Translation of an article in the latest edition of Xekinima
According to the United Nations, “the entire population of northern Gaza is at imminent risk of death” due to violence, starvation, or disease caused by Israeli military operations. UN officials have repeatedly called for an end to the indiscriminate attacks, which have intensified in late October and early November, targeting refugee camps, hospitals, and critical infrastructure. In early November, Israel targeted the pediatric and neonatal units of Kamal Antwan hospital and a polio vaccination centre in Gaza City, injuring dozens of children.
The situation has escalated to a point where UN facilities and personnel are not spared, leading to calls for Israel’s suspension from the United Nations. The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 43,700 since the onset of Israel’s genocidal offensive a year ago.
Meanwhile, in the US, newly elected President Donald Trump has begun to introduce the first members of his administration (which will take office in January) and other close associates. The president, who was elected in part on a promise to “end wars”, has chosen Elise Stefanik as US ambassador to the UN, a hardline Israel lover who is seen as a “gift to Netanyahu”. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has previously stated that
“…there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian… You have Arabs and Persians. And there’s such complexity in that. But there’s really no such thing. That’s been a political tool to try and force land away from Israel.”
Similar positions have been taken by the incoming Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who holds Hamas “100% responsible” for the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza.
A Massacre and the Inversion of Reality
As the massacre in Gaza continues, the most extreme defenders of the system become even more radical. Speaking in the Israeli parliament in early November, governing Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan stated that there are “no innocent people in Gaza” and claimed that even young children at the age of 3 or 4 were being indoctrinated to become killers. Such rhetoric is bolstered by unwavering support from the U.S. political establishment—across both Democratic and Republican lines. Former President Bill Clinton, campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris, claimed that Hamas is “using civilians as human shields” and forcing Israel into a position where civilian deaths, including those of children, are unavoidable.
Violence in Europe and Media Distortions
The echoes of the conflict have reverberated in Europe, with disturbing incidents involving Israeli supporters. On November 6 and 7, hundreds of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam, attending their team’s football match against Ajax, engaged in violent actions, tearing down Palestinian flags, attacking a taxi, and chasing a Dutch man through the streets. Videos circulating on social media captured them chanting deeply racist slogans, including “There are no schools in Gaza because we killed all the children” and “Death to Arabs.” Following clashes with locals, the Israeli government arranged for three planes to evacuate the fans from the Netherlands.
Despite the evidence, mainstream media and political narratives flipped the story. A widely shared video showing Maccabi fans initiating violence was misrepresented in some outlets as depicting an attack on them (according to the photographer who took it, who accused the media that reproduced it of spreading false news). This inversion extended to statements from Dutch and international leaders. King Willem-Alexander declared, “We have abandoned the Jewish community, as our country did during the Second World War,” equating the events with the Holocaust’s persecution of Jews. Some commentators went as far as to compare the events in Amsterdam to Kristallnacht, the infamous Nazi pogrom of 1938.
These unthinkable parallels, insulting first and foremost to the victims of the Nazi atrocities themselves, appeared not only in major international media, but also on the European Parliament‘s own website, which states:
“On 7 November, hundreds of Jewish football supporters were attacked in Amsterdam by masked mobs. The pogrom, which occurred two days before the anniversary of ‘Kristallnacht’, or the ‘Night of Broken Glass’, and was filmed by the mobs, has been roundly condemned by, among others, Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who stated that the country betrayed its Jewish inhabitants during World War II and betrayed them again on 7 November.”
Such comparisons not only misrepresent the reality of the incident but also trivialize the suffering of Holocaust victims, an affront to historical memory and justice.
“The Most Ethical Army in the World”
On the Lebanese front, the death toll is reportedly nearing 3,300 as the Israeli army continues its operations, demolishing entire villages along the country’s southern border. In a disturbing trend, some Israeli soldiers have been “rating” the sites they have destroyed in southern Lebanon on Google Maps. Comments left for destroyed locations such as mosques and hospitals include the following:
“No mosque, only rubble and a blocked tunnel entrance. I went for nothing. Do not recommend,”
“Just disappointing, it said that it opens in the morning, we arrived and it was closed! …Really bad service. There are no good conditions for staying. But other than that, there was (a lot) [of fire].”
This mockery of devastation contrasts starkly with claims of the Israeli army being “the most moral and ethical army in the world.”
Similar behavior has been reported in Gaza, where soldiers have recorded and shared videos of themselves engaging in degrading activities within Palestinian homes. These include dressing up with women and children clothes, vandalizing household appliances, and destroying furniture purely for amusement.
Worldwide Concern
At the same time, people all around the world are watching with concern the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, waiting for the possibility of a new response from Iran following the firing of Israeli missiles at military installations in the country on October 26.
This unease is mirrored across European societies. A recent poll conducted in seven European countries found that between 52% and 65% of respondents believed an all-out war in the Middle East, involving Iran and Israel, was either “fairly” or “very likely.” The same poll revealed that while majorities in all surveyed nations condemned the October 7 attack last year by Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians, many also viewed Israel’s response in Gaza as unjustified. This sentiment was especially pronounced in Spain (65%), Italy (57%), and the UK (47%).
Resistance
Growing discontent with the violence has spurred significant anti-war mobilizations worldwide, often met with harsh governmental crackdowns and media criticism. For example, in early November, Israeli academic and filmmaker Chaim Bresit was arrested in the UK during a solidarity rally for Palestine. According to the arresting officer, his speech contained “hate speech” because Bresit claimed that Israel had failed to defeat Hamas or achieve its broader objectives in Gaza, Lebanon, or Iran.
In Amsterdam, mass demonstrations of solidarity with Palestine followed the media-distorted narrative surrounding the Israeli hooligans’ violence in the city. Protesters were met with police repression, including arrests and injuries—treatment starkly contrasting with the impunity granted to the Israeli hooligans during their two-day rampage.
Despite this repression, international anti-war mobilizations are growing. Practical acts of resistance, such as labor movements blocking the transfer of military supplies to Israel, have already occurred in several countries. These efforts reflect the sentiment that the unchecked bloodshed in Gaza, Lebanon, and beyond can only be halted through a coordinated global anti-war movement, based on workers and the youth.
