Benjamin Netanyahu, like all other Israeli leaders, is defined by bloodshed. Over the past 20 months he oversaw the deaths of more than 60,000 Palestinian civilians and the roughly coincided expungement of Gaza homes, schools, hospitals and mosques.
When questioned about the intentional targeting of women and children, he offers only mercy and qualifications, as if he had God’s right to eliminate anyone who was in the way of land theft and oppression.
No one will kill, as Israeli leaders do. After all, the world constantly rewards them. In the US Congress they are greeted with standing ovations and showered with endless funds. American taxes promote further destruction. In Europe they are hailed as “democratic heroes,” but opposition voices are silent under the anti-terrorist flag. Meanwhile, more and more states in the Arab world line up to normalize relations with the administration, exchanging solidarity with their Palestinian compatriots for concessions from Washington.
Overall, the climate is perfect for Israeli leaders to kill. Perhaps that’s why Benjamin Netanyahu, fresh from the bloodshed of Gaza, Lebanon and Syria last Friday, decided that his next killing campaign should take place in Iran. He kills, kills, kills – without anyone stopping him.
However, Iran is not Gaza, Lebanon or Syria. Iran is the oldest civilization in the world. Forged through decades of hardship, its military independently developed cutting-edge weapons and instilled a deep embraced spirit. To attack Iran is not simply to attack the military or government. It is to attack the land where all the soil of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the survival of the country, due to the battle with Alexander in 334 BC, the battle of 633 against the Arab invaders, and the recent Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, where all the soil remains of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country’s survival.
Iranians are not passive citizens either. In an age of foreign attacks, we become one. Until yesterday, some people have opposed certain government policies or felt no resonance with the government at all, but that is hardly important. Iran is our number one priority, and in protecting it, political, ideological, or social wedges will not break all at once for us.
The attack on Iranian housing, military and nuclear facilities on June 13, killed hundreds of civilians, and although small, continued, initially filled Netanyahu and his minister with crazy joy. The convicted war detective wasted no time declaring an offensive success boasting unprecedented benefits for Iran.
However, it took Netanyahu within 24 hours to make his miscalculation happen. Iran vowed to mercilessly bash the occupying territories, which have proven virtually vulnerable against Iranian missiles and unmanned factions, and launched a retaliatory strike on the same day its best military leader was assassinated until the regime learned lessons.
The rage and sadness are obvious among the Iranian masses, but there was no indication of sympathy when Netanyahu told the Israel-based Persian-speaking journalist that his fight was a fight against the Iranian government rather than the Iranian people. “I don’t like it’s taking so long to teach Israel the right lesson,” said a Tehran bakery, which specializes in a single type of traditional bread. I spoke to him on a Friday morning when I picked up regular bread. “They must completely destroy the area before they kill more Iranians. They should not allow them to maintain their ability to attack us again in the future. Perhaps the entire region will eventually live in peace again.”
MNA/Tehrantimes