Exploring the Ten Stages of Genocide in Palestine: examining evidence from the ongoing crisis, revealing harsh realities and critical insights
Last updated: 6th August 2025
When genocide is averted, lessons are rarely learned and garner little reflection on the possibility of what might have been. Instead, we look to the past to assert that it must never happen again, only for the same actions to take place.
With the world always watching, the perpetrators have become more cunning in the way they hide their crimes. They’re experts in the field of slant to accomplish their goals, often sticking together to reinforce a narrative that reverberates throughout news media.
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When despicable crimes of terrorism and homicide were committed in Paris by Daesh, western leaders marched through the streets to perform a solidarity movement. But when massacres happened elsewhere, say, in Burma against the Rohingya and in China against the Uyghur, these actions were void of sympathy from the world.
In fact, these crimes were largely palmed off as conspiracy theories by some outlets. They were ignored, and likely on purpose, as it both, directly and indirectly, serves designs to further aims that vilify demographics within developing nations that empower the propaganda and demands of the West.
Recognising genocide in a contemporary world
The Ten Stages of Genocide is a model authored by Professor Gregory Stanton used to predict and classify when and where a genocide may occur. Though it is not a linear process, it was created to aid analysis for recognising a potential conflict that may lead to large-scale massacres.
Stanton presented it to the US Department of State in 1996, presumably in the wake of the Bosnian genocide against Muslims perpetrated by Serbian troops during the Bosnian War. In his paper, he says: “A full strategy for preventing genocide should include an attack on each of a genocide’s operational processes.”
Relating the Ten Stages of Genocide to events unfolding in Palestinian Gaza
Since the paper was published, the world has largely shifted, thanks to smartphone innovation and a 24-hour news cycle that consistently demands events of an entertaining nature often sensationalised to grab a readership’s attention.
This in turn warps the reality of a story, often promoting the interests of a paper over the human rights of a situation, with journalists often dramatising events to simmer intrigued.
Classification
One of the early stages in recognizing genocide involves classifying the persecuted; in this process, the oppressive side accentuates distinctions by employing rhetoric that perpetuates stereotypes. In the context of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, these notions are interwoven with the narrative that portrays Arabs as inherently different and in need of assimilation, despite their status as the indigenous inhabitants of the land. This is spread through a type of propaganda we see today in the UK and the US, asking why first and second-generation expatriates do not ‘integrate’. Such manufactured deceptions are oft seen as a way to classify Palestinians as different and are a simplified way to strike fear with little energy expounded by the ruling regime as news media are relied upon to sensationalize governmental rhetoric.
Symbolisation
This is a method whereby the oppressor separates society to develop its designs. The targeted are forced to wear/carry a physical item in order to segregate them, such as an armband. For Palestinians, this becomes evident through the use of ID cards they must carry to navigate an extravagant number of Israeli-managed checkpoints. This segregates the population and accents a hatred for them reinforced by politicians and news media.
Discrimination
Israel is described as an apartheid state for a variety of reasons, which include restricted access for Arabs to travel on certain roads, denial of medical care, and separation from their families. Discriminatory practices have been codified into law through the adoption of “The Nationality Bill,” which promotes the establishment of Jewish settlements in place of Palestinian homes.
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To illustrate, an Arab civilian could carry out a grocery shopping trip, only to return home and discover an Israeli family occupying their residence. Often, they are forcibly evicted without prior notice, leaving entire families, including children, homeless and stateless within a matter of hours. These actions are driven by the aim of increasing the Israeli population at the expense of non-Israelis, reminiscent of how Nazi Germany removed Jews from their German citizenship.
Dehumanisation
On numerous occasions, Israel has implemented policies that create a division between Palestinians and Israelis, often emphasizing their differences. This division is particularly noticeable within the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, where such rhetoric persists and is disseminated through state-controlled media to influence public perception.
Fast-forward to today, Israel’s justification for striking Gaza with more than 6,000 bombs, killing in excess of 5,000 Palestinians is that it is retaliation for acts committed by Hamas. Israel’s government has proliferated a mass propaganda operation that involves the acquisition of advertisements on social media, and in New York for billboards that state ‘Be Human, Stand with Israel.’
The Defense Minister, Gallant, asserted that Tel-Aviv is engaged in combat with “animals.” It can be assumed that his reference pertains to Hamas, although there is no clear differentiation in the remainder of his speech where he discusses the matter. “no electricity, no food, no fuel – everything shut down. We are fighting against human animals and are acting accordingly” he further confirms.
Netanyahu described Gaza as “an abominable enemy, human beasts who celebrate the murder of women, children and the elderly” also releasing a statement that said: “This is a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle” echoing past remarks for how Hutu militias referred to Tutsi’s as “cockroaches” and Nazi’s describing Jews as “Vermin.”
In other remarks, Israeli lawmakers have consistently called for the extermination of Palestinians, even going as far as to call for the nuclear annihilation of Gaza, as Tally Gotliv did recently. This is but a drop in the ocean for how the Israeli government discusses the regions it occupies.
Neve Gordon, a member of the Faculty of Law at Queen Mary University in London told Anadolu Agency that: “Palestinians are presented as barbarian and as primitive and as people who do not understand the laws of war, people that do not make distinctions between civilians and combatants, and so forth, and therefore they are immoral, while Israel claims that it tries to protect civilians.”
Organisation
The pathway to exterminating a people is not a linear passage. With the rapid advancement of global consumer technology, the methods of committing war crimes have evolved as well. When examining the Rohingya and Ughyur genocides, we see that these horrific acts have occurred behind closed doors, with minimal interference and limited access, enabling the responsible regimes to persist in their actions and manipulate what narratives depart areas where atrocities are committed.
In the case of Palestine, the situation is no different. Gaining entry to Gaza, in particular, demands stringent admission criteria, typically favouring salaried journalists at major news agencies or outlets, and sparingly extending this privilege to freelancers. This is despite what the Israeli press authority claims. Oftentimes, news outlets will oblige to the demands of a government if it means continued access to a region under their control.
Building upon the previously mentioned genocides, the Tel-Aviv regime plans to cut internet access to the Gaza strip, thereby limiting the flow of information like in Burma and China.
The destruction of Palestine has been premeditated for some time, and swift bombing campaigns are likely executed without prior intelligence, considering the size and scale of the IDF’s actions. This approach bears resemblance to the scorched earth policy carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II.
Polarisation
The organised extermination of a people by an authority must have the support of its citizens in order to achieve its aims, usually by far-right groups as exhibited annually at regular nationalist rallies, where crowds can be openly heard chanting “death to Arabs.”
Walls have been erected between Arab and Israeli neighbourhoods by the government, and Israeli settlers (largely from Europe and America) are armed to forcibly remove them from their homes, and in some cases, kill them.
More recently, Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s distribution of firearms to settlers, ostensibly for Israeli protection, raises concerns about settler aggression and its potential to accelerate Palestinian displacement. This is often actioned through the empowerment of the state, with little done to stem its spread.
The cyclical bombing of Gaza is largely observed by the Israeli public, who, thanks to the encouragement of its regime, watch from afar as it pounds the strip, often indiscriminately. Frequently, without prior provocation, it can result from incursions into Palestinian territory, triggering responses, followed by a disproportionate retaliation from Israel.
Preparation
In their pursuit of carrying out genocide, perpetrators frequently use language to conceal their intentions, employing a form of misdirection in full view of a world that is watching. A nefarious example is the Nazi’s use of ‘The Final Solution.’ Similarly, in the case of Palestine, inflammatory language employed by figures such as Netanyahu, who declared he is “just getting started” and that he will turn Gaza “into rubble,” are prime examples of such tactics. For years, Israel has justified its actions through fearmongering, stoking divisions and scare tactics about the indigenous Palestinians, much like Europeans did of native peoples in the Americas.
Persecution
The Palestinian population have suffered greatly at the hands of the Israeli occupation. According to the HMDT (Holocaust Memorial Day Trust), “Victims are identified because of their ethnicity or religion, and death lists are drawn up”.
The Palestinian experience has been marked by an enduring and prolonged ordeal, as elucidated in the ‘operation’ section. Shocking massacres, such as the Sabra and Shatila massacre in 1982, represent only a fraction of the tragic events that have transpired, resulting in a staggering 87% of casualties being on the Palestinian side. Thousands of innocent lives have been tragically lost, often indiscriminately, with the pretext of targeting militant groups, despite the obvious fact that the victims are largely innocents, mostly children, families, and healthcare professionals who are not affiliated with such organizations.
The HMDT continues by saying “People are sometimes segregated into ghettos, deported or starved and property is often expropriated. Genocidal massacres begin.” The term “ghetto” mentioned in the context of the Palestinian situation primarily pertains to the Gaza Strip, while in the West Bank, the confiscation of land and property is a widespread occurrence. An alarming 63% of Palestinians grapple with food insecurity, and the ongoing blockades exacerbate their struggle to obtain essential food and medical assistance, often leading to dire consequences.
Extermination and Denial
The final two phases are phenomenons we are currently witnessing; with the extermination of the Palestinian population occurring in cyclical periods with fatal consequences. Casualties are disturbingly high, especially when Gaza is targeted by Israeli authorities and aided and abetted by a circle of international accomplices.
“Emphasis is on damage, not accuracy” IDF spokesperson R Adm Daniel Hagari was quoted as saying while Netanyahu continued to up his declarations that Palestinians are “beasts”, thus committing himself to genocide through the bombings of hospitals, schools and children, often found without heads and extremities following a planned “damage” over “accuracy” policy.
Starvation as a Weapon of War
Since Israel’s assault on Gaza began, a significant flow of humanitarian aid has been disrupted, alarming even its biggest ally, the United States, who has so far donated more than $17 billion for defence.
This directive has been nicknamed the ‘starvation policy’, leading researchers to believe it has contributed to a death toll exceeding 100,000. Some Israeli officials acknowledge that such a policy is in place, while others deny it.
These circumstances bear resemblance to another historical event known as the Holodomor, meaning – ‘Terror Famine’. It was a Soviet policy formulated through a process known as ‘collectivisation’, coordinated through the nationalisation of farms to confiscate grain. In short, it was a man-made famine. Anyone attempting to flee affected areas would be executed on the spot.
Orchestrated by Joseph Stalin between 1932 and 1933, it was principally aimed at the people of Ukraine. This policy also affected regions including Kazakhstan and the Caucasus and led to more than 5 million deaths.
The weaponisation of food is not new and has been used as a tactic in warfare for hundreds of years. Other notable events include the Irish Potato Famine and the Bengal Famine, both caused by British colonial policies, killing more than 1 million and 3 million people respectively.
The phrase ‘Israel has the right to defend itself, is a propaganda technique, used to deflect attention away from atrocities committed by Tel Aviv. This slogan is further weaponised through the ability to deny any wrongdoing when employing its usage behind the protection of a heavy set of international abettors.
Since the increased usage of GPS media-capturing technology, the methods in which genocide is carried out have been drastically changed. Perpetrators have switched from systematic killing to protracted elimination, thereby mitigating the risk of drawing parallels between historical acts of ethnic cleansing and today’s method of extermination through air strikes. By doing so, the perpetrator effectively separate themselves from the commonly perceived notions of massacres.
Stanisland Magazine 
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