Commentary
Colonial engineering in Gaza: Israel created famine to destroy the social pact
Hunger is not only a tool of subjugation, but a process of “inner fracture” that destroys the cohesion of individual identity and the identity of society as a whole. We are facing a form of colonialism that does not impose its authority only through military force, but rewrites people's psychological and social structure through “soft” tools, such as food management and aid control.
What is happening in Gaza is not simply a war or a humanitarian tragedy, but a crucial moment of transformation in the approach to the question of peoples living under occupation. We are facing a historical moment in which a complex strategy is being implemented that aims not only to dismantle the structures of the liberation movements of such peoples, but also to disintegrate their very society from within, reordering it in a fragile form, unable to reorganize itself except in compliance with the conditions imposed by the occupier.
This is why the use of hunger as a weapon cannot be understood except as part of a project of violent social engineering, implemented through carefully defined and planned stages. Emptying areas of food doesn’t just starve the population of Gaza, but it is at the same time a symbolic and concrete act that has major consequences:
First of all, the collapse of the concept of autonomous security: there is no state, no institution, no collective ability to survive that still manages to convey a sense of security.
Then there is the disintegration of the social compact: human beings no longer perceive their environment as a “society,” but as a group of competitors in a fight for survival.
Finally, there is the fragmentation of collective identity: when the food system collapses, the values of solidarity and dignity also collapse, and the individual begins to think only of their own hungry “self.”
Hunger is not only a tool of subjugation, but a process of “inner fracture” that destroys the cohesion of individual identity and the identity of society as a whole. This is where the danger of hunger lies: it is no coincidence that starvation of the civilian population is considered a war crime.
In the case of the Gaza Strip, it represents a tool to provoke a “forced perceptual change” within communities, shifting their focus and priorities: from thinking aimed at collective liberation to thinking aimed at individual survival at any cost. This opens the way to a state of internal chaos that can lead to accepting solutions that would have been completely rejected prior to the crisis, or to negotiating things previously considered non-negotiable.
And it goes even further, leading to the dissolution of the social bond between liberation movements and the people: they are transformed from “protectors” to “powerless,” and perhaps even to “accused.” All this contributes to redefining the very concept of authority and leadership in the collective consciousness of society, transferring power from the political leadership to those who own and control food and water.
When one denies food to people and the force of hunger drives them to looting and chaos, one is not just starving them, but fulfilling a deeper project: depriving that people of their moral image in the eyes of the world, constructing a new narrative that they are incapable of self-management, and thus paving the way for “humanitarian recolonization” via international or Arab (in any case, foreign) management, subject to specific political and security conditions.
We are facing a form of colonialism that does not impose its authority only through military force, but rewrites people's psychological and social structure through “soft” tools, such as food management and aid control. This is how a new reality is imposed, presented as a necessary step to end the suffering of the people.
The problem is not only what is happening, but what they intend it to lead to. What is happening in Gaza today represents a pivotal moment in Palestinian history, and perhaps in modern history in general: it is the largest experiment in “violent social engineering” conducted on an entire people, inside their own land (with no way of escape) and under the yoke of occupation.
The current chaos is not a side effect, but an integral part of a project aimed at destroying Palestinian society from the inside, and then rebuilding it either as a body without a soul, or as a people willing to accept life (or rather, mere survival) without any political perspective and without rights.
The fact that this is happening live, before the eyes of the entire world, represents a rewriting of the concepts and principles of international humanitarian law in the collective consciousness of societies. It is educating the minds of the new generations with a bitter truth: that the law of the jungle is the only prevailing law in the current age; that in our time, freedom, justice and equality are mere Platonic utopias; that those who dare to oppose injustice and tyranny will suffer what the Palestinians are suffering today; and that it is not international humanitarian law and human rights that determine the fate of peoples, but brute force and particular interests.
This great truth has taken concrete form in a land that we prefer to perceive as “other,” distant, while accustoming ourselves to the idea that “the issue is too complicated” or that “it’s something beyond us.” Nevertheless, these truths are also reflected at the micro level, in the relationships between people everywhere, and are already showing themselves in a tangible manner in our own societies, often unconsciously.
Evidence of this is the widespread and diffuse sense of uncertainty, fear for the future, growing individualism and rising investment – at the global, national and community level – in the instruments of force, while those of law are becoming discredited. This is why the issue is not just about Gaza or Palestine, but about all of humanity. And it is our duty to fight so that we can remain human.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/ingegneria-coloniale-a-gaza-la-fame-per-distruggere-il-patto-sociale on 2025-05-21