Fanon’s insights on colonialism, oppression, and the division between colonizers and the colonized resonate profoundly when examining the complex and enduring struggle in Palestine. His writings shed light on the intricacies of a struggle where a colonial dividing line has been etched deep into the landscape and consciousness of the region. In exploring Fanon’s perspective on the colonial experience, and applying it to the Palestinian context, we gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics that have shaped the Israeli-Palestinian colonial entanglement.
From the physical barriers of walls, checkpoints and daily violence to the social, cultural, and psychological divides, Fanon’s framework provides valuable insights into the ongoing struggle for justice, freedom, right of return, sovereignty, and peace in Palestine. This exploration seeks to illuminate the multifaceted layers of the conflict through the lens of Fanon’s astute analysis, highlighting the enduring relevance of his work in understanding the complexities of colonialism and its lasting impact on societies around the world, including Palestine.
Palestine’s geographical world is a colonized one divided in two; the colonized are the indigenous Palestinians and the colonizers are the Zionists and all their Western allies. In this geography and per Fanon’s framing, “the dividing line, the border, is represented by the” military barracks, bases, concrete walls, and the sniper stations. Thus, in the Palestinian colonial experience, everything revolves around the “power” of the Israeli (colonial) Defense Force, settlements and settlers, and persistent structured violence.
“The colonial world is a world divided into compartments,” nowhere more palpable than in Palestine. Here, the division is stark and painfully evident, with Israeli settlements carving up the West Bank, encircling the Gaza Strip, and creating isolated geographical enclaves, effectively segregating Palestinian communities and imposing an apartheid system. Even the West Bank has been carved up into colonized compartments and disconnected cantons. Palestinians are confined to fragmented geographical territories, mirroring the physical separation experienced by every Palestinian family, and freedom of movement is severely restricted by checkpoints, walls, and fences. This division, driven by an occupying force, mirrors Fanon’s observation of colonialism’s tendency to compartmentalize and separate, creating a stark divide between the colonizers and the colonized. In Palestine, the struggle for justice and self-determination continues as Palestinians seek to break free from the compartments imposed upon them and build a future founded on justice, dignity, and freedom.
Fanon speaks of the distinctive nature of the colonists and colonized sectors and how distinctively and diametrically are different in every facet. Israeli areas are built-up, and well-developed, with green lawns, lush parks, swimming pools, plenty of water, paved roads, large shopping centers, and every conceivable amenity at hand. “The colonist’s sector is a sector built to last, all stone and steel.” In the Palestinian context, this phrase takes on a profound meaning. The Israeli settlements in the West Bank and outside the walls of Gaza are fortified with walls and fences, constructed with unyielding stone and steel with constant technology to detect the colonized intruders. These imposing structures not only divide communities but also serve as a physical embodiment of the power imbalance in the region. The settlements symbolize an unyielding colonization that shows no signs of relenting.
“It’s a sector of lights and paved roads, where the trash cans constantly overflow with strange and wonderful garbage, undreamed-of leftovers.” In stark contrast to the impoverished and beleaguered Palestinian communities and refugee camps, Israeli settlements enjoy access to modern amenities. They are illuminated with streetlights and adorned with well-paved roads, while Palestinian neighborhoods often experience power shortages, if and when they are permitted to have fuel to run the only power station, and deteriorating and often bombed infrastructure. The “trash cans constantly overflowing with strange and wonderful garbage” is a metaphor for the excess and opulence paid for and supported by Western powers that characterize the colonist’s sector, in stark contrast to the structured deprivation faced by the colonized Palestinians.
“The colonist’s feet can never be glimpsed, except perhaps in the sea, but then you never get close enough.” The Israeli settlers, who occupy Palestinian land, often remain distant and insulated from the harsh realities faced by the Palestinian population. They enjoy a level of security and comfort that is elusive to their Palestinian neighbors. This divide is particularly evident in Gaza and made worse by a 17-years-old siege, where Palestinians endure a blockade that restricts their movement and access to medical care and most necessities.
“They are protected by solid shoes in a sector where the streets are clean and smooth, without a pothole, without a stone.” The Israeli and settlements sector enjoys the privilege of smooth and well-maintained streets, a stark contrast to the dilapidated infrastructure in Palestinian areas. This contrast reflects the structural inequalities and disparities in resources that are inherent in the occupation and the unlimited financial and logistical support extended by the West to Israel.
In the context of Palestine, Fanon’s words resonate with a haunting familiarity. The native quarters, the refugee camps, and the besieged Gaza Strip are inhabited by people whose lives are marked by dispossession, despair, erasure, and an unmourned death. In Palestine, you are born into a reality where your very existence is contested, where your home can be demolished, and your future is uncertain.
Palestinians die anywhere and from anything, whether it be the consequences of occupation, the lack of basic necessities, the lack of medicine, or the relentless settlers and the IDF violence that disrupts their daily life. The cramped living conditions, the overcrowded refugee camps, and the constant threat of displacement, paint a picture of a world with no space and a life just waiting and expecting certain death, sometimes arriving quickly but more often it is a slow one. The hunger for basic essentials like food, water, shelter, and electricity is a daily struggle that snuffs joy at every moment. The Palestinian experience is one of perpetual subjugation, where people are forced to crouch, cower, and remain on their knees in the face of oppressive Israeli policies and non-stop colonial violence, rendering them collectively imprisoned but not defeated.
In Palestine, the colonial occupation is marked by the visible, often militarized, divisions between Israeli settlements and Palestinian territories, enforced by a pervasive system of checkpoints, walls, electronic surveillance, and heavily fortified military outposts. The Israeli police and the military play a significant role as the enforcers of this division, serving as instruments of control and oppression. They act as intermediaries between the settlers and the indigenous Palestinian population, reinforcing the power dynamics of colonial occupation. This observation underscores the central role of security forces in perpetuating colonial rule, maintaining a palpable sense of separation, and suppressing the aspirations of Palestinians for self-determination and justice.
Fanon’s words offer a poignant lens through which to view the Palestinian experience, where the colonized subject’s gaze is indeed marked by a complex array of emotions. It’s a gaze colored by the profound sense of injustice and longing for what has been forcibly taken away. Palestinians, living under the shadow of occupation, often look at the colonist’s sector with a mix of envy and resentment. This envy isn’t merely a coveting of material possessions but a deep yearning for the freedoms and rights that have been denied to them. It’s a desire to sit at the table of self-determination, to sleep soundly in the bed of sovereignty, and to shape their own destiny, preferably without foreign interference. The colonized Palestinian is, in essence, an aggrieved figure, pained by the privilege and control over his land, villages, and fig and olive trees that an external colonial power-Zionist settler colonialism has usurped.
The colonist, in turn, is acutely aware of this aggrieved gaze. They understand that the Palestinians, despite the harsh conditions imposed upon them, continue to nurture dreams of repossessing their homeland, the villages, the olive groves, and regaining control over their shattered lives. This realization fosters a sense of unease, defensiveness, and sadistic violence among the colonists, who often interpret this longing as a threat to their position of dominance. They may even perceive it as an intention to “take their place” in a broader sense, not just in terms of property or material wealth, but in the quest for self-determination and justice. Indeed, it is a daily reality for every colonized Palestinian to harbor dreams of reclaiming their rightful place, a place that has been occupied, fragmented, and marginalized for far too long. Palestinians’ dreams are filled with lemon, apricot, fig, and olive trees with water springs criss-crossing the fields. The colonized Palestinian never stops dreaming, for it is what makes every morning possible despite the darkness of Zionist colonization. It’s a testament to the resilience and determination of a people who refuse to surrender their hopes, even in the face of daunting odds, persistent adversity, and a Western World that intends to clean its historical racist, anti-semitic, and Islamophobic records by funding and authorizing the shattering of Palestinian bodies.
In this divided reality, the stark contrast between the lives of Israelis and Palestinians is impossible to ignore. Economic disparities, inequality in access to resources, and vast differences in lifestyles persist, laying bare the undeniable human reality of the situation. The colonial context in Palestine underscores the harsh reality that what primarily divides this world is not just economic inequality but, above all, the categorization of individuals based on their species or race. Palestinians are subjected to a system of discrimination that hinges on their race and religion, relegating them to second-class status or more accurately sub-human status when compared to the human value assigned to Europeans and perpetuating a deeply unjust and unequal environment. Palestinians are a people who must accept to be sacrificed and Palestine serves as the biblical canvas to make possible the actualization of a hoped-for second coming that affirms Western exceptionalism, and racial and evolutionary superiority.
Fanon’s quote, “Confronted with the world ruled by the settler, the native is always presumed guilty,” resonates profoundly when examining the situation in Palestine. The Palestinian people have endured decades of occupation, displacement, and discrimination by the Israeli colonial settler state. In this context, the quote encapsulates the systematic biases and injustices that have become deeply ingrained in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians are often presumed guilty merely for asserting their rights, defending their land, and seeking justice. The international community’s failure to hold the Israeli government accountable for human rights violations further exacerbates this presumption of guilt, perpetuating a cycle of injustice that continues to afflict the Palestinian population. Fanon’s words remind us of the urgent need to challenge these presumptions and work towards a more equitable and just resolution in Palestine.
Fanon’s text, originally written in the Algerian context and during the French colonial rule, serves as a powerful lens through which we can analyze the ongoing conflict in Palestine. It highlights the enduring legacy of colonialism, the stark inequalities it creates, and the urgent need for a just resolution that recognizes and centers the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people. Until such a resolution is achieved, the colonist’s sector will remain a symbol of oppression, and the colonized will continue to strive for justice and liberation.