Sadism has long characterised Zionist colonists' treatment of Palestinians, rooted in orientalist views that Arabs only 'understand force' - including sexual violence
Israeli rioters break into the Beit Lid military base holding signs that read ‘The hero soldiers should be released’, following the arrest of soldiers accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee on 29 July
Joseph Massad writes in Mondoweiss12 August 2024
The Israeli sexual torture scandal, whereby nine soldiers were arrested on 29 July for allegedly physically and sexually torturing Palestinian men, was depicted in western media as a deviation from Israel’s usual torture methods.
The idea is that Israeli torturers of Palestinian prisoners do not usually subject them to rape.
Four of the arrested soldiers were later released following widespread riots.
The US State Department, presumably appalled by such torture, described a video reportedly showing the alleged rape as “horrific” and insisted that “[t]here ought to be zero tolerance for sexual abuse, rape of any detainee, period… If there are detainees who have been sexually assaulted or raped, the government of Israel, the IDF [Israeli army] need to fully investigate those actions and hold anyone responsible accountable to the full extent of the law”.
The White House, also presumably a stranger to the practice of abusing political prisoners held in US dungeons, remained calm but found reports of Israeli sexual torture “deeply concerning”.
The European Union followed suit and claimed to be “gravely concerned”.
But this is hardly a new development in the cruelty of the Israeli colonial-settler regime. The Israeli army has been systematically using physical and sexual torture against Palestinians since at least 1967, as human rights groups revealed years ago.
Indeed, sadism has been characteristic of the Zionist colonists’ treatment of Palestinians since the 1880s, as even Zionist leaders complained at the time.
This sadism and the sexual torture that often accompanies it are rooted not only in European colonial hubris but also in orientalist views that Arabs only “understand force” and are allegedly more susceptible to sexual torture than white Europeans.
Ordinary practice
The Israeli army’s arrest of the errant soldiers who allegedly gang-raped the Palestinian prisoner has precipitated outrage among right-wing Israelis, who make up a majority of the electorate.
Israel has been following a policy of systematic prisoner abuse and torture since last October
Dozens of protesters, along with members of the Israeli Knesset, attempted to storm two military facilities and a judicial building where the soldiers were being held with the intention of liberating them.
Several Israeli government ministers have also defended the rape of Palestinian prisoners as “legitimate”.
On Israeli morning TV, presenters and analysts discussed how to best arrange the rape of Palestinian prisoners, criticising only the “disorganised” manner in which it was conducted.
While such discussions may seem ordinary in Israel, western observers have feigned shock.
This reaction comes even though the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem reported that Israel has been following a policy of systematic prisoner abuse and torture since last October, subjecting Palestinian detainees to acts of violence – including sexual abuse.
One of the alleged Israeli rapists was invited, masked, on to Israeli TV Channel 14 to defend the rapes. He later posted a video on social media unmasking himself, expressing pride in his unit and its treatment of Palestinians.
Meanwhile, Israeli TV coverage has been calling for the head of whoever leaked the video of the rape to human rights groups, labelling them a “traitor” to Israel.
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