Some say that the Israeli right’s celebration of the massacre of civilians in Rafah is the true ugly face of Israel, making those who believe or actually know that there is a “different Israel” face an impossible challenge in their quest to prove the opposite.
This is what is summarized by an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which confirmed at the beginning that the massacre that took place in the Palestinian city of Rafah last Sunday was inevitable, as regardless of how accurate the Israeli military strikes were, and in light of the presence of more than a million Palestinian refugees in the region’s camps, it was inevitable, Sooner or later, this will cause mass human casualties.
She explained that this Israeli raid caused widespread destruction, killing at least 45 people, and the footage showed civilians floundering in tents surrounded by hell.
As usual, the article’s author, Alison Kaplan Sommer, says Israel’s leaders, citizens, and supporters abroad were ready to defend Israel’s “moral” army.
The writer pointed out that they expressed their rejection and denunciation of any accusation that the aggression could have been avoided, or any suggestion that what happened was intentional, including the use of words such as “genocide” or “massacre.”
Such accusations are “an inaccurate distortion of the truth at best and vile anti-Semitism at worst,” they claim.
“But before they could do it this time, it became painfully clear from the beginning that their efforts would be in vain,” Sommer said.
Magal and Ben Gvir
Far-right media voices in Israel soon began celebrating the fires, and thus the deaths of those engulfed in the flames, by jokingly comparing the images to the memorial bonfires lit on Lag Baomer – the Jewish holiday that fell on the same day as the massacre.
She added that these extremists expressed their happiness that this fire was “the central bonfire in Rafah,” wishing those affected a “Happy Eid,” in tweets that were later deleted, but they will not be forgotten, and will be referred to as evidence that the fire was intentional, and was even celebrated, As she said.
Sommer explained that the most prominent journalist who fanned the flames of hatred is Yinon Magal, who is constantly proven to be Itamar Ben Gvir by the Israeli media, and it seems that, like the extremist minister, he rejoices and is proud of the insolent manifestations that indicate disdain for the lives of the Palestinians and denial of their humanity.
She concluded that Ben Gvir and Magal’s behavior provides sufficient evidence of malicious intentions to obstruct any attempt by Israel to defend the behavior of its army, which makes erasing the image of “the ugly face of Israel” difficult for those who believe that it has another side.