Former B'Tselem Director: 'Deir Yassin' Mentality Drives Israeli Crimes to Displace Palestinians

Hagai El-Ad, former Executive Director of the human rights organization B'Tselem, affirmed that the massacres and military operations witnessed in the occupied West Bank are not random, but rather follow a clear strategy aimed at intimidating and displacing Palestinians. El-Ad explained that this policy is encapsulated by the 'Deir Yassin' mentality, which seeks to transform the entire country to be under the sole control of Jews by eliminating the Palestinian presence.

El-Ad believes that the Zionist project has achieved a near-complete victory militarily, politically, and economically, in addition to absolute control over natural resources and water. However, the demographic factor remains the only challenge that has not yet been decided in Israel's favor, as Palestinians still constitute half of the population between the river and the sea.

The Israeli human rights advocate pointed out that the outcomes of 1967 did not replicate the Nakba of 1948 in terms of the scale of displacement, leading to a state of 'numerical parity' that causes deep concern within the Israeli establishment. This numerical equality, despite the absence of equality in rights and power, places Israel in a structural dilemma that its leaders try to solve through tools of force and legislation.

El-Ad considered that the policies of the government, army, and courts revolve around bridging this demographic gap, either by recognizing the binational reality or resorting to ethnic cleansing. Since the first option is rejected by Zionists, the trend towards 'transfer' remains the dream that the occupation seeks to achieve to get rid of the burden of the apartheid system.

El-Ad recalled historical statements by David Ben-Gurion from 1949, where the latter linked the establishment of a Jewish state in the entire country with the necessity of carrying out massacres similar to Deir Yassin. According to Ben-Gurion, controlling the land without displacing Arabs would leave the state at the mercy of a non-Jewish majority, which Zionist ideology rejects.

Analysis concludes that Israel's borders were never merely a military matter, but rather demographic borders drawn by the extent to which forced displacement operations could be carried out. In 1948, Israel succeeded in creating a majority within the Green Line, but it failed to fully replicate that after the 1967 war.

El-Ad warned that Israel is currently escaping forward by escalating regional confrontations with Iran and Lebanon, but these wars will not address the fundamental crisis of the Palestinian presence. He stressed that diplomatic paths such as the 'Abraham Accords' will not change the demographic balance on the ground, because Palestinians are steadfast in their homeland.

Human rights sources warned that major wars are often exploited as an opportunity to pass 'postponed' displacement plans during times of relative peace. What is happening today in Gaza and the West Bank revives the 'Deir Yassin' option, which has never been removed from the Israeli decision-making table for many decades.

Regarding Area C in the West Bank, El-Ad explained that the violence practiced there aims to push residents towards gradual ethnic cleansing by destroying livelihoods. This logic also explains the bulldozing of camps and the uprooting of tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes under flimsy security pretexts.

El-Ad described what is currently happening as 'internal cleansing,' where Palestinians are gathered in narrow, overcrowded enclaves while Israeli control over open lands expands. The Israeli gamble relies on making the lives of these residents impossible, so that they become more susceptible to final displacement when suitable political conditions arise.

Analysis confirmed that the issue is essentially about how to manage an unresolved demographic dilemma, where Israeli policy oscillates between an apartheid system and the option of forced displacement. The more military pressure increases, the more international sensitivities towards cold-blooded ethnic cleansing crimes fade.

El-Ad concluded that 'Deir Yassin' is not just a historical memory, but a reality that Palestinians live daily under continuous uprooting policies. It is the narrative that Israel tries to deny while actively practicing it in every neighborhood and alley, attempting to erase the fact that this land is home to another people.

The former B'Tselem director emphasized that understanding the extent of violence and bloodshed perpetrated by the 'founding fathers' is essential to understanding what the current generation of Israeli leaders is committing. The ultimate goal remains constant: to bequeath to their children a country free of Palestinians by generalizing the 'Deir Yassin' model everywhere.

In concluding his reading, El-Ad indicated that international silence towards the apartheid system encourages Israel to move to the more dangerous stage of comprehensive displacement. Palestinian steadfastness on the land is the only obstacle preventing the completion of the Zionist project as planned by Ben-Gurion more than seven decades ago.

Establishing a Jewish state in the existing reality, throughout the country without Deir Yassin, is not possible if it is democratic, because the number of Arabs exceeds the number of Jews.