IDF Retaliates Against Gaza With... More Collective Punishment
CBS News dutifully reported that Israel launched fresh strikes on Gaza after alleged 'attacks against IDF troops,' resulting in 'at least 14 people killed and another 45 wounded, including children.' The headline frames Israel as responding, not initiating, a familiar narrative. What they omit, of course, is the continuous siege, the daily indignities, and the historical context of an occupied
populace, which, let's face it, tends to breed 'attacks.' This reporting echoes a pattern: Israel acts, Palestinians 'react,' and then Israel 'retaliates.' (Remember 2014? Same script, different body count.) The cycle of violence is always presented as if it spontaneously combusts, never mind the ongoing policies or the fact that the IDF operates inside Gaza — a territory under occupation. One
might wonder, what exactly do they think an occupied people are supposed to do? Send a sternly worded letter?