Turning of the tide

As the carnage continues, the world is starting to see through the US and Israel’s propaganda

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s shameless diatribe at the UN Security Council against UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres came as no surprise. Shamelessness has always been a central feature of Israel’s official messaging and propaganda. Even more so after the heavy and humiliating defeat it was dealt by Hamas’ attack on military outposts and settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip, and amid growing international condemnation of the genocidal war it is now waging on Gaza that has killed thousands of children and civilians.

Guterres’ unpardonable sin was to denounce this murderous war in his remarks to the Security Council, and express concern about the clear violation of international humanitarian law it entails.

But what outraged the Israelis most was that, while strongly condemning attacks on civilians by either side, the UN chief noted that Hamas’ attack did not ‘come out of a vacuum’. He observed that it followed 56 years of suffocating and illegal Israeli occupation, called for a ‘humanitarian ‘ cease-fire to allow relief supplies into the Gaza Strip, and pointed out that the tiny quantity provided so far is only a drop in an ocean.

Guterres’ bold remarks reflect the fast-moving change taking place within international institutions and global public opinion as the war on Gaza enters its third week. The false and misleading narrative and propaganda put out by the US and Israel and most Western media — demonising Palestinian resistance in order to justify collective punishment and genocidal war — are increasingly being exposed, questioned, and rejected by the wider world.

That awakening is due above all to the sheer cruelty and unprecedented bloodlust of the ongoing Israeli assault, coupled with the success of social media activists around the world in exposing Israel’s lies and fabrications. Hamas has contributed to this by demonstrating that it treats the captives it took humanely. It freed some elderly and ill captives unconditionally, and they testified they were treated well.

Even Anthony Blinken, the US’ ultra-Zionist secretary of state who came out in support of the bloodbath in Gaza from day one, had to back-pedal when faced with the global backlash against his and his Israeli partners’ lies. He abruptly changed tone and began talking about the need to spare civilians, secure the release of all hostages, and prevent the conflict from expanding — out of a sincere concern for human suffering, of course. How things change.

This all reflects a realisation that Israel could be defeated a second time if it tries to launch a full-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

The US — whose president parroted the tale about Hamas beheading babies but then had to retract it – is now making different plans. It is considering how to evacuate US nationals from Israel (potentially hundreds of thousands with dual citizenship), and service personnel from elsewhere in the Middle East, especially Iraq and Syria where US military bases have come under attack.

The US is terrified about the prospect of the war expanding and being joined by Hezbollah and other Arab resistance groups, and the public backlash in the Arab and Islamic worlds destroying the ‘Abraham Accords’.

The Israeli foreign minister fulminated against Guterres: “In what world do you live?!” That question should really be asked to the leaders of the US and Israel, whose hands are soaked in so much blood.

Turning of the tide