The historian and anthropologist at the CNRS Stéphanie Latte Abdallah, installed in Cévennes after having lived in Jerusalem, severely judges the attitude of the Israeli government. And assumes a form of commitment that she considers necessary.
What do you think of the feasibility of a total military occupation of Gaza by the Israeli army?
It seems complicated to me. This is something that has been announced for a long time, with this idea of staying in Gaza, of recolonizing. We have heard that for a long time. There, the chief of staff of the army clearly said to the politicians that he does not have the means, which has not been heard … It would be a lot of men for such a duration. It is a relatively tired army, with many reservists who refuse to serve. They are faced with a war of Hamas that is still present. Gaza is destroyed, but Hamas’ capacity for action is not fully started.
What is your look at the attitude of the international community, and more particularly that of France for two years?
The recognition of the state of Palestine is late, but there is an interest in isolating the current Israeli government in its refusal of a Palestinian state. If Great Britain joins France as announced, the United States will be alone in the UN Security Council not to recognize it. Except that in the document broadcast, there is no coercive way to implement what is announced. Sanctions are needed, the suspension of the European Community/Israel Cooperation Agreement.
It is a way of acting without acting on the current genocide, without naming it. And for good reason! There is a responsibility of the States Parties at the Convention against the 1948 genocide, to punish and prevent it. Technically, states that do nothing against a genocide are likely to be prosecuted for non-action, even for complicity.
You should also know that at the time, in September, when France and others want to recognize this state of Palestine, will eventually arrive at the time of a decision of the United Nations General Assembly taken in September 2024 which gave a year for this occupation of the Palestinian territory to stop.
What about the famine that is accentuated in Gaza?
For children, the elderly or victims of chronic diseases, there will be strong sequelae. This long -term policy, I call it a future, which tends to kill as many people as possible. More than 61,000 have been killed directly, but if we count the absence of care, chronic diseases, famine, toxicity of space due to arms, pollution, non-remamation of garbage, the bankruptcy of sanitation systems, we would arrive at around 200,000 people.
How would you summarize Netanyahu’s strategy for two years?
He has always been against a Palestinian state. He has a fragile coalition, with ministers and supremacist deputies and pro-colonization, who are for the annexation of the West Bank and the recolonization of Gaza. They are in the light of a report to the Bible. Netanyahu is not a religious but uses this language to make adhesion to his project.
He continues in power by following the most extremist of his government which guarantee him his place. He wants to manage to manage conflictuality by occupying more or less land depending on the possibilities. He does not want a political settlement.
How do you see this shock of religions?
On the Israeli side, we see the instrumentalization of a religious language, with the idea of fighting Amalek, enemy of Israel in the Old Testament, for extermination ends of the other. In the Bible, it was necessary to destroy all Amalek. 82 % of Israelis, in a study by the Penn State University in March 2025, are in favor of the transfer of Gaza Palestinians.
In the camp opposite, we obviously have Islamo-nationalist groups, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which fight in Gaza, which in particular use Islamic language. There are also groups that are of more secular origin. In terms of the Palestinian population, the religious is no more than it put forward.
The Palestinian Quidam who is under the bombs, who loses his children, can it generate something other than hatred, even anti-Semitism?
We exceed the framework of the analysis if we want to speculate on this type of emotions. But the Palestinians distinguish very clearly between Israeli politics and the Jews. The question of anti -Semitism which arises in France does not arise in the same way on site.
What analysis do you have with the transposition in France of this conflict?
We see that there has been an evolution for two years of general perception. People were very virulent at the start, not wanting to see what was happening, that the goal of the Israeli government was to destroy Gaza. Better late than never.
What I find problematic is that it can give rise to anti -Semitism on the one hand and the instrumentalization of the rise of anti -Semitism on the other.
For France, which has greatly supported the State of Israel, it is complicated. It is difficult to say that current Israeli rulers are committing a genocide, when this state has come in particular from a genocide experienced by the Jews.
What about Hamas’ strategy?
As they perpetrated on October 7, they aimed to prevent the Palestinian question be forgotten because Saudi Arabia would sign the Abraham agreements which planned to make peace without taking into account the Palestinian issue. They also wanted to avoid the annexation of the West Bank and the incursions on the esplanade of the Mosques, and release the Palestinian prisoners.
They could do it differently!
From what they say, part of the things escaped them. They do not recognize having wanted to touch civilians. They say that other groups have infiltrated with them. But there have been atrocities and war crimes, undoubtedly the fact of several groups, including Hamas of course.
The strategy was still murders and hostages …
It was hostages, it is clear. They wanted to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners, have them as a currency and to protect themselves. They also decided to overflow the Israeli army around Gaza to break the seat. They believe they are in a war of resistance. I tell you how they see things. I am not telling you that I agree.
A book: “Gaza, a colonial war”
The Gardoise Stéphanie Latte Abdallah, anthropologist and historian, associated with another CNRS researcher, Véronique Bontemps, published last May a book entitled Gaza, a colonial war (Actes Sud, 320 pages, 23 €) which also calls on other authors.
A committed work: “Yes, there is a position, confirms the Cévenole. It is said that the prism of colonialism must be applied for this war and that it is a genocide. An Israeli-American, Omer Bartov, a specialist in the Shoah, said “as the genocide historian, I know what a genocide is when I see one”. I have been working on this region for a very long time. I have the experience of other wars conducted against Gaza and against Lebanon, which already touched civilians. “
According to her, “There is a form of commitment, but which is compulsory” : “We are faced with a genocide. It is impossible not to say anything. We are faced with violence of a higher dimension. You can’t work on these subjects while staying in your ivory tower. But we have methods, data, the historical depth which make the positions are very firmly supported. “
Qualify as “genocide“The Netanyahu government’s strategy had attracted her enmities a few months ago. On the Public Senate set, after the attacks of October 7, 2023, she had also been controversial by refusing to qualify Hamas as a terrorist group while qualifying the acts committed as terrorism and”acts of terror“.
