Settlers Defy President, Media Defies History
When Israeli settlers burn a mosque in the West Bank, scrawling "we will revenge again" on the walls and torching Qurans, The Independent focuses on their 'defiance' of the Israeli president. This conveniently sidesteps the decades of institutionalized impunity that enables such acts. Since 2004, less than 2% of Israeli police investigations into settler violence result in convictions, according
to Yesh Din. The ‘president’s pleas’ are performative, a PR bandage on a systemic wound. This isn't a deviation; it's a feature of the occupation. How many "condemnations" from public officials will it take before the world recognizes that settler violence isn't an anomaly, but a tool of territorial control, enabled by military protection and ignored by a judiciary that rarely holds them
accountable? One might wonder if the media's framing exists to protect the illusion of a reasonable state, rather than report on the very real, very violent colonization underway.