ABSTRACT
The application of the settler-colonial paradigm to Israel is closely associated with reviewing Israel’s record of civil and human rights violation. The very nature of settler-colonial projects and their treatment of indigenous populations leads inevitably to massive violations of the natives’ basic rights, which explains the ethnic cleansing of Palestine of 1948 and Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians ever since. The chapter argues that the exceptionalism awarded to Israel, which exempts it from international scrutiny, stems from disregard for the settler-colonial nature of Israel. If the West considered it and opened a discussion of all the violations, it could play a constructive role in the struggle against them wherever they happen.
