In the midst of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, the book “A License with Killing: Gaza between genocide, denial and spa” of the French thinker, known as Pascal Bonifas, puts the crisis within its moral, legal and political framework, and the discussion on the use of dominant media force and media and different international justice standards open.
In an exclusive interview with Al -Jazeera Net, the director and founder of the Institute of International Relations and Strategic in Paris puts his bold vision on the complexities of Western discourse regarding the war in Gaza, revealing the extent of manipulation of concepts to justify the killing and conceal the crimes committed against civilians.
In the pages of his book, Bonifas argues that what is happening in Gaza is not just a military operation as the Israeli and Western official novel calls it, but rather falls within the definition of genocide under international law.
Information blackout
Despite the intellectual and academic status of Pascal Bonifas and his authorship of more than 80 books, his last book did not receive the same level of media attention that was granted to his previous books.
Commenting on this, Bonifas said, “Israel can be criticized, and I do that, but there is a price that must be paid, which is my partial absence in the media, but social media offers an alternative. And those who criticize what is happening, their treatment is misfortune by journalists often, questioning their statements and accused of anti -Semitism.”
The spokesman pointed to other periods in which he was excluded from the media, especially after he published his book “Is it permissible to criticize Israel” in 2003 and the book “Fals of Intellectuals” in 2011, which cost him a lot because of his highlighting the lies of some media fraudsters.
When asked if the pro -Israel lobby had a hand in this media blackout, Bonifas considered it partially related to this; “I am not talking about the Jewish lobby in my book, which Israel sometimes does in its name. There are also invisible and marginalized Jewish figures because it criticizes Israel.”
Violation of international law
The thinker Pascal Bonifas considers that international law has violated since 1976 because there is a binding decision that usually calls on Israel to withdraw from the lands it seized by force and occupies it by force; “Israel has been established by a decision of the United Nations, of course, from the Jewish movement, but the United Nations Secretary -General is prevented today from entering Israel.”
He added, “I published a book on August 30, 2023, that is, before October 7 in Gaza, in which I said that there is still a contradiction between Western countries, as Russia holds a responsibility for violating the law, but it did not criticize Israel, which also violates the law.”
After the events and repercussions of October 7, it became more clear: Israel occupies the land by force, killing many civilians than Russia in Ukraine, according to the spokesman.
According to international law, Bonifas describes what is currently happening in the Gaza Strip as ethnic cleansing and genocide, and believes that the International Criminal Court is subjected to criticism due to its limitation to accusations and the issuance of arrest orders against African leaders.
This is explained in his book, “Western countries welcomed the progress of international justice when they were applied to African leaders. The arrest warrant issued in 2023 was considered against Russian President Vladimir Putin as a remarkable achievement as the leader of the” North “now faces the anger of justice. But it was an enemy of the West. When international criminal justice began hovering around Netanyahu, its magic suddenly turned into poison.
He continued, “There was controversy that although the Iraq war was illegal, there was no room to charge US President George Bush or Tony Blair.”
In the absence of French influence on Netanyahu, Bonifas stressed that “Washington will have a greater influence if it wanted to use it, but it does not do. The only thing that former President Joe Biden has achieved is the failure to bomb Iranian oil facilities, so that a fiery storm does not happen that leads to the ignition of the Middle East and the entire Gulf.”
Hasbara advertising machine
The French thinker addresses what he called “Hasbara”, which is the media policy and the diplomatic strategy that Israel follows to enhance its positive image and defend its policies on the international scene.
A chapter of the book analyzes the elements of the language or arguments that are used in public discussions, such as “Israel is carrying out dirty actions on behalf of others”, and “everything started on the seventh of October”, and “to release the enthusiasm of the hostages to end the war.”
Bonifas considers that it is still difficult to defend Israel now and to present Israel as a beautiful country, as the sun rises and there is technology, because things have changed and many people see today as a country that commits massacres against civilians.
The French thinker indicated that Israel lost the solidarity that was almost unanimous after October 20, 2023 due to actions that are not commensurate with the high costs that it incurred, “If it had simply destroyed Hamas leaders, everyone would have agreed, but it did not. With his wounds, or due to a lack of medicines. “
Double standards
The writer highlighted the paradox between the speed of the international community’s condemnation of some conflicts, while the party is turning a blind eye to serious violations when it comes to Israel, and this reveals dual criteria in dealing with international law and the question increases the possibility of a two -state solution.
“Netanyahu applies Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan in Gaza because when you do not have what you eat and are bombing, you will think about leaving. As the bombing continues, the number of Palestinians who kill and increases is increasingly taking into account the temptation of the displacement they rejected,” he said.
Bonifas considers that Western countries do not avoid talking about the people of Gaza, but they do not make any concrete decision, “in return, the Palestinians are ignored in Israeli prisons, some of whom are prisoners just for their condemnation, while others were not condemned. This is administrative detention under British law, which allows the arrest of a person and his imprisonment, and often misrepresent it just for suspicion, without trial.”
He believes that the events of September 11, 2001 changed the rules of the game for Israel, which then said, “We have our own bin Laden, whose name is Arafat”, and enabled it to appear as a fortress to fight terrorism in the Western world, and no longer appears as a country that suppresses a people, but rather as a country fighting terrorism for everyone.
France’s position
As for the announcement of Paris its desire to recognize the State of Palestine in June, Bonifas asked, “Why did this not happen before? And if France recognizes Palestine now, will the country No. 148 or 149 will be too late?”
Until 2005, the French researcher considers that France had a much better aura and political position during the era of former presidents Francois Mitterrand, Charles de Gaulle and Jacques Chirac.
Bonifas emphasized that the French political class is overwhelmingly supporting Israel, “the extremist right is supportive of it since the era of Jean -Marie Le Pen. After the Six -Day War in 1967, the right -wing right -wing newspaper Minet published a major title: a brilliant victory for Israel, the Arabs only understand kicks in the rear and batons.”
In addition to having hatred a large part of the extreme right of Arabs and Muslims, the Republican Party no longer has a clear Digouli Party. As for the Macron Party, most of its members visited Israel, while the Parents Party is under constant pressure for accusing it of anti -Semitism, according to the spokesman.
Islamophobia and anti -Semitism
Pascal Bonifas pointed out that people of Arab or North African descent may be exposed to a rapid exclusion if they criticize the Israeli government excessively, adding that “these people had no, for a very long time, a place in the leadership of political parties, including the left, except for the stickers.”
The French thinker believes that Muslim religious leaders do not discuss the Palestinian -Israeli conflict, or at least they do so with severe secrecy, and they tend to avoid the issue so that they are not suspected of sympathy for terrorism. On the other hand, Jewish religious leaders lack this reservation or shame.
When asked about his opinion of secularism in France, he answered that it is a fake secularism, “Because some people use it for one purpose, it is the Muslims … and it is linked to the claim that Muslims are enemies of Israel there, and they are our enemies here as well.”
Bonifas stated that the belief that the concept of Islamophobia is the innovation of the Iranian mullahs to prevent criticism of Islam is a historical mistake and a lie “because the term created French sociologists at the beginning of the twentieth century.”
At the conclusion of the book and the interview, Pascal Bonifas asserts that defending the rights of the Palestinians does not contradict the values of justice and humanity, explaining, “The media do not invite me and cancel the conferences and my prayers would be much better if I support Israel. But I do my work until people understand, and as soon as I understand things, I will not lie to others. It may be a bit annoying and I may face some harassment, but I sleep in peace.”
