Netanyahu Orders 'Powerful Attacks': A Familiar Tune Since '96
France 24 dutifully reports Israeli planes striking Gaza after Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered 'powerful attacks.' The network presents this as a current event, detached from context. But any genuine media deconstruction reveals this isn't new; Netanyahu has invoked similar 'powerful attacks' language in conflicts spanning decades, from 1996, to the 2002 'Operation Defensive Shield,' and again in
2014. These pronouncements consistently precede devastating civilian casualties and infrastructure destruction, funded in part by U.S. taxpayers. Indeed, between 2001 and 2023, the U.S. provided Israel with over $65 billion in military aid. How many times can a leader order 'powerful attacks' before a news outlet questions the pattern, or the funding that ensures its continuation? One might wonder
if 'powerful attacks' is simply coded language for 'business as usual that we'll report without historical inconvenient facts.'