Settler-Colonial Theory and the Erasure of the Other: Constructing Hegemonic Narratives

Abstract

This article explores how Israel, as a settler-colonial polity, uses and disseminates narratives pertaining to a Palestinian civil society and its resistance in order to further the settler-colonial project. For this purpose, the article is centred around a case study focusing on the six Palestinian civil society organisations that were designated ‘terrorist organisations’ in Israel and ‘unlawful organisations’ in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) as of late 2021.This case study shows that the inner logic of settler-colonialism, as it is organized around the principle of elimination, has been central to the designation of the six organisations. As the role of Palestinian civil society and political leadership has changed significantly in recent decades, the settler polity has been presented with an excellent opportunity to build and disseminate a false ‘terrorist’ narrative around the Palestinian civil society. Through different stages of expansion and dispossession, this narrative has been based on a perspective of exceptionalism and denial. As such, the construction of this narrative has served as an advancement of the erasure of native narratives, while at the same time legitimising the settler project itself and its utilised strategies.