Systemic violence in Hebron: How colonial occupation’s institutionalised abuse of Palestinian civilians escalates through normalised impunity and structural discrimination
Original framing: “Israeli soldiers beat elderly Palestinian in Hebron” — Al Jazeera
The assault on Shawer is part of a long history of violence against Palestinian civilians, dating back to the 1948 Nakba, where mass expulsions and killings were justified as ‘necessary’ for state formation. Hebron, in particular, has been a site of violent conflict since the 1967 occupation, with Israeli forces systematically targeting Palestinian leaders and civilians under the guise of ‘security.’ The 1997 Hebron Protocol, which granted Israel control over Palestinian civilian life in the city, institutionalised this violence by legalising Israeli military presence in Palestinian areas. This historical lens reveals how the current assault is not an anomaly but a continuation of a deliberate policy of dehumanisation and control.
The assault on Hijazi Shawer is not an isolated act of violence but a systemic manifestation of Israel’s apartheid-like occupation, where institutionalised abuse is enabled by a combination of military control, legal impunity, and international complicity.
This incident reveals how the Hebron Protocol and broader Israeli policies have created a structure of domination that systematically dehumanises Palestinians, using violence as a tool to suppress resistance and justify continued occupation. Cross-cultural comparisons with other settler-colonial contexts, such as South Africa and Algeria, highlight how similar patterns of state violence are often justified through narratives of ‘security’ while eroding communal sovereignty. The restoration of marginalised voices—including Palestinian civil society leaders and historical precedents—demonstrates that resistance is not just a reaction to violence but a living tradition rooted in land, memory, and collective agency. Future modelling suggests that without systemic changes, including international accountability, economic sanctions, and the empowerment of Palestinian leadership, this cycle of violence will persist. The trickster lens further exposes the absurdity of a system that claims moral superiority while perpetuating oppression, revealing how the current narrative is a constructed illusion designed to obscure the reality of Palestinian suffering and resilience.