For nearly two years, Israel has waged what many observers rightly call a genocide against the Palestinians, while wreaking havoc in Lebanon and Syria, and carrying out periodic strikes on Iran and Yemen. It has used the weight of Western political, intellectual, and media elites to silence its critics, even beyond its own borders. Now, with a massive air campaign against Iran, Israel has escalated its aggression to a level unprecedented in recent memory.
Violation of International Law
As Russia and numerous legal scholars have noted, this attack breaches both the UN Charter and established norms of armed conflict. Israel’s invocation of “preemptive self-defense” has no basis here: preemption demands the disruption of an imminent attack, yet Tehran had only its own warnings spotlighted—by Israel and the United States!—as “proof” of an impending threat. Even so, those warnings were mere rhetoric, not evidence of an immediate assault force poised to strike.
The Hypocrisy of “Self-Defense”
Israel’s propagandists are pushing “self-defense” as justification, but the same state has starved Palestinians, bombed civilian infrastructure, and now deploys covert drone strikes deep inside its targets. If anyone had grounds for preemption, it would have been Iran, given the daily threats from Washington and Jerusalem. Yet, the talk of legal niceties rings hollow when mass murder proceeds with official impunity.
Why Israel Acts with Impunity
Plenty of nations have flouted international norms, but none enjoy the blanket pardon Israel receives—except perhaps the United States itself. As Israeli dissident Raz Segal has observed, many perpetrators within Israel move and act as though above the law, even celebrating atrocities as routine state policy.
So why this total impunity? The answer is simple: America. No other power in the West wields backing so absolute that it can override every UN resolution, every court ruling, and every moral restraint. Without American military aid, intelligence sharing, diplomatic cover, and the clout of the U.S. Congress, Israel would be unable to sustain such unchecked aggression.
Washington’s Double Game
Despite official denials—“this was an independent Israeli strike, we were not involved”—the facts speak louder than State Department press releases. Secretary Marco Rubio’s claim of non-involvement is absurd: the U.S. gives Israel blank checks, and President Trump himself has publicly praised the operation, blamed Iran, and signaled that Israel may continue pounding Iranian targets “as long as it takes.” Far from rebuking Israel, Washington has stood by and applauded.
The Real Signal
That sham denial from Washington tells us more than a thousand leaks could: U.S. elites no longer even pretend to defend American interests over Israeli ones. They revel in their own subservience. After Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, this is the latest chapter in a neoconservative agenda that uses American might—and American lives—as expendable collateral in a perpetual war machine, with Israel at its front lines.
What now? International law remains a paper tiger when the world’s greatest military power decides to look the other way. But awareness is the first step toward accountability. If you believe in a rules-based order rather than might-makes-right, share this analysis, subscribe for more unfiltered perspectives, and stay informed.
This has been Reality on the Ground. Thanks for watching – and remember, you heard it here first.
This commentary originally appeared on RT.
By Tarik Cyril Amar
Historian, Koç University, Istanbul
@tarikcyrilamar · tarikcyrilamar.substack.com · tarikcyrilamar.com
