A-Infos (en) Canada, Collectif Emma Goldman - Gaza: When Humanity is Denied (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

"Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto" (I am human, and nothing 
human is alien to me.) - Terence ---- The current ceasefire offers a 
brief respite for the population of Gaza, but unfortunately does not 
herald either the end of the war or a resolution of the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, whose roots lie in the Nakba of 1948. The 
real issue, beyond the clashes, lies in a disturbing dehumanization of 
the "other." ---- The driving force of dehumanization ---- The most 
alarming example is the perception of Gazan civilians. According to a 
poll by the Achord Center, 62% of the Israeli population surveyed 
believed "that there are no innocents in Gaza." (1)

Believing that there are no innocent people in a population of 2.3 
million people, half of whom are under 19, does not suggest a peaceful 
resolution to this conflict anytime soon. Denying innocence amounts to 
nullifying the humanity of an entire people. This is the very essence of 
the genocidal engine: reducing "the other" to a uniform bloc to justify 
the unjustifiable. And because of the West's post-World War II guilt, 
its support, non-intervention, or passivity toward the current 
government in Tel Aviv has allowed a new genocide to be committed in Gaza.

In Quebec, although less virulent than in France, the debate is also 
polarized. The two main nationalist parties (the CAQ and the PQ) were 
more shocked by the street prayers offered by pro-Gaza protesters than 
by the massacre that has been going on for years. Media outlets like 
Radio X, for their part, call out to their audiences every time a 
pro-Gaza demonstration takes place and a union logo is visible: "Are you 
a CSN union member and disapprove of your union leaders' public support 
for Hamas in the streets of Montreal? Demonstrate![...]You're paying for 
a union that supports "From the River to the Sea"! You should know!" 
It's convenient; they can kill two birds with one stone by pushing both 
their Islamophobic and anti-union agendas. This obviously suits Labor 
Minister Jean Boulet, who is trying to sell a new reform of the union 
system.

Gaza before October 7, 2023: The "Open-Air Prison"

The Gaza Strip. This overcrowded enclave, often nicknamed an "open-air 
prison," was already a permanent humanitarian crisis zone before the 
tragic events of October 2023.

Gaza's history is one of uprooting: nearly 80% of its population are 
refugees or descendants of refugees from the 1948 Nakba. This heavy 
legacy has transformed this small territory into one of the largest 
refugee camps in the world, creating a precarious reality.

Since 2007, despite the withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlements in 
2005, Israel has imposed a complete land, air, and sea blockade. This 
strict control of all entry and exit has kept the enclave under constant 
economic and humanitarian pressure. For half of the population, those 
under 19, life has been nothing but a state of siege.

"Since tap water is undrinkable due to the lack of a treatment 
plant,[...]local entrepreneurs have taken it upon themselves to process 
these plastic bottles in metal tanks to distill the petroleum they 
contain. The result is a fuel made in Gaza with toxic fumes that costs 
half the market price." (Lavallée, p. 117)

The Economy and Dependence

Despite this blockade, some Gazans ironically depended on working in 
Israel, an Israeli policy aimed at "narrowing the conflict" (Lavallée p. 
57). Approximately 7,000 people held permits before October 7. These 
permits were a vital source of livelihood, but transformed workers into 
low-cost labor for the Israeli economy, particularly in construction.

These workers described themselves as "robots with a permit" (Lavallée, 
p. 60), often working in precarious conditions, with no security: "We 
don't turn our noses up at a work permit on the other side, even if it 
comes with its share of guilt and the constant feeling of being hunted." 
(Lavallée, p. 55)

Political Context and Military Escalations

After 1967, Israeli policy consisted of tolerating Palestinian religious 
groups without a political program. "It was classic to rely on the 
Islamist card to weaken the socialists." (Lavallée, p. 47).

The expression "mowing the lawn" became the term coined by the Israeli 
media to describe the periodic offensives carried out in Gaza with the 
aim of keeping the Palestinian population under control.(2)
Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to a succession of 
military operations. Prior to the current conflict, at least seven 
invasions or bombings took place, resulting in the deaths of thousands 
of Palestinians and the systematic destruction of essential infrastructure.

Even during periods of calm, Gaza is constantly overflown by drones, day 
and night. The term used for drone in colloquial Arabic, zananah, is 
particularly evocative, as it means both "buzzing" and "headache" 
(Lavallée p. 138). This territory, not recognized as a state but 
perceived as the stronghold of a terrorist movement, has served as a 
veritable laboratory for the development and testing of military 
technologies on human beings (Lavallée p. 135).

While Gaza is often described as an open-air prison, the constant 
presence of drones creates the feeling that the sky itself is closing in 
on its inhabitants (Lavallée, p. 141).

In conclusion, as long as we persist in reducing "the other" to a guilty 
mass or a simple enemy, it will be difficult to see any other way out 
than violence.

(1) 62% of Israelis believe that "there are no innocents in Gaza" (poll) 
- i24NEWS

(2) "The Dahiya Doctrine" or how Israel theorized the disproportionate 
use of force

Source: Guillaume Lavallée, Gaza Before the 7th Siege Notebook, Boréal, 
2024, 240 p.

by Collectif Emma Goldman

http://ucl-saguenay.blogspot.com/2025/10/gaza-quand-lhumanite-est-niee.html
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