The international arena witnessed a parallel war in terms of narratives with the launch of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” and the subsequent Israeli war on Gaza, aimed at polarizing world public opinion.
The international arena witnessed a parallel war in terms of narratives with the launch of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” and the subsequent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, aimed at polarizing world public opinion.
Israel has strived to portray the conflict as part of the “war on terror,” attempting to demonize Palestinians and Muslims by linking the events of October 7 to the September 11 attacks and the practices of the Islamic State.
The “Mawazine” program addressed this issue, highlighting the position of the Palestinian resistance, which adhered to the legitimacy of its actions, considering them part of its struggle against the occupation that has been ongoing for 75 years.
The program posed a pivotal question about the repercussions of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” on the perceptions of global public opinion towards Islam and Muslims.
In the first days of the war, Israel intended to create a discourse aimed at distorting the image of Islam and Muslims, exploiting the Western memory associated with the events of September 11.
Rising Islamophobia
The matter extended to fabricating allegations about committing similar atrocities by beheading children and raping women, and this narrative resonated with some Western media and political leaders, led by US President Joe Biden.
These allegations contributed to the escalation of the phenomenon of “Islamophobia” and hostility towards Muslims, culminating in the killing of the Palestinian child Wadih Safi at the hands of an elderly American.
However, the Israeli narrative did not withstand the realities of the field for long, and the alternative media played a prominent role in exposing Israeli crimes and aggression against civilians, which prompted a number of Western intellectuals to call for a reconsideration of the West’s relationship with Islam from the perspective of the Palestinian issue.
The international arena witnessed a noticeable shift in public opinion, as a state of sympathy for the Palestinians emerged, which in some cases reached Western activists announcing their conversion to Islam, which confirms the failure of attempts to distort the image of Islam and Muslims, and indicates the success of the Palestinian narrative in reaching the global conscience.