This is extremely on point, and its very short, READ this. If you think any discourse on colonialism is too abstract to be applied to our modern day reality, think again because it doesnt take a fancy degree to appreciate (and internalize) an understanding of how these relationships dictate who lives and who dies. The civilian status of the Palestinian men seems never quite as certain, as the category of “unknown role” suggests. There is no comparable uncertainty about the Israelis who were killed: the civilians do not require demographic specification, and there is no grey zone between civilian and combatant. While the civilian is a term of international law, there is also a rich history of denying non-European populations civilian status. This undermining of civilianhood is a cousin of the more often noted refusal of European and North American militaries to regard their adversaries as legitimate combatants. The rise of the figure of the “unprivileged belligerent” or “unlawful combatant” that I have charted elsewhere is accompanied by a corresponding rise of the figure of the illegitimate, non-innocent, suspicious civilian.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 16:09:06 +0000
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