Settler colonialism refers to the process whereby a group of people from one society move into and establish themselves in a territory that is already inhabited by another society, and then use various means to subjugate and/or eliminate the indigenous population. This process is characterized by a desire to make the colony a new homeland rather than simply exploiting it for resources or labor, and often involves the use of violence to take over land and resources, and the imposition of the colonizers' culture and way of life on the indigenous population (Wolfe, 2006). The legacy of settler colonialism is still felt by Indigenous peoples today, with the effects of colonization and ongoing struggles for land rights and self-determination being major issues faced by Indigenous communities worldwide (Tuck & Yang, 2012). For example, in Australia, settler colonialism resulted in the displacement and dispossession of Indigenous peoples from their land, and ongoing struggles for recognition and rights (Moreton-Robinson, 2015). Similarly, in North America, the impact of settler colonialism is still felt by Indigenous communities who continue to experience the effects of forced assimilation and the dispossession of land (Simpson, 2014). The process of settler colonialism has been implemented through various means throughout history, including military force, legal and bureaucratic means, economic exploitation, cultural assimilation, and even biological warfare (Wolfe, 2006).
Military force involves using violence and terror to intimidate and control the indigenous population. For Palestinians, The Israeli military regularly carries out raids and incursions into Palestinian cities, towns, and refugee camps, often using excessive force against civilians and carrying out extrajudicial killings (Human Rights Watch, 2021). The Israeli government also maintains a system of checkpoints and barriers throughout the West Bank, which restricts the movement of Palestinians and imposes a significant burden on their daily lives (UN OCHA, 2021). Legal and bureaucratic means dispossess indigenous populations of their land and resources and restrict their rights and freedoms. An example of legal and bureaucratic means used to dispossess Indigenous populations of their land and resources in Palestine is the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israeli settlements are established on Palestinian land, often through the confiscation of private Palestinian property, and are protected by Israeli military forces (Al-Haq, 2020). These settlements have been built in violation of international law, which prohibits the transfer of an occupying power's population into occupied territory (UN General Assembly, 1977). In addition to the establishment of settlements, Israeli authorities use legal and bureaucratic means to restrict Palestinian access to land and resources. One such means is the Israeli government's use of administrative detention, which allows for the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable periods of up to six months (Addameer, 2021). This practice is often used to target Palestinian landowners and activists who resist Israeli land confiscation and settlement expansion.
According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), "Palestine's economy would be twice as large today if it were not for the Israeli occupation" (UNCTAD, 2018). The report also notes that "the losses associated with the Israeli settlements in the West Bank are estimated at $2.5 billion annually" (UNCTAD, 2018). Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented numerous cases of economic exploitation and human rights abuses against Palestinian workers and businesses (Amnesty International, 2020; Human Rights Watch, 2021). These abuses include forced labor, wage theft, and discriminatory employment practices. Cultural assimilation is a process through which the colonizers' culture, values, and way of life are imposed on the indigenous population. In the case of Palestine, Israeli policies and practices have been criticized for imposing Israeli culture and values on the Palestinian population.
One example of cultural assimilation can be seen in Israeli policies towards education in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel has imposed its own educational system on Palestinian schools, which has led to the erasure of Palestinian culture and history from the curriculum. Palestinian children are taught Hebrew as a second language, and textbooks often present a distorted view of Palestinian history and culture. This process of cultural assimilation has been widely criticized by human rights organizations and Palestinian educators (Al-Haq, 2015). Furthermore, Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank has led to the destruction of Palestinian cultural heritage sites and the appropriation of Palestinian cultural symbols and artifacts. This has been seen as an attempt to erase Palestinian identity and culture from the landscape and to impose Israeli culture on the region (Al-Haq, 2017).
References:
Addameer. (2021). Administrative detention in the occupied Palestinian territory: A Legal Analysis Report.
Al-Haq. (2015). Israeli interference in Palestinian Education.
Al-Haq. (2017). Cultural Rights in East Jerusalem: Policies of Denial and Erasure.
Al-Haq. (2020). Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank: A Legal Analysis.
Amnesty International. (2020). Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories 2020.
Human Rights Watch. (2021). A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution.
Moreton-Robinson, A. (2015). The White Possessive: Property, Power, and Indigenous Sovereignty. University of Minnesota Press.
Simpson, L. B. (2014). Land as pedagogy: Nishnaabeg intelligence and rebellious transformation. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 3(3), 1-25.
Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2012). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1), 1-40.
UNCTAD. (2018). Economic cost of the Israeli occupation for the Palestinian people: The Unrealized Oil and Natural Gas Potential.
UN General Assembly. (1977). Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I).
UN OCHA. (2021). Fragmented Lives: Humanitarian Overview 2020.
Wolfe, P. (2006). Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native. Journal of Genocide Research, 8(4), 387-409.