1. The Ceasefire Deal was Imposed on Israel – US president Joe Biden announced in May 2024 a ceasefire proposal that could begin the cessation of hostilities in Gaza. Biden and his White House reminded everyone on numerous occasions that the proposal was formulated by Israel. Hamas accepted the proposal as soon as it was announced. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragged his feet for over 8 months, introduced new conditions and refused to agree to the deal that he apparently came up with.
When Donald Trump won the US election in November 2024 and on the eve of his inauguration on 20th January 2025, Netanyahu had still not agreed to the ceasefire proposal. Trump did not want any crisis on his inauguration day, especially one that included US hostages. He sent his friend and real estate developer with no diplomatic experience, Steve Witkoff to read Netanyahu the riot act.
It took Witkoff just one meeting with Netanyahu to ensure compliance and acceptance of the same proposal President Biden had proposed 8 months prior.[1] As Hamas had already accepted the proposal, they were never the problem. It was clearly Israel all along.
2. It Was Israel that Sabotaged the Ceasefire – The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was not a single deal but split into 3 parts. The first stage, which was to last for 42 days, consisted of a suspension rather than cessation of hostilities, with limited Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, some Palestinians allowed to return to their homes in Gaza and the exchange of some hostages. The second stage was meant to result in a durable ceasefire, the completion of the exchange of captives and the complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Whilst the objectives of this stage were agreed, the mechanisms were not. It was structured so that on the 16th day of the first stage the mechanism would be agreed for the second stage. The third stage was mainly about post-war reconstruction.
As soon as the first stage of the ceasefire began on 19th January 2025, Israeli officials began lamenting about Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. Analysts from various backgrounds began arguing that Netanyahu for a variety of personal and political reasons didn’t want to begin or complete the second stage of the ceasefire deal.[2] Netanyahu and his right-wing colleagues never wanted a formal cessation of hostilities and didn’t want to withdraw from Gaza. As a result, Netanyahu did not accept any negotiations on the second stage.
Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff then came up with a bridging proposal which met all of Israel’s demands but none of Hamas’s. Israel’s demands were for continuing hostilities and for all Israeli captives to be returned. The US and Israel then blamed Hamas for the failure of the first stage of the ceasefire and accused them of rejecting the proposal. On the 2nd March 2025, when the first stage of the ceasefire concluded, Israel brought back its comprehensive siege; water, fuel and electricity was all cut.
Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of stalling the second phase of the ceasefire and hostages-prisoner exchange deal with Hamas to appease far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who was essential to keep Netanyahu in power.[3]
As Hamas had already accepted the proposal, they were never the problem. It was clearly Israel all along
3. Is Time Running Out for Iran? – The drums of war are beating against Iran. Israel has capitalised on the events of October 7th to advance its long-standing territorial ambitions, expelling indigenous populations and creating buffer zones. With regional armed groups weakened, Iran remains the only major threat to Israel.
For decades, Israel has lobbied the US to strike Iran’s nuclear program, but the US debacles in the Afghan and Iraq wars meant she had other priorities. Now, however, Israel has successfully won the US to its point of view of reshaping regional security in its favour.
President Trump has pursued negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, sending a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in early March 2025, offering a deal while simultaneously signing a national security memorandum reimposing maximum pressure on Iran. President Trump told Fox News in an interview on March the 7th that the letter said, “I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily it’s going to be a terrible thing.”[4]
Iran has offered “indirect negotiations” as a way out of the current situation, but the US demands are maximalist and negotiations with the US will likely be a dead end for it – just as Hezbollah’s negotiations have been proven a dead end for it. The US state department said in a statement, “The president expressed his willingness to discuss a deal
with Iran. If the Iranian regime does not want a deal, the president is clear, he will pursue other options, which will be very bad for Iran.”[5]
The US has escalated its military posture, deploying B-2 bombers capable of carrying massive bunker-buster bombs to its Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean. This puts Iran within striking distance, signalling Washington’s readiness for military action if Iran does not comply. Iran now faces a critical choice: surrender to US-Israeli demands or conduct a nuclear test to deter potential attacks.
Israel has successfully won the US to its point of view of reshaping regional security in its favour
4. The al-Assad Regime’s Overthrow Was Due to Reshaping the Region – When the Arab Spring reached Syria in 2011, Israel watched in horror as its most secure border was threatened. Despite all the rhetoric against Syria, Israeli security officials lined up to defend Bashar al-Assad. Maj-Gen. (Res) Amos Gilad said in an interview with Israel Radio that Assad is in total control of his country’s weapons systems and is acting sensibly with regard to Israel.[6] The Ex-IDF chief Dan Halutz said Israel prefers that Assad stay in power. “The regime in Syria kills its citizens every day, but we must acknowledge that the opposition in Syria is composed of Muslim extremists like al-Qaeda.”[7] Whilst Israel saw the al-Assads as a critical player in maintaining Israel’s most secure border, they always saw Syria’s relationship with Iran and Hezbollah as problematic.
By the time Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrullah on the 29th of September 2024 and the group’s entire senior leadership, the US aligned with Israel to strategically alter the region’s security architecture and change the situation in Syria. This meant the situation in Syria needed to be altered as Hizbullah’s supply lines ran through the country. To bring Syria in line with the new regional set up Iran needed to be ejected from Syria and therefore the regime in Damascus was replaced by Ahmed al-Sharaa and HTS, who the US has maintained a watchful eye on ever since his was in a US prison in Camp Bucca back in 2003.
To bring Syria in line with the new regional set up Iran needed to be ejected from Syria and therefore the regime in Damascus was replaced by Ahmed al-Sharaa and HTS, who the US has maintained a watchful eye on ever since his was in a US prison in Camp Bucca back in 2003
5. Israel’s Has Lost the Information War – The Israeli propaganda war went into overdrive soon after the events of the 7th October. We were constantly told by Israel and its supporters in western governments and in the media that Israel is acting in self-defence in Gaza. Its objective was to free hostages held by Hamas, and to re-establish order and security by destroying Hamas’ military capabilities. But many saw through this and only saw the complete destruction of Gaza.
One-by-one Israeli officials and spokesman struggled in the face of news reporters questioning their motives and explanations, which defied all logic. Zionists cried antisemitism and abused the concept, but the relentless onslaught for Israel to defend itself has seen Israel lose what credibility it had left.
What didn’t help Israel was the lies it spread about October 7th from the beheaded babies, sexual assault, mutilations and massacres. In time these were all debunked and confirmed what many had long believed that Israel is the one in the wrong. Many have over time aligned with the sentiments of the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when he said, “It is important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum” and “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation”.
6. The Israeli Military is at Stretching Point – Israel is an artificial country created as a settler colony that faces numerous external challenges. Outnumbered in the region, the small nation has a small army and relies upon calling up reserves in the event of war. For much of its history, Israel chose to fight short and decisive wars, with most campaigns measured in days and weeks, to minimise the burden on the reservists it would call up to augment the regular army. But in what became a multi-front ground campaign across southern Lebanon, Syria and the occupied West Bank, Israel’s military is overstretched and reaching breaking point.
All this is taking place with polls showing that than 69% of Israelis want Netanyahu to strike a deal with Hamas to return the remaining hostages, even if it means ending the war.[8] However, the Prime Minister, under pressure from his far-right political allies, has vowed not to stop fighting until Hamas has been eliminated.
The Israeli military is not doctrinally designed to fight wars of attrition or long wars due to the costs involved and due to its artificial reality. But with Israel now fighting on multiple fronts and requiring reservists to hold the ground seized, Israel is now involved in a war it was never meant to get into.
7. Israel Has Failed to Destroy Hamas – Israel’s leaders have constantly said that victory for them is defined as the complete destruction of Hamas. For 18 months Israel has bombed, pillaged and massacred men, women, children and they didn’t spare any hospitals, places of worship or infrastructure. But to the shock of all in Israel, Hamas after months of Israel’s brutal siege put on a display when they freed captives which clearly showed all the talk of Hamas brigades being destroyed has clearly not been the case.
Aside from Netanyahu and his right-wing colleagues, no one believes this Israeli goal is even possible. Speaking in one of his final appearances as Secretary of State on January 14th 2025, Anthony Blinken said: “We assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost. That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war.”[9]
Hamas has undoubtedly been hit hard in the last 18 months. It has likely lost thousands of fighters, including its military leader Yahya Sinwar, its weapons stockpile is likely depleted. But if there is any authority in Gaza, it still appears to be Hamas. Hamas was able to hold on to its hostages, who looked to be in good condition, and was able to negotiate and sign a ceasefire agreement with the parties that swore to annihilate it.
Hamas’s adaptability as a fighting force has developed over the years as a reaction to Israel’s tactics against it. This means it has been built to take numerous blows and still be able to carry on as an organisation.
Hamas after months of Israel’s brutal siege put on a display when they freed captives which clearly showed all the talk of Hamas brigades being destroyed has clearly not been the case
8. Israel is as Divided As Ever – On the 1st of April 2025 Israeli police used skunk water – a foul-smelling substance fired from water cannons – to clear protesters who had blocked the Begin Boulevard, Jerusalem’s major north-south highway. The protests come as poll after poll reveal a deepening divide within Israeli society regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s motives, with nearly half of Israelis suspecting political interests behind his actions.
For a nation that was attacked on October 7th it couldn’t be more divided. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was deeply unpopular prior to the events of October 7th and his actions since are seen by many to save his own skin rather than the hostages. The families of the hostages have openly criticised Netanyahu for not agreeing a hostage release deal with Hamas. For many Israelis, international criticism and a lack of progress in freeing hostages is piling pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu. A majority of Israelis now say that they do not trust the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with most of the public also opposed to his policy on the hostages.[10]
9. Israel’s Genocidal War Breaks New Records – Israel was created in the name of those who survived the genocide committed by the Nazis. But in 2025 all the institutions created to monitor and document genocides, all the human rights organisations who monitor atrocities and numerous historians and experts now accuse Israel of committing a genocide.
In March 2025 the UN concluded Israel targeted fertility clinics and embryo facilities in Gaza in its assault over the last year. In its 49-page report on sexual and gender-based violence drawn up by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, it detailed attacks on maternity wards and other healthcare facilities for women, the destruction of an IVF clinic and controls on the entry of food and medical supplies into Gaza that together “…destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group”. Carrying out actions to affect the birth rate of a people is one of the five acts that constitute a 
genocide.
Israel also broke another record on the 15th of March 2025 when it sabotaged the ceasefire agreement and refused to negotiate the second phase. Israel cut electricity and food into Gaza, and then on the day the ceasefire ended on the 18th of March 2025 Israel pounded Gaza and added another record to its genocidal credentials. Israel carried out the largest massacre of children in 24 hours in modern history on the 18th of March. Haaretz called it the day when “Israel … committed the largest child massacre in its history. Two hundred children and 100 women were killed in one day.”[11]
10. Israel is not Hiding its Agenda – Israel was created as a settler colony and the original settlers always viewed the expulsion of the indigenous people as the solution for their long-term survival. Israel has since its inception in 1948 come up with various strategies to put this plan into action. In 1956 and 1967 Israel expanded its territory and further expelled the indigenous people.
Israeli officials have for long been open about the ‘mowing the lawn’ strategy, of carrying out intermittent devastating attacks on both the West Bank and Gaza, crippling infrastructure in order to make life unbearable for the Palestinians. When the events of October 7th took place the genocidal statements and expulsion of the Palestinians in Gaza was openly paraded for the world to see.
Israel intensified its attacks on Gaza from October 2024, especially upon Northern Gaza. There has always been speculation Israel was executing the “Generals Plan”, which is also known as the ‘starve and surrender’ plan. Near the end of October 2024 Israel announced anyone remaining in Northern Gaza would be designated as Hamas and then targeted for killing. Israel has for long tightened its siege and cut-off aid in order to force the remaining population to flee, making Gaza uninhabited. The plan to depopulate Gaza was confirmed on the 21st of October 2023 when representatives of Israel’s Mossad spy agency and its security agency Shin Bet visited Cairo and informed them of their plan to create a buffer zone in northern Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move to areas close to the Egyptian border.[12]
With Israel’s sabotage of the ceasefire, the Generals plan now means creating buffer zones for Israel in Gaza through ethnic cleansing and making the remaining areas unliveable in order to make the Gazans relocate “voluntarily”. In a video speech Netanyahu is not even hiding the Israeli long-term plan: “Last night in the Gaza Strip, we switched gears. The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) is seizing territory, striking the terrorists and destroying the infrastructure. We are now dividing the strip and increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages. And as long as they do not give them to us, the pressure will increase until they do.”[13]
When the events of October 7th took place the genocidal statements and expulsion of the Palestinians in Gaza was openly paraded for the world to see
11. Is the US the New USSR? – On the 8th of March 2025, after returning from a restaurant with his wife, Muhammed Khalil, a graduate of Columbia University was surrounded by what turned out to be officers from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Officers handcuffed Khalil arguing his student visa had been revoked and therefore he was an illegal in the US. Unbeknown to the agents was the fact that Khalil was a permanent resident with a green card. When he argued he was a permanent resident the agents then changed track and said this status would be revoked instead.[14]
Khalil was made to disappear, even though the
officers who arrested him didn’t know what crime they were arresting him for. Khalil had committed no crime, and still today has not been charged with any crime. Khalil gained profile as a student activist and being the lead negotiator for the encampment in the Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupations. This detention is the first publicly known deportation effort related to pro-Palestine activism in the US.
Much like the KGB during the Cold War era, where they arrested and disappeared dissidents and anyone who criticised the USSR. The Trump administration is even using a Cold War era law – the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which provides that migrants in the US may be removed if the Secretary of State believes their presence will have serious negative consequences for US foreign policy.
Whilst many journalists and human rights organisations have noted the connection between this law and McCarthyism. What this really shows is after 18 months of war, much like the USSR, the US can no longer intellectually defend Israel. As a result, like the USSR, the US is resorting to KGB tactics of arresting and expelling those who hold undesirable views.
This detention is the first publicly known deportation effort related to pro-Palestine activism in the US
12. The TikTok Ban is About Israel, Not China – Israel’s information war has struggled to win adherents ever since it went into 5th gear after October 7th. TikTok became a popular platform for many to see what was going on, on the ground in Gaza and as Israel’s information war faltered, as a result Pro-Zionist lobby groups pushed for the US Congress to ban the app.
US officials argued national security was at stake as many young Americans use the app, and TikTok was not only affecting how many Americans view Israel and its occupation of the Palestinian territories. But the data was potentially being shared with the Chinese government. ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok is based in China.
In April 2024 Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), due to alleged security concerns and pro-Palestinian bias. The bill was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden, setting a deadline for the app to be banned unless a qualified divestment was made before then. The two American lawmakers, who co-authored the controversial law, received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funding from the pro-Israel lobby, according to official records.[15]
The banning of Tiktok has been due to apparent pro-Palestinians bias. But analysis from Vox found that stating support for the Palestinian cause has been growing among younger generations, who make up the majority of TikTok’s users, even before the events of October 7th.[16] Analysts now argue that popular videos on the app in support of Palestinians or criticizing Israel were “…likely an accurate reflection of the beliefs shared by the majority of users using the platform.”[17]
At the Munich Security Conference in February 2025 Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, asked former congressman Mike Gallagher about the real story behind the TikTok ban. Gallagher described how the national security bill was dead until Hamas’ attack on Israel, which brought the legislation back to life. Gallagher said: “So we had a bipartisan consensus. We had the executive branch, but the bill was still dead until October 7th. And people started to see a bunch of anti-Semitic content on the platform and our bill had legs again.” The account by Gallagher makes it explicit that Israeli officials and lobbyists told everyone that would listen in Washington that TikTok’s algorithm fuelled American youth opposition to the Israel-Hamas war.[18] The Bill to ban TikTok is considered the most sudden legislative triumph in recent US political history. The bill made it from unveiling to supermajority House vote in just eight days and to final Senate passage within a month!
as Israel’s information war faltered, as a result Pro-Zionist lobby groups pushed for the US Congress to ban the app
13. Israel Did Enact the Hannibal Directive – Images and videos from the October 7th assault on Israeli villages and towns have long led to questions about what really took place. Israel argued Hamas carried out a slaughter, it destroyed properties, vehicles and wanted to commit a genocide. But in all the videos in the public domain what everyone saw were individuals who were lightly armed with no heavy weapons in order for them to have mobility. Rather than tanks or heavy vehicles much of what was seen was Palestinian groups using motor bikes or gliders.
The damage done to Israeli towns and communities as well as buildings led many to accuse Israel of using the Hannibal Directive. This directive believes a dead Israeli is better than a captured Israeli based on Israel being forced to negotiate to free its hostages.
Many security personnel and soldiers have individually admitted that the Hannibal Directive was instituted, but Israeli senior officials had never admitted its use. But in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, the former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant admitted he gave the Hannibal Directive order. “I think that, tactically, in some places, it was given, and in other places, it was not given, and that is a problem.”[19] Gallant explained the directive was not used enough!
This confirms when a number of locations in Southern Israel were overrun and with the armed groups taking hostages back to Gaza for future prisoner swaps the Hannibal Directive was enacted. A number of tank commanders have also admitted they targeted homes, vehicles and other targets knowing Israelis would also be killed. Helicopter pilots also admitted they could not differentiate between Israelis and the armed groups and still launched attacks. In the aftermath of the October 7th attacks it became clear the structural damage to buildings and homes required heavy weapons, which Hamas didn’t have. This means we do not really know how many deaths on October 7th were by the Palestinian groups and how many were by Israel.
the former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant admitted he gave the Hannibal Directive order. He explained the directive was not used enough!
14. Israel is Seizing Syria – The fall of the al-Assad regime has provided Israel with the opportunity to invade, occupy and further expand its territory. In the week the regime in Damascus fell, Israel immediately carried out an aerial campaign on Syrian military bases destroying Syria’s heavy weapons platforms. 
Israel took advantage of the power vacuum created by the fall of al-Assad to increase the amount of territory it controlled by several hundred square miles. Israel moved immediately to create a buffer zone beyond the Israeli Syrian border, including the area around Mount Hermon. Then the IDF pushed to demilitarise the area between Damascus and that buffer zone. Israel sent ground forces stationed on the occupied Golan Heights deeper into Syrian territory, into the demilitarised buffer zone established by the 1974 disengagement agreement. The Israeli army has since set up nine outposts in villages, erected checkpoints, carried out patrols, conducted raids and fired at Syrians protesting its incursion.
Beyond this Israel has declared its intention to establish a wider “demilitarised” zone stretching across southern Syria. It has reached out to the Druze minority in Syria’s southwest, inviting the Druze to come work in the Israeli-occupied Golan and promising to protect those in Syria from attack.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Robert Geist Pinfold – lecturer in International Peace and Security at Durham University – opined: “The Golan Heights is supposed to be a buffer zone to protect the rest of Israel. So now what Israel is doing is basically arguing that it needs a buffer zone, to protect its buffer zone, that’s protecting the rest of Israel, and you have to wonder where does all this end.”[20]
15. The US-Israeli Alliance Strategic Plans for the Middle East – Israel since the events of October 7th is executing its long held plans to seize, expand and expel the indigenous people. As seen in Gaza the Israeli plan is about ethnic cleansing to create depopulated buffer zones; the Israeli defence minister Israel Katz now openly speaks of annexation of parts of Gaza. Katz said he has instructed the Israeli military to seize territory in Gaza and order civilians to move out of certain areas if the hostages aren’t freed.[21]
Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition in Israel, set out his view on what a strategic success would be for Israel. He said that “…winning…” requires a “…return of the hostages to their families; building a civilian government in Gaza in place of Hamas; removing Hezbollah from the northern border and returning the residents to their homes with a sense of trust and security; building a regional coalition against Iran and stopping the Iranian nuclear programme; the rehabilitation of communities in the north and south; and strengthening Israel’s military”. To get there, he proposed a return to the Abraham Accord process. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are to become key partners of Israel, who then have to solve the problems of Israel in the Middle East. They have to broker establishment of an “Arab peace corps” that will police Gaza: develop a new government for Gaza that is not connected to either Hamas or the Palestinian authority and train and finance a special Lebanese army to control southern Lebanon. Thereafter, they are to play a leading role in using “economic and military means” to stop Iran’s nuclear program and halt its influence in the region via Hezbollah and the Houthi’s. Lastly, he outlined that they have to spearhead an effort to make the people of the Middle East accept Israel, through “…a deep change in their education system.”[22]
The US strategic plan for the region is now centred around building the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For this the US is reshaping the security architecture of the region. This includes rolling back Iran’s role in the region which the US utilised for three last two decades. It also includes the Abraham Accords that aims to integrate Israel into the greater Middle East, taking it out of “pariah status” in the region and making it a “normal” state by a host of nations, including Saudi Arabia normalising relations with it.
Whilst the US and Israel have different end goals, there is huge overlap in their plans and that’s why Israel has been able to win the US over to many of its viewpoints in the last 18 months, especially rolling back Iran’s role in the region. Looking closely at Yair Lapid’s vision, it is closely aligned with the US vision. There is also very little daylight between the Lapid vision and Netanyahu vision. They share essential objectives. The difference between two is really just one of “styles and means”, with Netanyahu seeing military intervention as the solution to every problem while Lapid proposes an outsourcing of the solution building from the IDF to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Where Lapid, Netanyahu and the US are on the same page is the interests of the wider 500 million people in the Middle East is secondary. There is a total disregard for the rights and wishes of the non-Israeli populations in the region, despite their increasing anger and resentment.
Whilst the US and Israel have different end goals, there is huge overlap in their plans and that’s why Israel has been able to win the US over to many of its viewpoints in the last 18 months
16. US Worried Muslim Regimes Could Fall – The Muslim rulers in the Middle East and beyond have been absent for 18 months as Israel carried out its genocide with impunity. For years they verbally supported Palestine but in their time of need Erdogan in Türkiye and the rulers in Tehran abandoned the people of Gaza. The Muslim rulers in Egypt and Jordan were worried for months about the sentiments of their people and resorted to arrests and clamp downs as their people came out in support of the people of Gaza.
The Jordanian monarchy went a step further and took part in defending Israel when Iran launched missiles against the Zionist entity. The Jordanian authorities faced a deluge of criticism after the government confirmed that its forces downed Iranian missiles targeting Israel in October 2024. Mohammed al-Absi, a member of the Democratic Unity Party (Wehda) explained: “What we witnessed yesterday was a contradiction in positions. There was popular sentiment that rejoiced at the Iranian missiles striking the Zionist entity. However, shooting down Iranian missiles does not align with the popular position supporting the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon.”[23]
In a podcast with Tucker Carlsen, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff admitted the US administration was worried about the impact the war in Gaza had upon the rulers in the region. When Carlsen asked Witkoff that the Gaza war was inflaming the populations of the region, could the Egyptian and Jordanian regimes fall. Witkoff admitted: “It’s a huge factor. I think King Abdullah in Jordan has done an amazing job of figuring out how to deal with that instability. But, you know, in some respects, he’s been lucky. I think Egypt is a flash point. All the good that happened in the election [in Lebanon] because Nasrallah and Sinwar were eliminated. That could all be reversed if we lose Egypt…But Egypt is very restive, I want to say the stats in Egypt are huge, unemployment among under 25 year olds, like 45% unemployment. Yeah, a country can’t exist like that. They’re largely broke. They need a lot of help. If we have a bad event in Egypt, it could take us back.”[24] Witkoff admitted the US is also worried about Saudi Arabia: “And Saudi Arabia also, large, you know, I mean, he’s an amazing leader, MBS, but people are worried about his young population and how they’re looking at this whole thing,[Gaza] which is why we’ve got to solve Gaza.”[25]
17. After 18 months Israel is Neither Safe, Stable or Secure – The events of October 7th have seen Israeli military and security superiority take a major hit as armed groups from Gaza ran riot and took hostages. Since then, Israel has been working to collectively punish the Palestinians. Israel has made use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to trawl through large amounts of data to identify and select bombing targets. The pager campaign that saw the detonation of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkie’s leading to untold injuries came on the back of a decade’s long intelligence program. Alongside this the Israeli war machine has seen the deployment of state of the art tanks, precision missiles and the use of 2000 pound bombs.
After 18 months Israel has turned Gaza into rubble, it’s seizing territory in Syria, it assassinated the leadership of Hezbollah and it regularly launches strikes on Yemen. Israel is at war on multiple fronts, and it could be argued that Israel’s obsession with security is finally in sight. Israel, however, has continued to escalate and cannot deescalate because despite all these achievements, the truth is after 18 months it still is not safe, stable or secure. With its enemies on the run Israel is not safe and will likely never be stable or secure as it has lost the hearts and minds of the region who will always see it as an occupier. Despite its battlefield success, Israel is more a pariah today than ever before.
18. Subverting Support for Palestine – Disney’s remake of the 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven dwarfs crashed at the box office as many boycotted the film due to the former IDF soldier, Gal Gadat playing the role of the evil witch. Gadat has been an open supporter of Israel which led to tension with the lead actress, Rachel Zegler who plays Snow White. Zegler has been an open supporter of the Palestinians.
Just a day after sharing the first footage from Snow White for a crowd of adoring fans, she posted a note of gratitude on X. The last line of her post that drew the most attention: “And always remember, free Palestine.” In an interview with Variety in October 2024, she doubled down on her stance. “I can’t watch children die. I don’t think that should be a hot take,” she said. “I’m only responsible for what I feel. And then I’m also responsible for how I act upon it. We’re nearing one year since the horrendous attacks in Israel on October 7, but I’ve been following this conflict for so many years.”[26] The film’s producer Marc Platt flew to New York to speak directly with her. But the actress stood her ground and refused to delete her post.
This example is just one of many that despite all the talk of freedom of speech, when it comes to support for Palestine in the West the media, officials and the corporate world have used draconian measures from accusations of antisemitism, suspensions in the workplace and the law against support for Palestine. In the US, the advocacy organisation Palestine Legal reports that they’ve responded to over 260 cases of people’s “livelihoods or careers” being targeted. In many cases people have been fired due to social media posts criticising Israel or highlighting the Palestinian plight. Artforum’s top editor David Velasco was fired by his publisher, Penske Media, after posting an open letter on the site calling for a cease-fire and suggesting Israel is responsible for the beginning of a genocide. Michael Eisen was removed as editor-in-chief of the science journal eLife after retweeting a satirical article critical of Israel. Maha Dakhil, a top executive at the Hollywood talent firm Creative Artists Agency, stepped back from leadership roles after reposting an Instagram story that implied Israel was committing genocide.
When Russia invaded Ukraine the corporate world, the education sector, celebrities and organisations that had nothing to do with politics all took positions in support of Ukraine. The Ukrainian flag became the symbol of resistance. When Israel commits a genocide, freedom of speech clearly doesn’t extend to the Palestinians.
[1] Trump’s Mideast Envoy Forced Netanyahu to Accept a Gaza Plan He Repeatedly Rejected, Haaretz, 13th January 2025, https://archive.ph/dzise#selection-335.0-335.83
[2] Israeli Sources Believe Netanyahu Intends to Derail Gaza Cease-fire as Delegation Heads to Doha, Haaretz, 9 February 2025, https://archive.vn/79y8U#selection-335.0-335.95
[3] Netanyahu stalling Hamas agreement to appease far-right minister: Former minister, Middle East Monitor, 15th March 2025, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250315-netanyahu-stalling-hamas-agreement-to-appease-far-right-minister-former-minister/
[4] Trump Sends Iran Letter Amid Military Threats, Arms Control Association, April 2025, https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2025-04/news/trump-sends-iran-letter-amid-military-threats
[5] Iran rejects direct negotiations with US after Donald Trump letter, APS, 31 March 2025, https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/world/iran-rejects-direct-negotiations-with-us-after-donald-trump-letter/ar-AA1BWbYo
[6] ‘Israel prefers Bashar Assad to Islamist rebels,’ Times of Israel, 18 May 2013, https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-prefers-assad-to-islamist-rebels/
[7] Ex-IDF chief: Israel prefers that Assad stay in power, Times of Israel, 11 December 2013, https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-idf-chief-israel-prefers-that-assad-stay-in-power/
[8] 69% of Israelis, 54% of coalition voters back ending war in exchange for hostages — poll, Times of Israel, 28 March 2025, https://www.timesofisrael.com/69-of-israelis-54-of-coalition-voters-back-ending-war-in-exchange-for-hostages-poll/
[10] 70% of Israelis don’t trust government, including a third of coalition voters, Times of Israel, 29 March 2025, https://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-70-of-israelis-dont-trust-government-including-almost-half-of-coalition-voters/
[11] Ignoring Massacres in Gaza City While Protesting for Democracy in Tel Aviv, Haaretz, 21 March 2025, https://archive.ph/G6bCY
[12] Egypt voices strong opposition to Israel’s postwar plans for Gaza, the national news, 21 October 2024, https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2024/10/21/egypt-voices-strong-opposition-to-israels-postwar-plans-for-gaza/
[13] Netanyahu says Israel is now dividing up Gaza. What does that mean on the ground? CNN Online, 3 April 2025, https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/03/middleeast/netanyahu-israel-gaza-dividing-morag-intl/index.html
[14] Immigration agents arrest Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests, Associated Press., 9 March 2025, https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-15014bcbb921f21a9f704d5acdcae7a8
[15] Pro-Israel lobby’s footprint writ large in law banning TikTok, TRTworld, April 2024, https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/pro-israel-lobbys-footprint-writ-large-in-law-banning-tiktok-18163590
[16] TikTok isn’t creating false support for Palestine. It’s just reflecting what’s already there, Vox. 27 December 2023, https://www.vox.com/culture/23997305/tiktok-palestine-israel-gaza-war
[17] Is the TikTok ban about China — or is it really about Gaza? The Forward, Fox, Mira 15 January 2025, https://forward.com/culture/688840/tiktok-ban-gaza-palestine-israel-antisemitism/
[18] See, https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/tiktok-ban-fueled-by-israel-not-china and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnJA1lTQJCA
[20] See, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEzd-quomSU
[21] Israel Threatens to Annex Land in Gaza Unless Hostages Freed, Bloomberg, 21 March 2025, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-21/israel-threatens-to-annex-gaza-land-as-court-suspends-firing-of-shin-bet-head
[22] How Israel’s opposition sees the Gaza war ending and the future of the Middle East, The National, 25 November 2024, https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2024/11/26/lapid-israel-middle-east/
[23] Jordanian authorities face backlash over role in downing Iranian missiles, Middle East Eye, 2 October 2025, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/jordan-backlash-over-role-downing-iranian-missiles-heading-israel
[24] See, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acvu2LBumGo
[25] Ibid
[26] Rachel Zegler on Reinventing Snow White and Juliet and Facing Off Against Toxic Disney Fans: ‘I’ve Watched Women Get Torn Down My Whole Life,’’ Variety, 2 October 2024, https://variety.com/2024/film/news/rachel-zegler-snow-white-backlash-romeo-and-juliet-gaza-1236160365/
