Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media outlet: The Israeli Air Force was unable to attack the gunmen due to their proximity to the force
Israeli media outlet: 13 soldiers were injured, including three in critical condition, in clashes in Beit Jinn, when armed individuals opened fire at them from close range
Israeli media outlet: Reconnaissance operations are ongoing in southern Syria, at the site of the clashes, as the Israeli military sends reinforcements to the area
Israeli media outlet: Israeli soldiers fled the Syrian town of Beit Jinn after an armed clash broke out, leaving behind a Humvee vehicle that was subsequently bombed by airstrikes
Al Mayadeen correspondent in South Lebanon: A quadcopter drone dropped explosive devices targeting a house in the al‑Marj neighborhood in the town of Houla
Trump claims US significantly ahead of Russia, China, in space
US National Guard female member injured in Washington attack has died: Trump
Israeli media outlet reports one injury in a shooting targeting a bus at the Tunnels checkpoint in al-Quds
Sayyed Khamenei: In the 12-day war, the Iranian people defeated the Americans and the Zionists without a doubt
Sayyed Khamenei: We must enhance mobilization and pass on its concept to future generations, and I have always advised all government agencies to operate in a mobilization-oriented manner

Clear Palestinian eliminationism after one year of 'Israel’s' genocide in Gaza

  • Hamzah Rifaat Hamzah Rifaat
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 27 Oct 2024 23:38
5 Min Read

The talk and rhetoric on "Israel’s" "right to self-defense" or Arabs in "Israel" having more freedom and the need for Palestinians to integrate into a civilized society is simply cosmetic.

Listen
  • x
  • Clear Palestinian eliminationism after one year of 'Israel’s' genocide in Gaza
    "Israel’s" quest to eliminate Palestinian identity (Illustrated by Mahdi Rtail; Al Mayadeen English)

One year has passed since "Israel’s" illegal, senseless, and barbaric genocide in Gaza. In 2023, the Netanyahu regime’s justification to invade Gaza was based on a flimsy, controversial, and hollow argument that "Israel" is conducting ‘counter-terror operations’ to eliminate Hamas. In 2024 however, it became evident that "Israel" was seeking Palestinian elimination. Over 41,000 deaths, millions of injuries, forced displacements, and the evident weaponization of starvation against Gaza and the West Bank constitute a decades-long quest by "Israel" to commit ethnic cleansing.

This is not evident in the Jewish-dominated Western media, which would make you believe otherwise. For Netanyahu and "Israel", Hamas' operation on October 7 became an ideal opportunity to promote fallacies and disinformation across the world. Through a concerted public relations campaign and victimization narrative, the regime reached out to sympathizers and allies by claiming that "Israel" has a "legitimate right" to attack Hamas, despite the occupation force’s disproportionate response against civilians. Mild to little condemnation from important capitals such as Washington D.C. also allowed "Israel" to demonize Palestinians with fake news of Israeli babies being mutilated and women being sexually assaulted proliferating across the print and social media. This then became the catalyst for "Israel’s" Palestinian eliminationism with its 2023-2024 genocide violating all principles of proportionality in international law. 

So, after one year, what does "Israel’s" response indicate? It certainly does not reflect legitimate responses given that the genocide now transcends Gaza and has reached Lebanon and Syria. The truth is that the grand design of a ‘Greater Israel’ is being implemented by Netanyahu and his Zionist cohorts with full force and zeal. Such designs have a long history of Palestinian and Arab eliminationism, which dates back to 1948 when 750,000 Palestinians were expelled during the Nakba and thousands more were subsequently subjected to discrimination and racial stereotyping. This demonstrates that for decades, "Israel" never recognized Palestinians or Arabs as a distinct population, nation, or ethnic group which have the right to exist or co-exist alongside Zionist zealots. In fact, they had to be wiped off through massacres such as in Sabra and Shatila in 1982 in Lebanon in order for "Israel" to survive. 

Related News

'Israel' has no coherent plan for Gaza, Trump’s plan proves It

Ecocide and Zionist greenwashing

So a year later, this talk and rhetoric on "Israel’s" "right to self-defense" or Arabs in "Israel" having more freedom and the need for Palestinians to integrate into a civilized society is simply cosmetic. Such narratives provide a convenient cloak for Netanyahu and his predecessors to push ahead with the actual Israeli agenda of destroying Palestine. This explains the prolonged occupation of Palestinian Arabs and the proliferation of the settlement enterprise in the West Bank. The genocide is taking place because bigoted mindsets and views of destroying Palestine as a moral necessity have been allowed to fester in the absence of international condemnation. 

History is replete with examples of bigoted mindsets at the political level aimed at Palestinian eliminationism. Take former Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir who was lionized by large sections of the international community as an ‘Iron Lady’ of Israeli politics. Despite accorded recognition as an effective leader of the Labor movement in "Israel", her mindset reeked of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiments. On the one hand, she spearheaded "Israel’s" relationship with regions such as Africa, while on the other, she openly stated that ‘there was no such thing as Palestinians.' Such brazen denial constitutes one of the more famous examples of "Israel’s" quest to eliminate Palestinian identity. Meir’s comments deny the victimization that Palestinians suffered for years under Zionism and mirror Zionist apologists today. Her views are also being implemented through kinetic measures under the Netanyahu regime. 

The list of Israeli politicians denying the existence of Palestine is not limited to Meir. Ariel Sharon, the notorious war criminal who was the architect of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon, also denied the right of Palestinians to exist in an independent state. His rationale for massacring Palestinians in 1982 was a hyped-up ‘imminent threat’, warranting a response from "Israel' as a so-called "civilized country' under threat. Examined closely, Sharon’s terming of Palestinians as barbarians mirrors Netanyahu’s 2023-2024 ‘Amalek’ reference. As the biblical enemy of the ancient Israelites, the term is being weaponized by Netanyahu to justify the destruction of the Palestinian people. Also, his equating of Hamas with Amalek was based on a need to convince the international community that "Israel" is tackling a terrorist threat instead of the Palestinian people. Also, by evoking a religious angle and placating sympathizers of the Zionist cause, Netanyahu could then justify death and destruction. Essentially, Netanyahu and Sharon are two sides of the same coin. 

The same logic applies to 2023-2024 with the genocide now being extended to Lebanon. It is clear that this official drive is about eliminating Arab identities, pursuing the "Greater Israel" agenda and terrorizing Palestinians. 

With one year of the genocide having passed, "Israel’s" motives have become clearer.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • Gaza Strip
  • Occupied Palestine
  • Golda Meir
  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Gaza genocide
  • Benjamin Netanyahu
  • Israeli occupation
  • Lebanon
  • Nakba
  • Gaza
  • Ariel Sharon
Hamzah Rifaat

Hamzah Rifaat

A host/anchor, analyst, and visiting fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington D.C.,2016.

Most Read

All
Investigations revealed a Turkish doctor and an Israeli were responsible for sourcing clientele for organs, who paid in excess of $100,000 for transplants. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

The global Zionist organ trafficking conspiracy

  • Palestine
  • 15 Nov 2025
Democracy at the civilizational crossroads: Critical analysis of bourgeois Democracy, its alternatives

Democracy at the civilizational crossroads: Critical analysis of bourgeois Democracy, its alternatives

  • Analysis
  • 19 Nov 2025
Ukrainian political analyst Mikhail Chaplyha has written that Jolie was ‘called’ to Kherson in order to divert attention from Pokrovsk. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

Strategic cities fall to Russian forces in Donbass; Ukraine denies what is happening

  • Opinion
  • 16 Nov 2025
Either Ahmad al-Sharaa is so politically incapable that he believes in this so-called “economic revival” master plan, or he is part of a project used to secure the aims of the West and "Israel". (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Slaves aren’t friends to their masters: Donald Trump and Ahmad Al-Sharaa

  • Opinion
  • 18 Nov 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza: An Epic of Resilience and Valor

More from this writer

All
Remembering Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah- The ‘Sayyed’ of Resistance and Liberation

Remembering Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah- The ‘Sayyed’ of Resistance and Liberation

There is little doubt that many developing countries continue to be dismayed by reckless US adventurism as well as Europe’s indifference to the plight of their economies. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Mahdi Rtail)

Understanding the Global South: Missed opportunities or a rising force?

Beyond the United States are critical leftist perspectives which underline the reawakening of the Arab left. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

The Reawakening of the Arab Left: Amman to Tunis, new voices challenging empire and capital

Russia in Africa: Strategic Realignment and Open Embracement

Russia in Africa: Strategic Realignment and Open Embracement

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS