Opinion Archives - Page 7 of 39

Israel and The Banality of Evil

CrossFireArabia
September 25, 2025

By Ismail Al Sharif

‘…As though you and your superiors had any right to determine who should and who should not inhabit this world – we find that no one, that is no member of the human race, can be expected to want to share the earth with you. This is the reason, and the only reason, for which you deserve to be hanged,” – Hannah Arendt, German-Jewish philosopher.

When you read the sentence: “We had to create conditions more painful than death,” you might think it’s taken from a horror novel or a dystopian narrative that depicts future or imaginary societies in which values collapse, injustice prevails, and environmental and social devastation rages. It’s the “corrupt city,” the exact opposite of utopia, the ideal city.

You might think the sentence appeared in one of Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s “Utopia,” George Orwell’s “1984,” or Albert Camus’s “The Plague.” You might think it was a line in the testimony of a serial killer who plagued the police for a full decade before dozens of bodies were discovered buried in his garden.

But would you believe that this statement was uttered by Minister of “Zionist Heritage,” Amichai Eliyahu? He wasn’t angry, he wasn’t agitated, and no spittle was flying from his mouth. He said it with calm, measured calm, wearing a smart suit and tie, his face sporting a trimmed beard that, at first glance, you might mistake for a dignified sheikh or a holy man.

His statement was devoid of any emotion, like a routine uttering from a government employee, explaining to people that the power outage was due to a heat wave, or that the road closures were due to temporary maintenance work.

Have you ever wondered how decisions to commit genocide are made? And how countries became complicit in these?

My direct answer: Decisions to commit genocide are made when they are put on the agenda, when they are announced from golf courses or discussed at dinner tables. When children and women are killed by bombs, and hospitals and shelters are destroyed, a dapper bureaucrat takes the stage.

He starts his day with a jog around his house, has breakfast with his children, kisses his wife goodbye, asks her what she needs from the market, and instructs his children to behave.

This same bureaucrat takes center-stage to defend genocide, beautifying it, whilst sanitizing it linguistically, using flowery terms such as: “Precision strikes,” “human shields,” “collateral damage.”

He like other bureaucrats are creative in manipulating the vocabulary: Torture is transformed into “interrogation,” starvation into “economic pressure,” and ethnic cleansing into “security buffer zones” or “humanitarian cities.” Even death traps are remarketed under glamorous names, such as the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.”

Let’s return to the Minister of “Zionist Heritage,” who concludes his statement by saying: “Death is no longer enough. It must be painful, prolonged, and free from any international accountability.”

Even the most brutal of tyrants in history were careful to conceal their intentions when committing crimes. When the Qarmatians slaughtered pilgrims in Mecca in 317 AH, they claimed they were doing so to destroy idols. When the pilgrims committed the Euphrates Massacre against the people of Iraq, the pretext was “sedition.” Even when the United States committed the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, it described it as “military engagement.”

But this time, and for the first time in history, this man comes out publicly and admits to committing genocide, while dressed in his finest suit and tie. It is the most brutal and horrific genocide in our modern history and under our eyes.

Perhaps, one day, criminals like him will be brought to justice and charged with war crimes. They will defend themselves coldly: “We were following orders,” or “it was just a business procedure,” without pain, without remorse, and without the slightest sense of guilt or responsibility.

This is exactly what Hannah Arendt described as the “banality of evil.”

This article by Ismail Al Sharif was originally written in Arabic for the Addustour daily.

Opinion

Palestine – The Story Begins

Dr Khairi Janbek
September 22, 2025

By Dr Khairi Janbek

Regarding the recognition of a Palestinian state, the Montevideo Agreement of 1933 stipulates that a recognized state must have a permanent population, defined boundaries, a government, and the ability to enter into relations with other states.

Now one feels responsible, at least responsibility to oneself to say that the Arab people felt being let down for decades and generations filled with disappointments, which led to their constant skepticism as the result of their modern history and perpetual doubt as well as self-doubt.

When it came to the Palestinian issue, they forgot their own contribution also to the transformation of the problem from being a political question par excellence into a humanitarian crisis, human rights and refugees.

Somehow, it appears to me, that many in the Arab world are stunned by the recent developments of recognizing Palestine, to an extent to not knowing how to deal with the question of Palestine restored to its rightful place as a political question after so many years of outbursts of emotions, wailing and crying.

We are all now at the beginning of the beginning and not the end of the story. Therefore, a qualitative leap in Arab and Palestinian consciousness is required in order to be able to cope with both, extreme challenges and immense opportunities.

History indeed cannot be denied, but the new circumstances carry within themselves the seeds of a new history which is primarily, the responsibility of the Palestinian people in the first order, and then the Arab, because if the attitude of helplessness prevails and the question of what can we do; if we are collectively helpless, don’t expect others to do your job for you like adolescents expecting adults to sort out things for them.

Now, is the recognition of the Palestinian state significant?

Well, one is baffled that the question is even raised by Palestinians as well as Arabs, simply because one doesn’t excuse such an attitude by the catalogue of horrors one listed above. We are at the junction now of correcting historical imbalances, addressing bluntly the historical injustice of first, the legacy of colonialism and by and large, the consequences of the wars of 1948 as well as 1967.

There are also legal and diplomatic implications for this recognition, it bolsters Palestinian position in international fora opening the pathway to legal challenges against Israel’s actions in the occupied territories, while shifting diplomatic alliances in the Middle East and beyond.

Essentially the recognition of Palestine, affirms the Palestinian right to self determination, sovereignty, and validating Palestinian claims to establishing a state alongside Israel. Ultimately, we can all look now at the Palestinian issue not from the sole perspective of being a humanitarian and refugees issue, but from the perspective of national independence.

Dr Janbek is a Jordanian writer living in Paris, France.

Opinion

Gaza City, Israeli Lies

CrossFireArabia
September 21, 2025

By Dr Marwan Asmar

The current Israeli military onslaught on Gaza is so fierce that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian have already left the downtrodden city. It is a ramshackle place that is once again becoming a ghost town of debris as once-plush residential towers are now beaten down by Israeli bombs with the stench of gun-powder and sick human flesh that lies hidden below the rubble.

Israel’s latest attempt to invade Gaza City started on 16 September, 2025 and since then it has been bombing the once-dazzling urban conurbation from the air, land, and sea, causing widespread destruction and significant civilian casualties, whilst creating yet another mad wave of displacement to the south of the Strip.

Figures of forced displacement are not precise but the city a, conglomerate of 1.3 million people, has been reduced by much less. The Israeli army likes to boost of its handiwork. After the first week of ariel bombardment, it said 40 percent of the population has left, and today it says that 450,000 people have gone. The Gaza Media Office puts the number at only 270,000.

Despite the Israeli leaflets dropped from the air telling people to leave Palestinian sources still say that around 900,000 are staying put. Many say they are not going anywhere because of the limited space down in the south, and the fact it costs $3000 dollars to get down there, something which they don’t have.

One put it bluntly and callously, accepting fate as it comes. “Since, we are going to die anyway through Israeli bombs, it’s better to die here,” he added. The acceptance of fate however may be related to the fact that some of the people may have moved up to 20 times since the war started on Gaza soon after 7 October, 2023.

Last Thursday, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the Israeli assault, currently centred on Gaza City, is “driving new waves of displacement, forcing traumatised families into an ever-shrinking area unfit for human dignity”.

“The injured and people with disabilities cannot move to safety, which puts their lives in grave danger,” Tedros said. “We call for an immediate end to these inhumane conditions. “We call for an immediate end to these inhumane conditions. We call for a ceasefire.”

Case stories of thick swarves of displaced people speak of hellish conditions as they can be seen on the Al Rasheed Road connecting the north of the Gaza Strip to its southern side. If people can afford they can use transport but many, including whole families of men, women and children are moving on foot, hungry, with no water and many collapsing on the road as some have been moving for hours on end. For night rest, they make do with resting their limbs, again with no food on the sides of the road.

The social media have been rife with stories about forcibly displaced Palestinians on the road. Many of them say they don’t know where they are going, although the end of the road is to Al Mowasi, an area to the southwest of Khan Younis and which the Israeli has designated as a “safe” place but which it keeps bombing from the air whenever it feels like it.

One elderly man called Abu Nader Siam, walks slowly holding a cane in his right hand with his wife, Zakia Siam, at his left. He is exhausted as reported in the UN News.

“I come from the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City. They [Israelis] have left no house or neighbourhood except to bomb it,” he said. “The shelling continues, and they have dropped leaflets ordering us to evacuate. We walked for six hours because we couldn’t find a car or any transportation.”

Zakia Siam spoke about their non-stop journey after the shelling reduced their house to rubble. “We went to the Shujaiya neighbourhood, and then we were displaced to the Sha’af neighbourhood in Gaza City before it was bombed,” his wife said.

“Afterwards, we went to the seashore west of Gaza City and my husband and I stayed there for two nights without a tent. We sat on the sidewalk next to the tents and hid next to one of them, then continued walking.”

Another civilian, Mrs. Um Shadi al-Ashkar, carried a bag of belongings as she headed for southern Gaza. “There is death, shelling, bombing and destruction of houses (in Gaza City),” she said.

“Even if they had dropped leaflets, if there had been no shelling, no one would have left Gaza City, they would have stayed in their homes. But there is death and devastation.”

The fight for Gaza city is in full-swing. The Israeli army knows what its up against, adding it could take months, or even up to a year to completely take over the city from Palestinian resistance groups. Meanwhile, they know the city is a Hamas stronghold which they can’t railroad through their tanks. That is why for the time being they put the ground invasion on hold and bombing the city from the air and sea.

Opinion

Netanyahu, Sparta and Israeli Isolation

CrossFireArabia
September 17, 2025

By Ali Saadeh

In a rare contrast to his arrogant, narcissistic personality, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is being increasingly isolated in the international community, as more and more countries either suspend military cooperation, are reviewing arms deals with it, and/or in the process of imposing diplomatic, political, and economic relations with Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu has already acknowledged that “a diplomatic tsunami is on the way, [plainly speaking] isolation, and we will be forced to adapt, more and more, to an economy that, in certain aspects, has the characteristics of self-sufficiency.” He added: “We are Athens and Sparta,” in reference to the two ancient Greek cities.

Netanyahu chose Sparta, meaning isolation and self-absorption. “He chose Sparta specifically from among all the places in the world as it lived in ruins and under a harsh dictatorship, and finally was swallowed by its neighbors,” according to Yoav Limor, a military affairs analyst for Channel 12.

Benjamin Netanyahu was “successful” in his choice of Sparta, because today it has become clear to the world that he is leading the occupying state towards a fate similar to that of ancient Sparta, which built its existence on perpetual violence before eventually collapsing.

The Hebrew media focuses on the danger of the Israeli occupying state transforming itself into a society that thrives on violence and perpetual war, much like Sparta, which ultimately collapsed.

Of course, this comparison is not merely a historical image; it reflects a deep-seated fear that this occupying entity is in a state of true collapse and has entered a dangerous path that threatens its existence and long-term stability.

Some in Israel are even beginning to talk about the fact that Netanyahu may even possibly be the last prime minister of this occupation state.

Sparta turned to military rule after being forced to wage long wars with its neighbors, most notably Athens, fighting with it a devastating war that lasted a quarter of a century, known as the Peloponnesian War. Its influence, both real and moral, expanded over the neighboring Greek cities.

The occupying state appears to be on the verge of collapse under the leadership of Netanyahu and his government, which resembles a group of mentally ill people who have secretly escaped from a mental hospital under cover of darkness.

This opinion by Ali Saadeh was translated from the Arabic Al Sabeel website.

Opinion

Who is The ‘True’ Terrorist Here?!

CrossFireArabia
September 16, 2025

By Mohammad Abu Rumman

“This is not a geopolitical battle; it is a spiritual battle. A battle of the ages. It is not horizontal. It is not left or right, liberal or conservative. It is a vertical battle… a battle of heaven against hell, good against evil. People must see it in this context, or they will completely fail to understand it.”

With these words, Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, described the ongoing war of extermination in Gaza during an interview with NBC. He criticized the move by several European states to recognize Palestine at the United Nations this month, adding: “You do not stand with Israel merely because you agree with its government… but because it defends the traditions of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

This rhetoric aligns seamlessly with statements made by members of Netanyahu’s government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for example, openly called for the “complete destruction of Gaza” and the forced displacement of its residents to other countries, invoking biblical injunctions about “erasing the memory of Israel’s enemies.” What is striking is that such discourse is no longer viewed as fringe or shocking in Western and global media and political circles. It has become commonplace—voiced by ministers, politicians, and even Netanyahu himself—steeped in extremism and religious absolutism toward “the other.” In this case, the “other” is the Palestinians as a whole, along with anyone who dares oppose the Israeli far right.

Here, the urgent question arises: how should terrorism and extremism be redefined today? Who is the true terrorist? And what form of terrorism most threatens regional security and societal peace?

Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the United States declared its “war on terror,” rallying dozens of states against al-Qaeda and later ISIS. ISIS was undeniably a brutal extremist group that committed massacres, established a so-called caliphate, and tore down borders between Syria and Iraq. Yet it remained an isolated, besieged organization—globally reviled, stripped of legitimacy, and unsupported by institutions or states. What we witness today, by contrast, is state terrorism practiced openly, backed by major powers, and legitimized through religious rhetoric presented as divine will. The irony is palpable: Israel engages in territorial expansion, rejects recognized borders, launches cross-border military strikes, and has a prime minister who frames his mission in explicitly spiritual and historic terms—the realization of Greater Israel.

Skeptics may argue that labeling Israel a terrorist state changes nothing; it clashes with power dynamics and U.S. strategic interests. Perhaps. Yet it remains essential to reshape Arab, Islamic—and indeed universal—awareness of these realities, and to recalibrate the very language and definitions we use. These should form part of today’s Arab political, media, and diplomatic discourse. If an international coalition against terrorism is to exist, the actor most deserving of that designation is Israel’s government—not transient groups like ISIS or al-Qaeda. Huckabee’s words and the declarations of Netanyahu’s ministers are not aberrations; they are clear manifestations of this reality: state terrorism, sanctified by religion and legitimized internationally. If there is a rogue state whose leaders should stand before the International Criminal Court for genocide and mass killings, it is Israel.

This framing is of enormous significance for international, regional, and even domestic debates. Otherwise, Arab political and intellectual circles will continue to be dragged along by narratives that consistently place the blame on extremist movements emerging here or there—movements that are, in truth, the predictable outcomes of political dysfunction. Whether born of Israeli aggression or Arab authoritarianism, such groups are less causes than consequences. To blame them alone is to misread the sequence of cause and effect.

Today, amid the genocidal war on Gaza, a new political generation is coming of age. It witnesses, daily and directly, the starvation, slaughter, and devastation visited upon children, women, and civilians. It also sees the deafening global silence, alongside Arab paralysis and strategic impotence. What reactions can we reasonably expect from such a generation? This is not an attempt at justification, but rather an explanation of what is taking shape: a coming wave of anger among youth, or a wave that others may channel into particular political or religious agendas. That wave is already being born—out of the crucible of Gaza.

The writer is a columnist in The Jordan Times