Urban Crime in Gaza – Webtekno

Behind such destruction, the people’s ethnic, cultural and religious values ​​are erased from the city, It lies in laying the groundwork for social change after the war. Because a city can only carry traces to the future with its spatial memory; If this memory is destroyed, the society’s sense of belonging will also be damaged.

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Shusha, Palestine, Syria Regions such as these are places we can give examples in this sense. The term used to express this phenomenon is “urbancide”. This does not only mean destroying a city, but also killing every aspect of that city.

The destruction of cities during wars causes devastating and social effects.

This situation, The city became the main target rather than just being destroyed In this case, it takes on a different dimension. If the aim is to completely destroy the city, then we face destruction rather than destruction. The concept of “crime” emerges. This means the deliberate destruction of the city, along with its values, for the same reasons as the mass killing of people because of their ethnicity, language, and religion.

This new phenomenon is called “urbancide” in the literature. It’s actually an English term. “urbicide” The word was introduced into our language as “kentkırım” by Ruşen Keleş. We can briefly define the concept of urbancide as the deliberate destruction of a city due to its social values ​​such as ethnic culture, language and religion. If today Gaza It is accepted that what was done for the city was a genocide.

Whether the destruction suffered by a city can be called “urbancide” depends on the intention factor.

any destruction being described as urbanocide, may cause the concept to lose its importance. Although it is defended to define this term as a crime, it can be said that a conclusion is reached around positive and negative conditions. In a positive sense, urbancide is the destruction of a city revitalization of old and neglected areas While it means modernization and modernization, it also means a lot in a negative sense.

This is why it is among those advocated that there should be a legal equivalent for urban crime, just like the punishment for genocide. To explain this concept simply, we first need to take a look at examples from around the world. For example, since 1967 To the indigenous people of Palestineespecially Arab and A conscious policy was implemented against the Muslim community It is an undeniable situation.

Even today, practices such as demolishing roads, power outages and forcible removal of citizens from their homes continue. The fact that more than 12,000 houses were burned is proof of this. The purpose behind burning houses is to gather the people in a certain area and take control of the area. Keeping Muslims away from the West Bank.

The goal of the ongoing urbancide here is to completely destroy all traces of the city.

such as Palestinian housing projects, schools, roads, sewage networks and recycling centres. Municipal infrastructures were deliberately eliminated. Apart from Gaza, Jenin, Rafah, Balata refugee camps, Nablus city, Bayt al-Ahim and the West Bank stand out as examples of urbancide.

In the sieges that continue today Mosques, schools and thousands of buildings are being demolished. We use this term to refer to the deliberate destruction of the built environment and the social and cultural fabric of the targeted society. Especially since the 2000s, we have encountered the most striking and destructive examples of Israeli urbanization; We still meet. As we mentioned above, Jenin, Nablus and Beirut were the most striking examples of this period. The Israeli army militarized all elements of built environment production in processes of urbanization: Bulldozers have now become military tools, while walls have divided neighborhoods.

This operation, which is currently taking place, is not about physical buildings; it also affects the fabric of societies and cultures. This was more than just the destruction of a city. We can also see that it has become a strategy that aims to eliminate the identity and history of a community.

In Gaza, it manifests itself in the demolition of houses, destruction of infrastructure and direct attacks on civilian settlements.

In what is happening in Gaza, we see and hear news every day that places such as basic infrastructure elements, schools and hospitals that are necessary for people to continue their daily lives are targeted. This means that civilians’ living conditions are becoming difficult, they are deprived of a safe environment, and their fundamental rights are being violated. of urbancide continuing in Gazaturned the region into a field of mass destruction.

It would not be a correct perspective to look at urbancide only as the destruction of the city. Because this situation causes thousands of people to migrate, exile or many other negative situations. Besides not just for people; War-related fires, bombs and weapons also damage the living ecosystem.

That’s why, next to urbancide, from ecocide We should not forget that it is also necessary to mention. We hope that this ‘crime’ will end as soon as possible all over the world.

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