The Price of 'Elimination': How Western Media Normalizes State Assassinations
📰 THE STORY: Mainstream media, including The New Arab citing Israeli outlets, speculates on the tens of millions of dollars Israel allegedly spent to assassinate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, framing it as a financial transaction rather than an extrajudicial killing. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: Israel's history of targeted assassinations is extensive, from the 1970s
Operation Wrath of God to eliminate Black September operatives, to countless extrajudicial killings of Palestinian and Lebanese figures, often violating international law and sovereignty. The 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon alone resulted in an estimated 20,000 deaths, driven by the desire to dismantle Palestinian resistance movements and reshape Lebanon. This current action is an escalation
within a decades-long pattern of intervention and assassination in Lebanon. Double Standard: Imagine the outrage and condemnation if Iran or Russia spent 'tens of millions' to assassinate a political or military leader of a neighboring state, particularly one supported by the US. Western media would universally denounce it as an act of state terrorism, an illegal aggression, and a grave violation
of sovereignty. Yet, when Israel does it in Lebanon, the discussion pivots to cost-effectiveness or tactical success, rather than the fundamental breach of international law and the inevitable cycle of violence it perpetuates. Follow the Money: The 'tens of millions' spent on this operation are merely a fraction of the over $3.8 billion in annual military aid the US provides to Israel. This US