The slow and unseen quest for dignity unfolds in real time in the West Bank and Gaza. Unarmed Palestinians resisting state seizure of their homes in Sheikh Jarrah are conflated with armed militants, rendering them "terrorists." The recurring killing of civilians in Gaza by Israeli airstrikes is justified by sweeping indictments that "they are Hamas" and that "Palestinian militants are using children and women as human shields," excuses adapted by Putin in his claims that the Ukrainian resistance is spearheaded by "neo-Nazis" wielding "women and children as human shields." Lies at worst, and gross embellishments at best, hurled at victims to make them into monsters.

XREF: Echoes the dehumanization rhetoric used across conflicts — parallels with discourse on colonial occupations and the 2003 Iraq War framing. SEED: Potential essay comparing the shared rhetorical template across Israel/Palestine and Russia/Ukraine propaganda.

Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamopho…, loc. 1186