Written by Samara Attalla and Raneem Hijazi

Once again, Western media reporting continues to paint the settler colony of Israel as the victim to sustain the myth that it is fighting for its existence. The pattern of Zionist victimhood has been ongoing since its inception and can be seen in the biased language used by Western media outlets, the omission of factual evidence, and misleading narratives. 

The settler colony of Israel is always on the offensive in every situation. On October 7, this was apparent as the Western media immediately spread propaganda and unverified facts. Israel took the role of the victim and was never held accountable as the perpetrator. Western columnists defended ‘Israel’ without a doubt, despite its historical record of erasing Palestinians whenever it wants, wherever it wants, for whatever reason it wants. This tactic is effective because the US and other allies have continuously presented Israel's unconfirmed allegations as justification for the righteousness of their cause. The focus on the events that occurred on October 7 removes the spotlight from the events leading up to this day. It is easy to forget about the sustained attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, where over 400 Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers in 2023, noting it as the deadliest year for Palestinians. 

During the Great March of Return protests, which took place from March 30, 2018, into May 2018, where thousands of Palestinians in Gaza would gather peacefully every Friday at the border fence with ‘Israel’ to demand their legal right to return to their homeland. Israeli occupation forces responded by firing live ammunition into the crowd of protesters, killing over 200 and wounding more than 30,000 Palestinians. The international community and Western media, in particular, failed to hold the settler colony responsible and systematically decontextualized the mass civilian protest while labeling ‘Israel’s’ weekly massacres as ​“clashes,” which strategically dehumanized the Palestinians fighting for their freedom.

Digging deeper into history is essential to understanding the current events involving ‘Israel,’ Palestine, and the neighboring Arab countries. During the Zionist occupation of Lebanon, on September 1, 1982, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) withdrew from the country under assurance from the US that the remaining Palestinian refugees would be protected in Lebanon. On September 16, 1982, just 2 weeks after this, members of a far-right Christian militia, the Phalange Party, coordinated with the Israeli forces to massacre between 2,000 and 3,500 Muslim Lebanese and Palestinian civilians in, what became known as the Sabra and Shatila massacre for 2 days. This was in direct violation of the American-brokered ceasefire and due to the impunity bestowed on ‘Israel’ by the US this massacre went unpunished by the international community. This is another act of aggression where the international community turns a blind eye and fails to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law and to defend the basic human rights of the Palestinian people.

Mainstream Western media paints Palestine as a destabilizing force. Meanwhile, ‘Israel’ has destabilized the entire region, preventing the unification of the Middle East.

The US continues to shield Israel from any responsibility for the ongoing genocide in Gaza and shamefully justifies the atrocities in Gaza under the guise of ‘Israel’ claiming self-defense, playing a role in shifting sympathy to the Zionist Entity. ‘Israel’ consistently portrays itself as the victim, regardless of the circumstances. 

A recent example of this is the targeting of Iran, where ‘Israel’ is actively inciting a regional war.

On April 1st, 2024, ‘Israel’ bombed the Iranian consulate in Syria, which killed two high-ranking Iranian Commanders as well as three other people. According to David Hearst for the Middle East Eye, the ‘Israeli’ attack was actually meant to destabilize the Iranian presence in Syria. Iran vowed to respond to ‘Israel’s’ flagrant attack, causing one of the largest drone strikes in history. 

But Iran and ‘Israel’ were not always enemies. Throughout various points in the 20th century, Iran and ‘Israel’ were actually allies, with Iran being the second Muslim-majority country to recognize the ‘Israeli’ state. In 1951, the Iranian prime minister began to reject ‘Israel,’ however, when the Western-backed Shah was put into power, ‘Israel’ and Iran once again became allies. The Iranian revolution in 1979 caused Iran to then altogether reject ‘Israel,’ which began decades-long animosity between the two.

After Iran responded to ‘Israel’ on April 14th, 2024, many were concerned that this would escalate into a larger regional war…. Even if the majority of drones were shot down. The US had shot down the majority of these drones to protect its ‘Israeli’ ally while also receiving a great deal of help from other Arab states that have normalized relations with ‘Israel’ — in other words, Arab states like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE who provided intelligence and in Jordan’s case, actually attacked some of the drones, to ensure peaceful relations with the settler colony of ‘Israel.’

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations says his country’s drone and missile attack against Israel was ‘in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right to self-defense as outlined in Article 51 of the charter of the UN and is recognized by international law’. This attack was a retaliation to the attack on April 1, where Israel targeted the Iranian consulate in Syria. However, this key factor seems to be missing in Western media coverage, as they focus on the events that occurred solely on April 14. 

The US was quick to claim that Iran acted recklessly and posed a threat to the region. The US Security Council stated that Iran ‘must cease their attacks.’ As millions worldwide call for a ceasefire in Gaza, the UN Security Council swiftly condemned Iran's attack on ‘Israel’, alleging Iran intended to inflict harm and casualties (although the Iranian government shared that their targets were military bases to avoid civilian casualties).

Although Biden told Netanyahu that the US would not participate in any Israeli counter-offensive against Iran over the attack, the White House officials shared that they will continue to blindly support ‘Israel’, negating the initial reason for this retaliation attack.

Iran’s mission exposed the settler colony of Israel’s weakness and cost more than 1 billion dollars to activate its top-tier air defense systems, which were overwhelmed by the drones from Iran. The strikes came with intelligence assets that helped locate and track ‘Israel’s’ military bases, their consulate bombing operations, and how to launch a counterstrike. It also exposed the countries that helped ‘Israel’ shoot down the drones - the US, the UK, France and Jordan. The operation was a strategic success and a setback to the reputation of ‘Israel’.

‘Israel’ had pledged to respond, despite calls for them to hold back on all sides, and the UK’s foreign minister suggested that it had decided to “act.” The Biden administration continued to be firm that the US wouldn't participate in offensive military operations against Iran, fearing a broader war in the Middle East.

“Netanyahu’s plan is clear: to distract attention from the war in Gaza and to drag the US and other Western allies back into the Middle East,” said Nomi Bar-Yaacov, an associate fellow at Chatham House.

On April 18, ‘Israel’ allegedly attacked Iran in a series of drone missiles in the Isfahan province. 

As this situation evolves, PDM is committed to amplifying the Palestinian cause by focusing on sharing a factual understanding of ongoing events, debunking propaganda, and ensuring the voices of the Palestinians are heard despite all the noise caused by the settler colony Israel.

Sources are cited throughout the newsletter. Click on the highlighted text.