Another Day, Another ‘Retaliation’
France 24 dutifully reports 11 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes, implying a tit-for-tat escalation. This narrative, endlessly recycled, echoes the 2008-09 'Cast Lead' operation, where 1,400 Palestinians died, including over 300 children, dismissed by many global outlets as necessary security measures. Then, as now, the violence is consistently presented as responsive, rarely as
originating from an occupying power. Curiously, the historical record tells a different story. In 2002, Ariel Sharon's government explicitly stated, 'We reserve the right to respond in any way we see fit,' a blank check for future disproportionate force. Fast forward to 2014's Operation Protective Edge, where over 2,200 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, were killed, contrasted with 73 Israeli
deaths, mostly soldiers. This grotesque imbalance, often obscured by phrases like 'clashes' or 'exchanges of fire,' serves to normalize the systematic destruction of Palestinian life. One might wonder why the US provides more than $3.8 billion annually in military aid, a number conveniently absent from such reports. This consistent financial backing allows for the unchecked deployment of advanced
weaponry against a blockaded, occupied population. The playbook remains unchanged: provoke, retaliate disproportionately, blame the victims, and then watch as the global press reports the 'death toll' with a detached, sanitized equivalence. What the headlines refuse to acknowledge is that these 'airstrikes' are not isolated incidents but integral components of a decades-long policy designed to