Understanding why people think Israel is a brutal and genocidal occupier

Now I finally understand claims of Israel's brutal occupation of the "Palestinian" people. I have often asked those who argue that Israel is a brutal occupier on what basis they say so. I usually get the familiar trope about inhumane treatment at checkpoints, supposedly confirmed by the fictional film, "The Present" (critiqued here), indiscriminate imprisonment and killing of Palestinians both along the Gaza border and in Judea and Samaria (J&S), named the West Bank during the Jordanian occupation 1948-1967. But these generalized statements do not hold up to scrutiny - even the anti-Zionist leftist organization B'tselem website shows that checkpoints are no longer an issue preventing freedom of movement in J&S. And those killed in Gaza and J&S were shown to have borne weapons with the intention of killing Israelis, Jewish or otherwise. But now, in a Facebook thread asking the opinions of the Palestinian members of the group what they think of the Abraham Accords, one member uploaded an article as proof that the accords are simply a business deal and do not convince those who are under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority (PA) that Israel deserves to exist. Articles such as this one, on a news site written by a credentialed academic, holds a measure of authority for readers. On 18 May 2021, Director of Research and Analysis at Arab Center Washington DC, Dr. Imad K Harb, wrote the article under consideration here: "The Utter Failure of the Abraham Accords". Of course, the outlet it appeared in, Al Jazeera, is regarded by many as a biased and unreliable source of information, but so are many other news sites upon which many people around the world base their opinions and beliefs. Harb has published a number of articles in academic or semi-academic journals and two books and he serves in advisory capacities for Australia, for example, and previously for the UAE. Seems he knows what he is talking about. Therefore, I assume he knows he is lying in this Israel bashing article he put out for propaganda sake. Harb opens his article thus:

Over the past few weeks, tensions in Israel-Palestine have escalated and the Israeli army has launched yet another deadly war on Gaza. This assault, as well as the threat of evictions of Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and the Israeli raids on Al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan, which triggered Palestinian protests, are all just another chapter in the 73-year-old Palestinian Nakba.

Of course, as soon as we see the term '73-year-old Palestinian Nakba' we know that the writer considers all of what is currently the modern State of Israel, and not just Gaza, the Golan (since annexed to Israel) and J&S to be occupied territories. In addition to this open declaration of his motive, he lays out the three lies his article will discuss: Israel's assault on Gaza, the pending evictions from Sheikh Jarrah, and raids on Al-Aqsa mosque. Let us look at each of these in turn. 1, "Deadly war on Gaza" - Harb writes:

Israeli aggression towards Gaza shows no sign of abating. Last week it launched its third major assault on the besieged strip in 10 years. As of the time of writing, more than 200 people have been killed in Gaza, including 59 children, and over 1,000 injured.

Israel reacts to the Hamas violence coming out of Gaza -- incendiary kites, missiles, tunnels intending to infiltrate Israel and kidnap Israeli soldiers or civilians or conduct a killing spree. Hamas reacts to the very existence of Israel. As long as there is a place on the map called Israel, and it is the homeland of the Jewish People, Hamas will keep provocating and trying to cleanse the land of her Jews. Hamas launches missiles at civilian populations, 4000 of them in May 2021, and Israel conducts targetted attacks on the launch cites that, unfortunately, are usually in residential buildings, hospitals or schools. Furthermore, many of the injuries and deaths of Gazans is because of misfired missiles that land short in their own territory. Were it not for the Iron Dome defensive system that knocks most of the missiles out of air, there would be, perhaps, enough Jewish (and Israeli Arab) deaths for the world to perhaps agree that our targetted attacks are "proportional". There is more to say on this but nobody today has the patience to read long explanations. It is so much easier to just accept the unbased accusations repeated over and over ad nauseum. 2. "Threat of Evictions of Palestinians from East Jerusalem" - Harb writes:

Israel continues to be engaged in systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Aided by police and state laws that discriminate against non-Jews, the Israeli authorities persist in their campaign to expel Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem, with several families now threatened with forced eviction from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

The four families threatened with eviction are squatters who would be evicted by any country that prides itself on law and order and protection of land owners. The properties in question are owned by Jews and during the 1948-1967 Jordanian occupation of J&S and parts of Jerusalem, squatters freely took up residence without ever having to pay rent or to purchase the properties. After the 1967 war, when these lands were returned to Israeli control, the owners were able to bring suit in an Israeli court against the squatters. The court recognized the ownership of the apartments and offered a compromise of about $500 rent per year, far lower than market value. Because of the violence that erupted as a result of ownership recognition, the case is currently on hold. To say that only Jewish property rights are respected is a falsehood. The Ohanassian Armenian ceramics workshop in the Old City was also taken over by squatters during the Jordanian occupation. The family was recognized by the Israeli court as the owners of the property but they have been unable to evict the squatters. If they were to try to do so, would there also be as much violence and media interest as erupted when Jews tried to regain ownership of their property? If there have been other suits filed in Israeli courts by non-Jews whose properties were taken over by squatters during the Jordanian occupation, perhaps these should be brought to the attention of this writer. 3. "Israeli raids on Al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan" - Harb writes:

Israel also continues to trample over Palestinians’ religious rights. For nights on end, Israeli police attacked worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan and actually lobbed stun grenades and smoke bombs into the al-Haram al-Sharif compound. Israeli forces also harassed Palestinian Christians and prevented some of them from reaching the Church of Holy Sepulchre for Easter services.