Netanyahu’s War on Palestine—and His Stranglehold on U.S. Policy

As a Palestinian, a scholar, and a witness to decades of occupation and injustice, I find it morally imperative to speak plainly: what is happening in Gaza is not simply a “conflict” or a “military operation.” It is a genocide. And behind this unfolding human tragedy stands a man who has turned war into political theatre—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. More dangerously, he has done so with the unwavering backing of the United States, which he has manipulated for years to serve his personal ambitions and far-right agenda.

The Illusion of a Democratic Ally

Western media and political elites continue to portray Israel as a stable democracy and Netanyahu as a strategic partner. But this narrative crumbles under the weight of evidence. What we have witnessed—especially since October 2023—is not democratic leadership but calculated brutality: the targeting of civilians, the starvation of entire communities, the deliberate destruction of hospitals, universities, homes, and places of worship.

Netanyahu has weaponised the language of security to justify decades of occupation and oppression. He has turned fear into policy, and policy into permanent war—all while shielding himself with American diplomatic and military power.

Exploiting U.S. Power for Political Gain

For years, Netanyahu has skillfully manipulated the U.S.-Israel alliance to his own advantage. By cultivating close ties with U.S. lawmakers, conservative think tanks, and Christian Zionist groups, he has rendered any criticism of Israel politically toxic in Washington. American politicians trip over themselves to defend Israel’s “right to self-defense,” even as entire Palestinian families are buried under the rubble.

This is not support for peace—it is cover for war crimes.

The Iran Deal: When Personal Politics Trumps Global Stability

Netanyahu’s 2015 campaign to sabotage the Iran nuclear deal revealed how far he was willing to go to bend U.S. policy to his will. His address to the U.S. Congress—delivered without White House coordination—wasn’t just diplomatic defiance; it was an act of political theater meant to humiliate a sitting American president and rally his base at home.

When Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, it was not a victory for Israeli security—it was a victory for Netanyahu’s fear-based narrative. What followed was predictable: Iran resumed its nuclear program, regional tensions soared, and diplomacy gave way to confrontation. This served Netanyahu’s interests—but at a cost borne by millions in the region.

The Systematic Erasure of Palestine

Netanyahu’s greatest “achievement,” if we can call it that, has been the systematic dismantling of any hope for Palestinian statehood. From expanding illegal settlements to enforcing a brutal blockade on Gaza, he has spent his political career ensuring that Palestinians remain stateless, voiceless, and divided.

Under Trump, Netanyahu seized even more: the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the embassy move, the so-called Abraham Accords—all measures that erased Palestinians from the geopolitical equation. But it was never about peace. It was about annexation, exclusion, and permanent control.

Today, Palestinians are being slaughtered in their thousands, not as collateral damage, but as the direct result of policies designed to crush resistance and break the spirit of an entire people. This is not defense. It is destruction.

Manufacturing Crisis to Escape Accountability

Netanyahu’s enduring political strategy has always relied on crisis—external enemies, internal unrest, endless war. These serve a purpose: to distract from corruption charges, protests over judicial overreach, and rising opposition within Israel itself.

In this manufactured state of emergency, the U.S. has become more than an ally—it has become an enabler. Billions in aid, vetoes at the UN, and unconditional political support have allowed Netanyahu to escalate violence with impunity.

The question we must ask is: at what point does support for Israel cease to be strategic, and become simply immoral?

A Call for a Just Policy—Not Blind Loyalty

America’s blind loyalty to Netanyahu has eroded its credibility and moral standing in the world. It has disqualified itself from any role as a neutral peace broker. Worse still, it has implicated itself in one of the gravest humanitarian crises of our time.

If the U.S. truly believes in justice, democracy, and human rights, it must radically reassess its relationship with Israel—not with the Israeli people, but with the policies and ideology Netanyahu represents. It must stop funding the occupation. It must stop arming apartheid. And it must stop blocking international accountability.

Palestinians do not need pity. We need freedom. We need justice. And we need the world to stop treating our suffering as collateral damage in someone else’s political game.

Until then, every home destroyed, every child killed, every voice silenced in Gaza will echo in history as a moral failure of those who knew and chose to remain silent.