Academic Paper: Intensification of the Israeli Destructive Approach in the Palestinian Territories after October 7th: A Theoretical Perspective (Arabic)

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In this paper, Dr. Hani Ramadan Taleb presents the destructive trajectory inherent in the Israeli settler-colonial project in Palestine, from its inception to its intensification following 7/10/2023. The study approaches this trajectory through the lens of Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine” and Gadi Eisenkot’s “Dahiya Doctrine,” in order to illuminate the objectives underpinning Israel’s policies of systematic violence, genocide, and efforts to erase and eliminate the Palestinian people.

The significance of this paper, published by Al-Zaytouna Center for Studies and Consultations, lies in its effort to analyze the Zionist colonial-settler project as one fundamentally rooted in destruction and erasure since its inception. It highlights how this approach intensified after October 7/10/2023, revealing objectives that extend beyond the military dimension to include the reshaping of Palestinian consciousness and the eradication of their material and moral existence. The paper also situates the Palestinian case in a comparative framework with other colonial-settler experiences, thereby underscoring its distinctiveness in the current international context.

In this paper, Taleb examines the model of settler colonialism as a framework for understanding the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized in Palestine. Displacement and extermination constitute central pillars of the Israeli colonial project, manifested through two foundational doctrines that guide Israel’s systematic behavior. The first, often referred to as the “Dahiya Doctrine,” relies on overwhelming force and total destruction as instruments of deterrence. The second, the “Shock Doctrine,” demonstrates how collective trauma is leveraged to reshape public consciousness and politically subjugate populations.

Taleb focuses on the Palestinian arena following 7/10/2023, which experienced an unprecedented escalation of Israeli violence. This escalation included the brutal war and mass extermination in Gaza Strip (GS), described by Israeli leaders as a “second war of independence,” as well as the destruction and displacement of residents from refugee camps in northern West Bank (WB). He argues that these measures are part of a deliberate colonial policy aimed at erasure and annihilation: whether through the physical elimination of Palestinians via killing and forced displacement, the destruction of homes and infrastructure, or the obliteration of national consciousness through shock and intimidation.

As the researcher noted, Israel seeks to reshape Palestinian consciousness through methods of “searing the consciousness,” aimed at convincing Palestinians of the futility of resistance, ultimately producing a new “colonial epistemology” rooted in normalization and economic coexistence at the expense of the national liberation project.

The paper concludes that Israel’s destructive approach following 7/10/2023 is not merely a situational reaction, but a continuation of a systematic settler-colonial policy targeting the erasure of the Palestinian people. The success of this approach in achieving its objectives depends on the Palestinian people’s ability to uphold their national conviction, as well as on the outcomes of the next phase of putting the Palestinian political house in order and restoring unity in the national stance.