Israel is treating the Palestinians in a way that is nothing less than a mockery of human beings.

In addition to the cruel murder of civilians, Israel is humiliating Palestinians. Israel’s degrading behaviors toward Palestinians are primarily intended to demoralize and subjugate the entire Palestinian nation.    

Palestinian medical staff in Gaza have told the BBC they were blindfolded, detained, forced to strip and repeatedly beaten by Israeli troops after a raid at their hospital last month.

Ahmed Abu Sabha, a doctor at Nasser Hospital, described being held for a week in detention, where, he said, muzzled dogs were set upon him and his hand was broken by an Israeli soldier.

His account closely matches those of two other medics who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

They said they were humiliated, beaten, doused with cold water, and forced to kneel in uncomfortable positions for hours.

Also, on Friday a project coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said through a video link that he witnessed an Israeli attack on Khalil Suleiman Hospital, also known as the Jenin Government Hospital, in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. He said six people were shot in the assault, with two of them dying from their injuries.

Such inhumane acts fall within the dangerous ideology of extremists like war minister Yoav Gallant who said Israel is fighting “human animals”, Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu who said dropping a “nuclear bomb” on the Gaza Strip is “an option”, and Moshe Feiglin, the deputy speaker of the Knesset, who published a plan for the total destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

These horrific and disgusting remarks show that religionists and racists in Israel consider Palestinians as inferior who have no right to life.

In a post on his Facebook page on August 1, Feiglin said, “This is our country – our country exclusively, …. including Gaza”.

It is due to such dangerous ideologies that even paralyzed people and children as young as 12 are not immune from the rage of Israelis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

For example, Ezz al-Din al-Banna, 40, who was paralyzed from the waist down, was arrested by the Israeli army in late November from a building where he was seeking shelter in Gaza City. Despite being disabled, Banna was brutally beaten and dragged across the floor by the Israeli soldiers. He eventually died from the sustained injuries in February.

Also, a Palestinian boy identified as Rami al-Halhouli was shot dead in the Shuafat refugee camp near occupied East Jerusalem by an Israeli soldier on March 12.

According to Middle East Eye, Rami al-Halhouli was shown playing with fireworks and holding them above his head before he suddenly fell to the ground after being shot.  

In a telegram post, National Security Itamar Ben Gvir praised the killing of the boy and praised the soldier.

“I support the border guard fighters who are operating at this time and are risking their lives now against dozens of Arab rioters in Shu’fat.” Ben Gvir wrote on his Telegram.

There seems to be no end in sight for Israel’s horrible acts. Shortly after Israelis killed at least 110 people gathered to collect flour in Gaza in early March, in another incident on Thursday at least 20 Palestinians were killed and more than 150 injured in northern Gaza City after Israel attacked a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian assistance.

Israel is not only bombarding indiscriminately, cutting off water, food, and medicines to hundreds of thousands of civilians it is also humiliating medical staff and killing individual paralyzed persons and children who pose no danger to any person.

These acts are being done in line with demoralizing the Palestinian nation before the eyes of an impotent and shameful world. However, history has shown that the humiliation of nations backfires and the humiliated people will emerge stronger against cruelty, mockery, and injustice.