Samer Hassan
For two years, Israel committed genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, and the complacent leaders of the world decided it was not a red line. Many went so far as to support it with arms, to increase trade, and to shield it from tangible accountability. Entertainment organizations like FIFA and the Olympics suddenly decided they were apolitical and refused calls to expel Israel. Through the eyes of the elite, the world was to go on as normal, and if it resisted through sustained protests and calls for sanctions, it would be dragged by its heels into complacency and silenced through policy. The United States, first through Biden and then through Trump, increased its efforts to chill dissenting voices.
Human rights lawyers and judges were threatened and sanctioned. International law was rendered moot, and countries that were signatories to the Rome Statute decided that legally binding agreements were no longer relevant, allowing one of the architects of the genocide, Benjamin Netanyahu, to visit their countries instead of arresting him as the law demanded.
Facing little consequences, Israel continued to do what it does best: bomb, kill, destroy, and spread chaos, expanding its killing to other countries; Lebanon, Iran, Syria, and Yemen all became targets. Muslims, both Shias and Sunnis, who came to the defence of Palestine, were martyred.
Lulled into a false sense of security by American bases on their lands, Arab monarchies thought they were immune to any repercussions in the Gulf. One of the main reasons for building bases was to deter Iran and maintain regional “stability” – a “stability” in favor of imperialism. Bahrain would house the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet on its tiny island. Kuwait hosted a US Air Force base. Qatar housed the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and built the base with its own money, a headquarters responsible for facilitating weapons transfer so Israel could continue its genocide against Gaza.
The monarchies sat back and crafted PR campaigns portraying themselves as benevolent rulers sending tents and aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, knowing full well Israel wouldn’t allow any to enter, save for a negligible amount when politically expedient. These same monarchies clandestinely provided material support to the Israeli Occupation to appease the American hegemon, which was spending its own taxpayers’ money to safeguard any and all illicit Israeli activities.
All while the average American of conscience was forced to learn how to compartmentalize between watching Israel slaughter civilians in Gaza and going about their daily lives in a waning world power. Seeing their own material conditions gradually decline because the American government determined Israel was a bigger priority than its own people. Taxpayer money, from the smallest, poorest municipalities to the largest, most wealthy cities, the average American taxpayer was forced to fund an overly stretched empire determined to hold on to its place on top. American jobs were lost, and health care and higher education became increasingly inaccessible for many. People couldn’t afford to focus on anything other than their immediate needs.
American capitalism demanded that its labourers do more work for less reward. It was the perfect scenario for Israel; blank checks from American taxpayers, coupled with America’s military might, would shield it from economic shocks and legal accountability, so it grew bolder and more vicious in its criminality. Its calls for the slaughter of all living things in Gaza became louder: “Amalek, Amalek, Amalek,” (a representation of undeniable, pure evil) was the rallying call from Israeli politicians. No demographic in Gaza was spared, newborns in incubators were left to die, elderly in wheelchairs were shot point-blank, rescue workers were tied up and slaughtered, pregnant mothers shot in their bellies, young fathers looking for flour sniped down, the largest population of child amputees in recorded history, Muslims and Christians were killed like animals. And the Arab monarchies sat back in their tiny little bubbles, thinking they were secure while pacifying their citizens through tone-deaf influencers and growing rich off of oil and tourism–their brand was everything. “Habibi, come to Dubai!”
But the world isn’t merely a digital facade; no matter how hard imbecile influencers portray a skewed reality, it doesn’t exist. It’s real people, and millions are suffering physically, economically, and mentally.
Israel’s hubris grew, bombing Iran on multiple occasions, killing negotiators, including Iranians and Palestinians (Israel assassinated Ismael Haniyeh in Iran in July of 2024 and bombed Palestinian officials in Doha in September 2025), and falling back under America’s protection when it couldn’t handle its own consequences. Iran, a 2500-year-old civilization, showed restraint, giving them a beating but still willing to come back and negotiate, tried again and again to find solutions through dialogue. Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, who was mediating the last round of talks, said, “ A peace deal was within reach.” But a peace deal is not in Israel’s interest; peace in general is not in Israel’s interest. It has been under a state of emergency, renewed annually in the Knesset, since its inception in 1948. Peace would mean Israel can’t justify American taxpayer subsidies. And so, it bombed Iran again on February 28th, calling its aggression a “preemptive strike.”
This forced America’s hand as Marco Rubio said on March 2nd, “It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone, the United States or Israel… they were going to respond and respond against the United States.”
Going on to say, “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”
Iran had previously warned the US and Israel that they would not hold back this time if they were attacked again. On February 28th, the opening salvos of the war began with Israel and America’s targeting of a girls’ school in Iran, killing nearly 200 children. On the first day of the war, Israel and the US went on to assassinate the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini. Iran responded as it had promised: targeting all Israeli and American assets within the region.
All of a sudden, the Arab governments that gambled away their sovereignty by allowing American bases on their lands began to experience an iota of what Israel had done to the Palestinians of Gaza. Years of turning a blind eye to Israel’s actions while appeasing the United States did not work. Their fragile little bubbles were burst. America barely defended its bases, evacuating most soldiers and leaving some to hide in hotels inside residential neighborhoods in these host countries.
Nonetheless, Iran found them, attacking all major bases in the region. Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE were all attacked. Dubai’s most exclusive and decadent hotels were subject to drone attacks because of their insistence on hosting American troops and intelligence agents. Smoke rose from the Dubai skyline. These fragile countries that relied so heavily on maintaining a facade of security amongst a tumultuous region proved to the world that they were mere vassals. Easily discarded when real problems arose. They signed away their sovereignty for nothing but widespread regional destruction. In the end, they will rethink their blind loyalty to the declining American hegemon.
Iran repeatedly said that it did not want a war, and Pentagon officials confirmed “there was no imminent threat,” but Israel, the colonial occupation, never held accountable for its crimes against humanity, has taught the world that it believes itself to be the exception. That is, until it is taught, it is not.
Samer Hassan is a freelance writer and Palestinian advocate.
