After the Israelization Failure, the Occupation is Preparing for the Military Option

The Israeli occupation authorities are preparing to deal with the Palestinians inside the occupied interior in 1948 militarily, after failed attempts to integrate them into Zionist society decades ago in what is known as the "Israelization."

The failure of the occupation's efforts to change the identity of Palestinians inside was evident in May 2021, when those occupied cities rose up in the Uprising of Dignity (Intifada-t al-Karama) in conjunction with the aggression against Gaza.

These demonstrations were the most prominent factors in resolving the battle for the Sword of Jerusalem between the occupation and the resistance factions in Gaza after a new front was opened to "Tel Aviv."

 

Military Exercises

The occupation forces launched military exercises in the name of Chariots of Fire and devoted a large part of them to training to confront Palestinians entering a possible war to come, part of which was held in Greek Cyprus, one in the Red Sea, and the Israeli occupation.

The exercises began on May 9, for a month, with the aim of simulating multi-front and arm combat scenarios, by air, sea, land, and cyberwars.

As part of the exercises, the occupation carried out plans to isolate the main streets in favor of using its army to move freely, in anticipation of insurrection and protests by Palestinians inside that would block roads that hindered the army's movement.

A senior occupation army official, who was not named, told the Israeli occupation's Channel 12 (Keshet 12) that the army was training eight battalions consisting of two brigades from the Home Front Command to provide smooth movement to the army in areas of Arab presence in cooperation with the police.

"After Operation Fence Keeper [Battle of Saif al-Quds in May 2021], we expanded our capabilities to respond to the most points through forwarding command rooms and we are increasing the ability to control this," he said.

The Israeli occupation is providing its forces with live ammunition to suppress demonstrations that may start from Arab villages and cities to the main streets from which the army will pass to protest the aggression against Gaza, for example, the official said.

The Israeli occupation police joined an exercise to confront Palestinians inside, together with the army, in partnership with 42 municipalities and major factories, according to the Israeli occupation's Channel 12.

Said Basharat, an Expert on Israeli Affairs, said that the occupation's allocation of this space of maneuver to confront Palestinians inside is unprecedented in its history, as well as the magnitude of the incitement against them, the largest since the Nakba in 1948.

He added in an interview with Al-Estiklal that the Israeli occupation is carrying out these exercises as an extraction of the crossing from the recent war, and the active participation of Palestinians inside.

The occupation, therefore, realized that they were a time bomb equipped to explode in any confrontation, and began with these exercises to prepare for that scenario.

Basharat explained that the Israeli occupation tried to break up the internal society by spreading crime and weapons in it, but the magic turned on the magician and was directed toward the settlers in Lod and the Negev during the donation of 2021, so the occupation is preparing for such an order.

 

A Second Nakba?

At the same time, the occupation forces are conducting military exercises to deal with Palestinians inside, calls are being made by Knesset members (The Israeli Parliament) and leaders of Zionist parties to cause a second catastrophe in Arab cities to "suppress the national awakening."

Retired general and Likud member Yoav Galant made clearer the military's intentions toward Palestinians inside when he told them, "Don't forget what happened 74 years ago."

In contrast to this incitement, Palestinians inside continue to organize national events in their towns in conjunction with the anniversary of the Nakba, which takes place in May each year.

The most prominent was the march of Palestinian flags, inside Ben Gurion University, an event that ignited the Israeli street and moved to the Knesset.

Palestinians from the occupied interior also staged a march in the occupied city of Umm al-Fahm in memory of The Uprising of Dignity, which included chants by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

Saleh Lotfi, a specialist in the affairs of the occupied interior, said that after the Uprising of Dignity, the Israeli institution studied events on several levels to prevent them from happening again, and concluded that more force and abuse were the only way to deal with it.

Therefore, it enacted several laws covering these events, in their entirety, strengthening and deepening the presence of the Israeli Public Security Service (ISA) among Arabs in towns and villages and forming a group of rapidly intervening teams as well as army intervention.

"The army conducted a series of exercises in the Wadi Ara area and the operation went to Umm al-Fahm, as described by Israeli parties as a center of events that could blow up the Palestinian interior," he said.

Lotfi stressed that Israeli security forces tracked down those who participated in the Uprising of Dignity, and arrested and interrogated thousands of young people in what was known as the largest investigation in the Israeli occupation's history.

Hundreds of them have also been legally prosecuted and many Palestinians remain trapped between courts and prisons.

"Through its various police arms and border guards, the Israeli police have reinforced their permanent presence in Palestinian towns and villages, and have begun planting hundreds of cameras in central streets and public places," he said.

It has also established many police stations at home, and the policy of intensive police presence aims to instill fear in people in general and emerging in particular.

 

Identity War

The researcher explained that the Israeli occupation tried through its educational arm and community tools in the Arab local authorities to influence the mental system of young people and students through community events aimed at ending the meaning of the Israeli eternal presence and their historical right in Palestine.

The specialist talked about the occupation's attempts to dismantle the youth community through a range of tools and means such as moral decomposition, especially the cultivation of sexual freedom, gender, and homosexuality.

As well as the dumping of drugs, the dissemination of nudity and the collective night gatherings of boys and girls in special places prepared for these affairs, usually under the eyes of Israeli security and police institutions, grooming and engaging young men and girls in various security services.

The occupation continues with punitive measures against Palestinians inside as well as combating any national manifestation.

On June 1, in a preliminary reading, the Knesset General Assembly approved a bill prohibiting the raising of the Palestinian flag in government-funded institutions, including universities, with the support of 63 Knesset members and 16 opposition members.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and right-wing members of the Israeli government coalition voted in favor of the resolution.