Israeli invasion 'typical of European colonialism’: Middle East Monitor head

By Gulcin Kazan Doger

ISTANBUL (AA) - The head of the London-based press monitoring organization, Middle East Monitor, likened Israel's ongoing occupation of Palestine to European colonialism in an interview with Anadolu on Friday.

"Israel and its allies are fighting against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. This is this is the reality. This is, you know, typical of European colonization," said Daud Abdullah.

"Wherever Europeans went, in the Americas, in Australia, and in Africa, this is how they behaved. They grabbed the land, took as much land as possible and exterminated peoples who resisted. This is typical European colonization, land grabbing and ethnic cleansing," he added.

Abdullah, who is the former Deputy Secretary General of the British Muslim Council, said Israel has been carrying out intense bombardment on Gaza for months with the claim of "ending Hamas."

"You can't defeat an ideology. If your land is occupied, then you are entitled to the right of resistance," he said.

"I think the Israeli aim is quite clear. Israel wants to have an exclusive Jewish state without Palestinians or without Arabs," he said.

"What they are trying to do now is to create what they call a buffer zone, an area which has no Palestinian communities -- in Jabalia and Beit Hanoun," he said, adding that the Israeli administration thinks that territories rid of Palestinians "wouldn't pose a threat."

Explaining that Israel wants to deport Palestinians currently living under blockade in Gaza to Egypt, Abdullah said: "I think Israel's aim is quite clear. Israel wants to be a special Jewish state where there are no Palestinians or Arabs. It wants to reduce the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip."

- "The process of expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland has been continuing since 1948"

Abdullah pointed out that the Jewish population in Palestine was 56,000 in 1917, when the Balfour Declaration, which resulted in Israel's declaration of independence, was announced.

"When we got to the partition, the number was 665,000," he said, indicating a more than tenfold increase in the number of Jews living in Palestine.

"It was because Britain was the mandatory in Palestine at the time, meaning Britain was the chief administrator. But it should be underscored that being an administrator does not mean you are the owner. Sovereignty was never transferred to Britain," said Abdullah.

He pointed out that while the Jewish population in Palestine was increasing with the support of the UK, Palestinian Arabs were deported from their homeland and noted the number of Palestinians displaced in 1948, when Israel declared its independence, was more than 750,000.

Pointing out that the process of expelling Palestinians from their homeland continues, Abdullah said: "Palestine had its own institutions before 1948; its court system, legal system, postal services, developed agriculture, cultural institutions, theaters, libraries -- all of these were taken away from them -- those that existed before 1948. The occupiers took away these properties, the factories, the shops, the farms, the libraries. This is a disaster, the ongoing destruction of a society, the disintegration of its people, and unfortunately it still continues."

Abdullah blasted Western countries for their support of what he called European colonialism imposed on Palestinians by Israel.

"Western governments such as the United Kingdom and the United States lined up to support this aggression and supported it as much as they could. If you remember, on the first day of the war, on Oct. 7, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu asked for help from the US," he said.

"Americans have been transferring arms to Israel every day since then. The British sent reconnaissance planes, the Canadians sent special forces. All these countries are part of it," Abdullah added, emphasizing that not only Israel but its allies are actively engaged in the fight against Palestinians.