The Invisible Occupation I

Moshe Dayan used the expression "Invisible Occupation" after the Israeli victory in the Six Day War.
The expression referred then to Israel's policy concerning the conquered territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Influenced by the slogan "no presence, no intervention and open bridges" Israel tried to preserve the Jordanian governmental model in order to minimize contact with the Palestinian population.

Obviously there was a disjunction between discourse and practice: In reality the army was constantly present and intervening in matters of security and bureaucracy, the bridges were not always open and not for everyone. 44 years of occupation have changed Israel's society, policy and terminology:

Today the occupation is in fact invisible to the Israeli population living inside the borders of the Green Line. Using visual language as a means of separation- walls, fences, bypass roads, security roads, towers and barricades the occupation disappeared from sight.

The walls and barricades close the field of vision, turning the other side into something invisible, lacking identity. The physical obstacles create a new border beyond which the personal responsibility of each and every Israeli ends. Few Israelis not wearing uniforms, cross these barriers and enter the occupied territories, apart from the settlers for whom all the obstacles stand as a symbol of Israeli sovereignty.

Justifying every act with "security circumstances", Israelis accept the absolute physical separation. The separation, allows shaking off the responsibility for working toward peace and the end of the occupation.

I remember an Argentinean song I loved in my youth, saying: "Even if you can't see it- the sun is always there". Paraphrasing these words, we can say about the occupation: "Even if you can't see it, it is always there".
(C) Quique Kierszenbaum from the body of work "Invisible Occupation"