COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates Israeli apartheid
A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members. But what if they were never considered members in the first place? According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, Palestinian citizens of Israel make up roughly 22 percent of the population. Although legally, subject to different regimes, this population along with the 5 Million that live in the West Bank and Gaza are under occupation and perpetual siege. Israeli Jews, whether inside illegal settlements or in 67 Israel, have all the rights and protections that come with being citizens of a state specifically designed to favor them over the indigenous population. The Palestinians, regardless of citizenship status, face the ire of the state. It is precisely in this situation that Covid-19 enters the Holy Land with the potential to wreak havoc amongst a vulnerable population.
Palestinians live in some of the world’s most crowded cities and refugee camps. As recently as March 27th, as the Covid-19 pandemic spread into the Middle East, Israel underscored its policy of apartheid by declaring that “there would be no more testing for its Arab citizens...” By refusing to test the Palestinian citizens even though they make up the majority of Israel’s poor is not a sign of equality but that of apartheid. There is historic marginalization of Israel’s Palestinians citizens as the majority of Israel’s cities are predominantly Arab. Lack of economic opportunities, rampant land theft and displacement, and ongoing racist rhetoric from the government all create the perfect situation for the spread of a disease that can be deadly against immunocompromised individuals, indeed, Palestinians are already considered an “at-risk population” as many suffer from chronic illnesses.
It is important to note that Gaza and the West Bank’s healthcare system are in shambles after years of conflict and lack of funding. The West Bank’s only ambulance was recently confiscated by the Israeli occupation forces. Why? Because a population that can save itself is a threat to a government that needs to ensure population decline in order to gain the advantage to win the demographic game; a game of who outnumbers who in order to claim the majority.
From a policy perspective, this disease can play a vital role in population control along with a convenient excuse to perpetuate an ongoing ethnic cleansing of sensitive areas like Jerusalem that is now trending on an Israeli majority. Scare-tactics along with strict quarantine orders keep the Palestinians inside their homes but the same requirements are not observed by the Jewish population. Inside the West Bank, the United Nations has reported that settler attacks on Palestinians have increased by 78 percent during this stay-at-home period.
According to the 2019 Human Rights Watch World Report, Israel demolished over 500 Palestinian homes while approving the construction of over 5,500 Jewish only homes in the West Bank. To a state that views the Palestinians as a “demographic time-bomb,” this virus poses an opportunity to conveniently relocate them under the guise of healthcare security while increasing the amount of settler expansion. It is in this backdrop that we must be vigilant and keep watch against an entity that has historically seized every opportunity to displace the indigenous population. This virus is just another opportunity for the expansionist state to take advantage of.
Haaretz has reported that “Arab communities are likely to become epicenters of the virus.” This virus will show the world exactly what it has tried to hide; that there are certain people that will be affected at a higher rate simply because of who they are and what they look like. Covid-19 will teach us that these states had a strong hand in corralling certain populations together and keeping them in subpar living situations. It is our most vulnerable populations, those that are the victims of state sanctioned racism, disproportionately incarcerated, and murdered that will be the real victims of this virus.
