The actions of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in its war against innocent Palestinian civilians can be compared to the behaviour of the mafia, especially in their shared disregard for international and humanitarian laws. Both the mafia and the IDF operate with a sense of impunity and use their power to achieve goals regardless of the suffering inflicted on innocent people.
The mafia, at its core, is an organization that thrives on intimidation, collective punishment, and the suppression of dissent to consolidate control. The modus operandi often involves targeting families and communities to send a broader message of dominance and maintain a climate of fear.
Similarly, the IDF's actions, including large-scale bombings, blockades, and the destruction of essential infrastructure, mirror this strategy.
These tactics disproportionately harm civilians, violating the fundamental principles of proportionality and distinction under international humanitarian law. The mafia’s extortion rackets often exploit vulnerable communities by withholding basic needs until compliance is secured.
In the same vein, the IDF’s prolonged siege of Gaza - denying food, water, and medical supplies to millions of Palestinians - demonstrates a calculated effort to impose collective suffering.
This deprivation resembles the mafia’s use of resources as leverage, where the basic survival of the Gaza population becomes a bargaining chip to force submission or achieve strategic goals.
Another parallel lies in the mafia’s contempt for accountability. Powerful mafia figures often operate above the law, protected by corruption or the tacit approval of influential supporters.
Likewise, the IDF benefits from international complicity and political shielding, usually avoiding meaningful consequences for actions that human rights organizations and global observers have condemned as war crimes. This lack of accountability reinforces further violations, perpetuating cycles of violence.
Finally, both the mafia and the IDF rely on dehumanizing narratives to justify their actions.
The mafia dehumanizes its targets as threats to its power, while the IDF frames its operations as necessary security measures, often devaluing Palestinian lives in the process.
This rhetoric glosses over the suffering inflicted on innocent civilians and rejects scrutiny of the perpetrators’ actions. In essence, the IDF’s operations against Palestinians evoke the mafia’s calculated, ruthless disregard for human dignity and legal norms.
Both represent systems of unchecked power, where the suffering of the innocent is collateral for their pursuit of dominance. Are the actions of the IDF for the past thirteen months against Palestinian civilians reminiscent of that of the mafia?
You be the judge.
* Adiel Ismail, Mountview.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media
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