubble. I do not see it, either, in the faces of those leaders who revel in the total destruction of Gaza.
I do not see a war. I see a genocide. To describe Israel’s brutal, indiscriminate onslaught as a war is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of its interests in Gaza and the West Bank.
This is not a conflict between Palestinians and Israelis – it is a conflict between Israel’s desire to expand its borders by force and the Palestinians who live in their way. And Palestinians have found themselves vastly outgunned.
READ MORE: Ross Greer: Scotland is tied to UK’s ‘disgusting’ foreign policy
What defence can Palestine truly make against one of the most militarised nations on the planet, with an imperialist West ready to arm and abet at every opportunity, unconditionally?
Sure, western leaders will wring their hands and tell Netanyahu how nice it would be if he and his murderous government could just maybe consider thinking about reigning it back a little bit, if it was no trouble, if you wouldn’t mind – anyway, here’s another $147.5 million worth of emergency arms sales. Don’t drop it all in one place.
There is a profound pain in seeing the videos coming out of Israel and the vast differences between them and what Palestinian journalists and civilians are able to post between communication blackouts.
There are videos of IDF soldiers in dinosaur costumes launching missiles from advanced military weaponry; of troops singing and praying down a microphone in a mosque in Jenin in the occupied West Bank while 11 dead Palestinians lay nearby; of a British-Israeli soldier picking through the underwear drawer of a Palestinian whose house he had invaded, before posting a poll on Instagram asking followers to rate them “halal”, “haram” or “kinky terrorism”.
Outwith the battlefield, pro-Zionist social posts are a world away from the rubble. Glossy, confident celebrities tearfully declare themselves home in front of the camera. Yoga prayers for hostages by the water, surrounded by expensive yachts and a bustling city.
And, of course, the now infamous videos of Israeli citizens dancing and joking that they have water while their neighbours do not. From Israel, too, there are videos of resistance to the actions of the government. From Gaza, I see only struggle and death. Dead children. Dead men and women. Dead journalists. Some from bombs. Some from what increasingly appear to be executions. And soon, many, many more from sickness and starvation.
From the occupier, curated spaces and displays of cruel power. From the occupied, pictures of a society on the edge of collapse. This is not a war. Nobody who looks at the material circumstances of Israel and Palestine side-by-side could come to the conclusion that it was.
The reticence from the British political elite to speak out against these atrocities is infuriating when there is such a clear injustice being perpetrated. We’re watching the West make the same mistakes as they have in the past, from previous interventions in the Middle East back to the beginning of its own bloody imperialism.
“Never Again” means nothing at all if it does not extend beyond protecting the West’s own interests and allies. How can it have forgotten the lessons of past conflicts so easily?
READ MORE: Netanyahu 'will not compromise on full Israeli control' over Gaza
We don’t need to go all the way back to Wilfred Owen in 1920 to find a lesson on the nature of modern warfare and the West’s role in global conflicts. When Owen wrote Dulce et Decorum est, it was based on his direct experience of the First World War – trench warfare; mustard gas; no man’s land.
In contrast, Gregory Burke’s Black Watch portrays the eponymous Scots regiment in Iraq in 2004, where their armaments and equipment so totally eclipsed the capabilities of their targets that it becomes a recurring theme of the play.
In one scene, as the soldiers idly watch a four-hour air strike on fleeing Iraqis, one comments: “This isnae fucking fighting. This is just plain old-fashioned bullying like.”
“It’s good to be the bully,” replies another.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel