Author: Salman A Rahman, Founder & President, HITH Foundation
Sep 17th, 6:51 pm
What we are seeing unfold in Gaza right now is not just another chapter of violence, it feels like the darkest stage yet. The destruction has become almost indiscriminate, and I fear that in the coming days, this may turn into the most brutal phase of the genocide so far.
But we should also be clear: even if Netanyahu’s government collapses under pressure, it does not automatically mean justice or freedom for Palestinians. History has shown us that the removal of one leader rarely changes the system itself.
Here’s how I see things unfolding:
The recent strike on Qatari soil and the hurried statements of “solidarity” from Arab leaders reveal something important: they sound supportive, but there’s little action behind those words. Trade continues. Flights operate. Normalization with Israel goes on. As the Saudi Foreign Minister said back in March, “We steadfastly refuse displacement”, but we’ve seen how even strong talk fizzles into inaction. For Arab governments, survival depends on alignment with the US and, by extension, compliance with Israel’s interests. Any real intervention has long passed them by.
The EU moving toward recognizing “Palestinian statehood.” But this announcement is carefully timed with the UN General Assembly in New York. They allow Western powers to present themselves once again as the “moral compass” of the world, while offering nothing but symbolic promises. The UN Secretary General warned just last week: “This conflict cannot be managed”, a sharp, honest line that underlines how little the statements change the ground reality.
The scale of suffering is staggering. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 64,871 people have been killed, and 164,610 wounded. Yesterday, the UN warned that half a million people in northern Gaza face famine due to the ongoing blockade. Just Monday night, Reuters reported 106 deaths in a single day. These numbers aren’t abstract, they are real, human lives lost and at risk, and they make the urgency impossible to ignore.
Netanyahu’s last stand and the illusion of moderation.
It is true that Netanyahu’s days in power may be numbered. He has become isolated internationally, and even within Israel his grip is weakening. But a cornered politician is at his most dangerous. The coming ground attacks could be catastrophic, an attempt to leave behind a legacy of blood before his inevitable fall. If he goes, a “moderate” face will replace him, one that the West and Arab states can rally behind, but moderation in language does not mean moderation in policy.
Even with a new leadership in Israel, little will change for Palestinians. Gaza and the West Bank will remain fractured, strangled, and economically crippled. There might be gestures, humanitarian corridors, reduced blockades, but the system of control will stay intact. Every few years, Israel wages war, weakens Gaza, then retreats until the cycle begins again.
And what of Netanyahu and his ministers, Gallant, Smotrich, Herzog? Don’t expect accountability. If history is any guide, the US will provide them safe havens, and in time they may even be honored in Israel the way figures like Ben Gurion, who oversaw the Nakba and the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948, Golda Meir, or Menachem Begin are celebrated, despite their direct roles in dispossession and war crimes. As historian Ilan Pappé reminds us: “In Israel, war criminals become prime ministers, and massacres become national holidays.”
So where does that leave us?
We cannot expect true freedom for Palestinians until the very system of Zionist colonialism is confronted. Governments will continue to posture, leaders will come and go, but unless the structures of oppression are dismantled, Palestinians will remain trapped in the same cycle of dispossession and violence.
Nothing meaningful will change until Palestine is genuinely free, not in speeches, not in hollow recognitions, but in reality.
History has taught us one thing: oppressors eventually fall. The question is how long the world will keep looking away before justice is forced into being.
References
- Al Jazeera. 2025. “Captured State: Israel 20 Years after Disengaging from Gaza.” Al Jazeera, September 16.
- Al Jazeera. 2025. “Arab-Islamic Summit Expected to Yield Concrete Measures against Israel.” Al Jazeera, September 15.
- Al Jazeera. 2025. “EU Proposes Suspension of Trade Concessions with Israel over Gaza War.” Al Jazeera, September 17.
- Associated Press. 2024. “Top War-Crimes Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Others in Israel-Hamas Fighting.” November 24.
- BBC. 2025. “Israel Has Committed Genocide in Gaza, UN Commission of Inquiry Finds.” BBC News, September 16.
- BBC. 2025. “Netanyahu’s Plan for Gaza Risks Dividing Israel, Killing Palestinians.” BBC News, May 6.
- Human Rights Watch. 2025. “Joint Statement on the Humanitarian Situation in Gaza.” European Commission, August 12.
- Ilan Pappé. 2017. “Interview with Ilan Pappé.” The White Review, October 10.
- Reuters. 2025. “Israel Kills Over 65,000 Palestinians in War on Gaza.” Reuters, September 17.
- UN Secretary-General. 2025. “Press Conference Following the Start of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.” United Nations, September 15.