Benjamin Netanyahu’s blunder in Gaza

In his quest to end any possibility for peace in the Middle East, Benjamin Netanyahu has initiated destructive strategies to level Gaza and suffocate the Palestinians in the West Bank. Throughout his career, Netanyahu, time and again, has demonstrated his callous disregard for Palestinians and their aspirations for freedom. Recently, he asserted, "We need to eliminate their aspirations for a state." Indeed, one could say that he is a faithful student of Biblical Joshua who carried out the first recoded genocide in history.

As the old testament describes Joshua’s deeds in Joshua (11: 1-12), “And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was not any left to breath: and he burnt Ha’zor with fire. And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.” Netanyahu appears to have taken these actions to heart and literally executed these measures in his aim to transfer Gaza to an uninhabited land for its indigenous populations.

In recent New York Times articles, Thomas L. Friedman and Bret Stephens have written that Netanyahu should leave the political scene and a new prime minister should devise a better strategy to deal with the present situation. Friedman suggests it is time to be selective in killing Palestinians, while Stephens argues that more destructive strategies must be taken especially against Iran and Palestinians. Both writers underscore the need to use force to ensure the enslavement and subjection of the people in the region.  And more likely both harbor racist attitudes toward Arabs and Muslims.  Friedman, for example, has described Muslims as insects, comparing them to wasps that inject their eggs into live caterpillars, stating, “Is there a better description of Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq today? They are the caterpillars. … We have no counterstrategy that safely and efficiently kills the wasp without setting fire to the whole jungle.”

It is obvious that, in the west and especially in the United States, racism toward Arabs and Muslims has not been confronted. In fact, those who call for destroying or nuking Arab countries and Iran are often praised. In the context of the war against Palestinians in Gaza, Senator Lindsey Graham and Congressman Tim Walberg have floated the idea of using nuclear weapons to finish the job.  Likewise, President Biden has been instrumental in inciting hatred against Palestinians.  This was made clear in his speech on October 18 when he aroused anger and hatred against Palestinians by accusing them of engaging in alleged atrocities stating, “Children slaughtered.  Babies slaughtered.  Entire families massacred. Rape, beheadings, bodies burned alive.” But for over 12,000 Palestinian children who were burned or buried alive by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the President has shown no empathy.

Western media outlets and politicians have focused on perpetuating myths and defending the horrific events which are taking place in Gaza. This focus intends to defend Israel and justifies its atrocities while attempting to  divert attention from the suffering of Palestinians. The New York Times, for example, instructed its journalists who cover Israel’s war on Palestinians to limit their use of terms like “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” and to “avoid” utilizing the word “occupied territory” in referring to Palestine.

However, neither the Western media outlets nor politicians have been able to distract people  from the horrific crimes in Gaza. Likewise, these actors have attempted to minimize significant transformations which are going on in the region and beyond. To begin with, this is the first time, since the establishment of Israel in 1948, that the Arab people have stood up to the most brutal and powerful military in the Middle East. This war has been going on for seven months and Palestinians have exhibited no signs of retreat. As Palestinians show resilience and determination in confronting the mighty IDF, the Arab masses, from Morocco to Iraq who are accustomed to witnessing defeat after defeat in their lives hope the future will be better.

Furthermore, the Arab people increasingly understand that colonial western powers, led by the US, have no respect for human life or human dignity. They have recognized that western colonization is the source of their misery and the cause of turmoil in the region. This development might put pressures on Western governments to change their political attitudes toward Palestinians.   

More importantly is the recognition that Israel is a fortified western colony in the heart of the Arab world. It was purposely founded not as place for persecuted western Jews but as an instrument for obstructing any progress politically and economically outside the western colonial design. Leading Zionist figures articulated this goal. Theodore Herzl, the founder of political Zionism,  in 1896 stated that colonization of Palestine "forms position of a rampart of Europe against Asia, , an outpost of civilization as opposed to barbarism. We should as a neutral State remain in contact with all Europe, which would have to guarantee our existence.”

Similarly, Chaim Weizmann of World Zionist Organization,  argued in 1914 "should Palestine fall within the British sphere of influence, and should Britian encourage a Jewish settlement there, as a British dependency. . [this will] bring back civilization. . . and form a very effective guard for the Suez Canal." Today, the war in Gaza against Palestinians provides undisputed proof that White House and majority of Washington’s elite look at Israel as a western colony and an essential instrument for destabilizing the Middle East. The White House denial of the genocide in Gaza and its lobbying members of the United National Security Council not to grant Palestine U.N. member status demonstrate that the Biden administration is a major obstacle toward peace in the Middle East.

On the global stage, people have become increasingly aware of two matters. First, the conflict in the Middle East is between the people who long for freedom and liberty and western powers that seek to keep them colonized, alienated, and living in chaos. Second, Israel is a colonial project and its political-military elites are neither interested in peace in the region nor in being a constructive force. The growing global protests against the slaughter in Gaza reflect the deepening resentments to Netanyahu's war.

The unfolding genocide in Gaza, while highlighting how western claims for espousing and promoting human rights and self-determination for people across the globe are patently insincere, provides concrete evidence that Western powers are primarily interested in maintaining perpetual turmoil in the Middle East. Tragically, Netanyahu is leading the Middle East to perpetual instability. Ending the war in Gaza is a moral imperative and  sensible action for a peaceful region. 

 Abbas J. Ali is distinguished University Professor at IUP.