Middle East Press On: Israeli Colonialism, Palestinian Parties, Myth: New Age Islam's Selection, 3 December 2025
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
3 December 2025
Protecting Israeli Colonialism Also Protects Israel’s Torture Practices
Gaza Plan Stuck Due To Delay In International Force’s Deployment
A Symptom Of Adult Failure: Why 40% Of Israeli Teens Exhibit Violent, Aggressive Behaviour
Israel Iron Beam Shows World Defence Importance To Win Wars, Even Over Offensive
Israeli Politics Needs The Full Inclusion Of Palestinian Parties
‘The Struggle Is One’: Palestinians In Venezuela Oppose US Aggression
The Myth Of Total Victory And The Reality On The Ground: Is Israel Winning Its Seven-Front War?
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Protecting Israeli Colonialism Also Protects Israel’s Torture Practices
by Ramona
December 2, 2025
Asking Israel to investigate its torture practices, while knowing that torture is an integral part of Israel’s political violence, is one of the tactics the UN employs to gloss over colonialism. In a press release, The UN Committee Against Torture stated that Israel has been implementing “a de facto State policy of organised and widespread torture and ill-treatment” which worsened after 7 October 2023. Not limited to Gaza, the committee stated that policies adopted in the occupied West Bank “if implemented in the manner alleged, would amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population.” Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank has “reportedly reached unprecedented levels.”
At various previous intervals, Israel’s colonial violence was deemed to have reached unprecedented levels. The word ‘unprecedented’ is unimpressive. What the UN Committee Against Torture should be looking at is how the UN allowed Israel to exceed its ‘unprecedented levels’ of torture gradually, without repercussions. If we just look at Gaza’s recent history – just going back to 2008-2009 during Operation Cast Lead – Israel used white phosphorus on the civilian population. White phosphorus is not banned by the 1980 Convention of Certain Conventional Weapons due to its use as a smokescreen. Less than 20 years later, Israel committed genocide in Gaza, and the world stepped aside to accommodate it.
And if we go back further, did not the Zionist paramilitary gangs torture Palestinians during the 1948 Nakba? Instead of looking at what created Israel – the 1947 Partition Plan and the 1948 Nakba, the UN rewarded Israel with full membership in May 1949. The contradiction has been sustained in Israel’s favour since then: an institution supposedly protecting human rights worldwide giving a colonial enterprise full membership, while the colonised Palestinian population remains an observer state. The tortured population remains subjugated not only to Israel, but to the UN, which facilitates Israel’s torture practices through globally approved impunity.
It is not enough to list Israel’s torture practices. At this point, lists are not creating awareness specifically because no one is expecting a list of torture tactics to prompt the international community to action against Israel. Neither will asking Israel to establish an independent commission of inquiry solve or regulate Israel’s torture tactics, which are part of its colonial violence.
The UN Committee Against Torture may have a specific role to play, but how much are these roles detracting from the real issue, which is colonialism? For decades, Palestinians have been classified into categories – administrative detention, torture, forced displacement, Palestinian prisoners, poverty, resistance – these are just a few. We can now add genocide victims as a collective for Gaza and genocide survivors for those who have so far survived. However, all these categories are discussed purely from a rights perspective which does not depart from the colonial framework, much less the experience of the colonised. So while calling on Israel is futile, we also have a situation where calling upon the UN is futile, because there is no stronger structure upholding Israel’s torture practices than the international community.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20251202-protecting-israeli-colonialism-also-protects-israels-torture-practices/
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Gaza Plan Stuck Due To Delay In International Force’s Deployment
Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg
December 02, 2025
It has been more than 60 days since US President Donald Trump announced his 20-point plan for Gaza in New York, 50 days since the Sharm El-Sheikh summit’s Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity and two weeks since the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 2803 formally adopting the plan, making it part of international law and binding on all nations.
These steps, led by Trump himself, created unprecedented euphoria and belief that the international community was finally determined to end this vicious war. There was somewhat of a ceasefire and Israel’s onslaught lessened, although not stopped; more than 360 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire came into effect on Oct. 10. Aid has trickled into the Strip, but not on the scale envisioned in the plan because of Israeli restrictions. And of course, no rehabilitation or reconstruction. The hope that the plan would lead to the promised “peace and prosperity” has turned into despair.
The main reason for this stalemate is the delay in deploying the International Stabilization Force, which the plan envisions acting as a buffer and overseeing Hamas’ disarming and Israeli forces’ withdrawal from Gaza. According to the plan, the force will work under the Board of Peace, headed by Trump, which will also oversee the Transitional Governance Administration. The latter will be led by a “technocratic, apolitical committee” of Gazans and be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Gaza’s civil service and administration, until the Palestinian Authority is ready to take over.
Hamas has sent mixed messages about the International Stabilization Force’s role, indicating that it would not surrender its weapons to this group, only to a Palestinian force. Hard-liners in the Israeli government have openly rejected the plan and threatened to walk out if it were implemented. The ambiguity in Hamas’ position has given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a pretext to continue his onslaught on Gaza, which has given his government a new lease on life. To further placate his political allies, he has unleashed them to wreak havoc in the West Bank and has conducted relentless attacks on Syria in an apparent attempt to destabilize the new government.
The Palestinian Authority, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, has strongly endorsed the plan. Hamas’ waffling is inexplicable given the suffering the people of Gaza have endured since the start of the war. More than 70,000 people have been mercilessly killed, hundreds of thousands injured, most homes destroyed or seriously damaged, and hospitals and schools obliterated.
And there is no prospect that Hamas can stay in power, let alone win this asymmetric war. Its ambiguous position is likely due to pressure from its more hawkish allies, such as Islamic Jihad, which acts as a proxy for Iran. Continuing the war plays into the hands of hard-liners in both Tehran and Tel Aviv. Peace would limit their influence.
It is not that the US has not started the groundwork, but rather that the potential participating countries are reluctant to contribute troops if there is still an impasse between Israel and Hamas. In October, two days after the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, it was reported that a few dozen US personnel were in the region serving in a coordination and oversight role for the International Stabilization Force. At about the same time, a Civil-Military Coordination Center — under the leadership of the commander of US Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper — was established to help facilitate the flow of humanitarian, logistical and security assistance from international counterparts into Gaza.
There was some delay in getting UN authorization for the plan, which came on Nov. 17. Other issues arose during the preparations for the formation of the new force, envisioned to be at least 20,000-strong. More than a dozen countries were mentioned as potential contributors to the force, but the frequent violations of the ceasefire by Israel and the flow of ambiguous statements from Hamas led some of these to say that they would not be contributing troops any time soon.
Long before the US plan was unveiled in September, France had stressed the need for this international force. On Nov. 20, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced that France would be willing to deploy 100 security personnel. Other countries followed France’s lead, but without specifying the size of their contributions or a timeframe for their deployment.
The International Stabilization Force’s role is indispensable for the success of the plan. Its mission is not only military, but it will also have a comprehensive mandate similar to that of the UN mission in Haiti. It includes protecting civilians and humanitarian operations, facilitating humanitarian corridors, supporting demilitarization and the destruction of terror infrastructure, securing the Egypt-Israel border areas, training Palestinian police, and monitoring the ceasefire. Israel is not likely to withdraw from Gaza before its deployment.
Much is riding on quickly deploying the new force and there is absolutely no substitute for US leadership to get the plan implemented. Trump moved mountains to get his peace plan approved — now it is time to put it into effect, starting with the formation of the International Stabilization Force.
All eyes are on Washington and Trump to put pressure on the parties to get their act together and move forward according to their obligations under the plan. The other “guarantor nations,” which announced in Sharm El-Sheikh their agreement to play that role, are also called upon to help with the plan’s implementation. Israel and Hamas must drop their reservations and get the ball rolling by allowing the new force to be deployed quickly.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2624767
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A Symptom Of Adult Failure: Why 40% Of Israeli Teens Exhibit Violent, Aggressive Behaviour
By Tali Erez
December 3, 2025
Violence among teenagers in Israel is no longer an exceptional occurrence. In recent weeks, we have witnessed a series of severe and, at times, truly chilling incidents: a teen stabbed inside an educational institution, teens pulling knives during a robbery, deliberate arson, particularly violent group assaults, and sexual assaults disguised as “challenges” on social media. These are not isolated cases but part of a phenomenon that reflects a psychological and social reality stretched to its limits.
A whole generation today is living in a prolonged reality of anxiety and instability. The war and the social polarization that preceded it have created an emotionally tense environment that has accompanied teens for a long time.
Our data paint a worrying picture.
As of September 2025, compared to the period before the war:
Forty percent of teens exhibit violent or aggressive behavior, a 13% increase.
Over 60% are experiencing mental distress, including depression, anxiety, and loneliness.
Fifteen percent report economic anxiety, a 2% increase.
All of this reflects young people living without a stable safety net.
Teens are the first to be impacted by societal breakdown
When adult society breaks down, young people feel it first. Teen violence does not develop in a vacuum; it mirrors what is happening around it. Violent public discourse, deteriorating personal safety, increased access to harmful means, and the erosion of family frameworks all seep directly into their world. Many parents today lack the emotional or financial resources to support their children as they would like, and teens feel the absence of this anchor.
Social media adds fuel to the fire by acting as a massive amplifier of violence. Every emotion receives extreme echoing; every conflict is intensified. Dangerous challenges, videos of violence, shaming, and emotional blackmail fill the digital space. Yet, at the same time, it is also where many teens express distress; sometimes, they only call for help.
The situation is especially severe among youth on the margins. Young people living in poverty, disconnection, or without family support are much more exposed to violent outbursts, substance use, and dangerous situations.
According to data from the margins as of September 2025, compared to the pre-war period:
Over 60% express mental distress (depression, anxiety, loneliness).
Thirty-five percent report signs or experiences of domestic or intimate-partner violence, a 4% increase.
There has been a 12% increase in expressions of economic anxiety.
Dangerous loss of trust
Many teens report long waits for treatment and a sense that the system disappeared precisely when they needed it most. This loss of trust is not just sad; it is dangerous.
It is crucial to understand that teen violence is not the problem; it is the symptom. Instead of asking what is wrong with the teens, it is time to ask what is wrong with us. They are not fundamentally different from previous generations, but they are growing up in a far more exposed, chaotic, and complex era. When adults disappear from the arena and boundaries blur, violence fills the space where stability should have been.
To stop this downward spiral, action is needed now. The data clearly show that the involvement of systemic interventions is a central condition for the progress of young people. Meaningful adult presence in the spaces where teens are – schools, neighborhoods, evenings and nights, and online – is essential.
Although much progress has been made and systems now work together better than before, a national plan combining clear boundaries with therapeutic support is needed. Key ministries, such as the Health Ministry, Welfare Ministry, Education Ministry, and National Security Ministry, must join forces. We need to strengthen support systems, parent guidance programs, and cooperation between the state, local authorities, and civil society organizations. Without focused support for youth at the margins, every effort will remain partial.
ELEM's work
This is where ELEM’s work, in partnership with the Welfare Ministry, comes in. In the field, the organization’s professionals encounter this reality every day, at night, on the streets, in treatment centers, and in digital spaces.
They identify distress before it erupts, offer support during moments of loneliness, and provide stable frameworks for young people who have lost trust in their environment. This work proves time and again that when teens have a stable and significant adult figure, they can break the cycle of violence and change their path.
We must remember this is a generation full of power and hope. These teens are not a lost generation; they are a generation seeking belonging, listening, and meaning. The data show the magnitude of the challenge, and the work on the ground shows the path to change. If we become the adults they need – present, attentive, and stable – we can change their future.
Teen violence is a wake-up call. It invites us to rebuild the social fabric that has unraveled. The choice of what the coming years will look like for this generation rests in our hands.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-878945
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Israel Iron Beam Shows World Defence Importance To Win Wars, Even Over Offensive
December 3, 2025
Later this month, if all goes according to plan, Israel will do something no other country has yet done: fully deploy a high-energy laser air defence system as part of its operational shield. According to The Jerusalem Post defence reporting, the Iron Beam is scheduled to enter field deployment on December 30, as a “game-changing, cutting-edge” system integrated into Israel’s existing multi-layered defences.
This is not just another upgrade. It is a technological and moral threshold. The Iron Dome already changed the story of modern Israel by intercepting rockets in mid-air and allowing daily life to continue under fire. The Iron Beam is the next leap, interception at the speed of light, at a tiny fraction of the cost of a missile interceptor, with implications that will reach far beyond Israel’s borders. Our coverage on these pages has described it as the most advanced operational laser of its kind, capable of stopping rockets, mortars, missiles, and drones in real time.
There is something deeply Israeli about the road that led here. Israel did not decide in the abstract to dominate an arms race; it was dragged into one. From the first crude rockets fired out of Gaza to the mass barrages launched by Hamas and Hezbollah, by the Houthis in Yemen, and by Iran itself, the country has been forced to innovate or absorb intolerable levels of civilian harm.
The results are written into the map of Israel’s cities. Over more than a decade, Iron Dome batteries have intercepted thousands of rockets with success rates often ranging between 85% and 95%, as our explainer articles have noted.
Iron Beam now raises that bar. Instead of relying only on interceptor missiles that cost tens of thousands of dollars each, the new system fires a focused beam of energy that can destroy rockets, mortars, and drones for roughly the price of the electricity it consumes. Post analyses have emphasized how revolutionary this is, describing the laser as a precise, cost-effective interception technology that is becoming critical to Israel’s air defense. Instead of magazines that can be emptied in a saturation attack, the main limit becomes power generation, not the number of missiles in a launcher.
As Defense Minister Israel Katz has explained, the Iron Beam is a ground-based, high-power laser system designed to counter short- to mid-range aerial threats, including rockets, mortars, and drones, which is moving from development into full operational status by the end of this year.
Over the past months, senior military reporter Yonah Jeremy Bob has revealed that laser interceptors have already shot down dozens of aerial threats during the current war, proving that this is not science fiction. It is Israeli engineering under fire.
Behind this breakthrough stand the same quiet professionals who turned the Iron Dome from an improbable concept into a lifesaving routine. They are scientists, engineers, programmers, physicists, and defense planners at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Elbit Systems, the IDF, and Israel’s Defense Ministry.
Israel defends itself with light
Israel seeks peace, prays for peace, and negotiates for peace whenever there is a serious partner. But this region has taught a hard truth. Peace that cannot be defended is not peace; it is an illusion.
Israel’s defensive innovations are not symbols of belligerence. They are the infrastructure that makes diplomacy, compromise, and restraint possible.
The global significance of the Iron Beam should not be overlooked. Just as the Iron Dome reshaped military thinking from Europe to East Asia, the laser era will influence how other democracies protect their populations from rockets,
There is also a certain moral symbolism here.
The Jewish state, born in the shadow of history’s worst vulnerability, is now defending itself with light. This laser does not seize territory. It intercepts trajectories. It does not occupy. It neutralizes. At its core, it is a technology devoted to stopping death, not causing it.
This laser will not end hatred. It will not erase ideology. No system is perfect, and no honest official would pretend otherwise. But it will protect more of our children, our elderly, our hospitals, and our schools. In this region, that is no small achievement. It is a revolution in the ethics of defense.
If the world is wise, it will not study the Iron Beam only as a new weapon. It will see it as a warning and as an indication that the future will belong less to those who can destroy fastest, and more to those who can defend best.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-879006
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Israeli Politics Needs The Full Inclusion Of Palestinian Parties
Yossi Mekelberg
December 02, 2025
The next general election in Israel is due no later than October next year, though it may be held earlier to suit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s craving to ensure the best possible chance of him forming the next coalition government. Opinion polls are consistent in forecasting that the parties currently in opposition, or those expected to form before the next election, are likely to win more seats than those in the current government.
However, there is a sting in the tail: the disturbing anomaly that the parties that almost exclusively represent the Palestinian citizens of Israel are not included in the calculations of Zionist parties in forming the next coalition government, leaving them and their voters as political pariahs in their own country.
Except for the short-lived Bennett-Lapid government, which included one of the Palestinian parties, Palestinian ministers have served in the Cabinet only if they were elected on the list of a Zionist party. This discriminatory approach perpetuates the marginalization of the 2.1 million Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up 21 percent of the total population.
The vast majority of Jewish Israelis would even refuse to acknowledge them as Palestinian, only referring to them as “Arab-Israelis.” To recognize the Palestinian identity of their fellow citizens would equate, for the majority of Israeli Jews, to recognizing that they also have the same rights as Jewish people in this piece of land. Moreover, if they are Palestinian, the tag of being disloyal is automatically added. This approach reflects a paradox: utter paranoia combined with a sense of supremacy.
In a democratic system, when members of one part of society — in this case, a quite significant minority — are excluded from the executive branch in perpetuity, they are also deprived of the ability to influence the ethos and direction of their own country and to protect their rights and interests. By that, an entire community is denied equal access to resources the rest of the population enjoys.
Morally, there is only one definition of this behavior: racism. On a practical level, the blanket boycott of all Palestinian parties, which typically gain 10 to 15 seats in the Knesset, hands the right victory time and again. There is an absurd demand for Palestinians who are citizens of Israel not only to be loyal, which they are, but also to subscribe to the Zionist ethos of the society, something that no Jewish person is required to do. It is more outrageous when, in practice, they do not enjoy the same rights and privileges.
It is not only the right-wing parties that exclude the Palestinian parties from participating in a coalition, but also the more centrist ones and, beyond comprehension, those who call themselves leftist. By taking this approach, they betray their own declared values, such as building social cohesion and integration across all segments of society, not to mention harming their chances of forming stable coalition governments.
No one employs the dog whistle against Palestinian citizens and their elected representatives in the Knesset more viciously or, unfortunately, effectively than Netanyahu. In his latest deplorable attempt, he announced last week that he intends to “complete the process” of banning the Muslim Brotherhood in Israel. This sounds like a coded message to effectively target the Islamist United Arab List party, which won five seats in the last general election. It is a blatant attempt to associate this party, which was one of the most constructive and effective members of the previous coalition, with Hamas, which is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In the toxic environment since Oct. 7, when it should be of paramount importance not to drive a further wedge between Jews and Palestinians, Netanyahu is cynically doing the exact opposite as he customarily tries to engineer the results of the next election through toxicity and division.
One of the most acute issues in the Palestinian communities in Israel today is an unprecedented surge in violent crime. The number of homicides is at a record high. Already this year, 237 people have been murdered within this community. At this rate, 2025 might end up as the worst ever year in this regard. Many of those who lost their lives have been bystanders, among them children and women, caught up in gang wars.
The situation has deteriorated, not astonishingly, since the current coalition government was formed and Itamar Ben-Gvir became the minister in charge of the police. To put it bluntly, he and his followers simply do not care when Palestinians kill Palestinians. To add insult to injury, in most cases — in contrast to what happens in the Jewish communities — no one is charged, let alone convicted, for these crimes. There is a strong element of deliberate neglect, which is another reason for the urgent need for the representatives of Palestinians citizens of Israel to be an integral part of the government.
For the Palestinian parties in Israel, the task must be to maximize their electoral potential, which is more likely to make them indispensable to centrist and left-wing parties if they want to form the next government. This means they have a real dilemma: to maximize their electoral power, they all need to run on one list. At the last election, three parties ran separately, thereby wasting the many thousands of votes that were cast for them but were not enough to ensure they passed the electoral threshold. On the other hand, running on one list would require them to make ideological compromises while still presenting a platform that convinces potential voters to turn out for them on election day.
Considering what is at stake, a pragmatic approach is the most desirable — one that attracts the most votes without any of them compromising their core beliefs.
For those in the Israeli political spectrum who genuinely believe in the vision of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, which defines the state of Israel as “Jewish and democratic,” “democratic” is as vital as “Jewish.” And the Jewishness of the country does not mean the exclusion of the non-Jewish minorities from power or discriminating against them. It is high time to demonstrate this by including at least some of them in the next coalition government.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2624766
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‘The Struggle Is One’: Palestinians in Venezuela Oppose US Aggression
By Louis Brehony
December 2, 2025
The November 29 statement by US President Donald Trump that Venezuelan airspace would be “closed in its entirety” was the latest shot in a war against the socialist government of Nicolás Maduro.
Having made spurious claims of bringing “peace” to the Middle East, leaving Gaza’s Palestinians displaced, blockaded and continually massacred, US imperialism is driving an increasingly bloody campaign for war on Venezuela. Despite its distance, Palestine looms large in Latin America, with Palestinian activists among the most prescient voices against US-led aggression.
A Warmongering Narrative
Like many other young Palestinians, Fares Matar received a scholarship to study at Cuba’s Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM). Involved in solidarity organizing, which in socialist Cuba has state backing, Matar spoke to the Palestine Chronicle from Caracas, Venezuela.
Keen to point out that US aggression on Venezuela represents “not an isolated event” nor an “internal crisis,” Matar points to a wider context:
The Trump administration accuses the Maduro government of running a drug-trafficking Cartel of the Suns, outrageously placing a $50m bounty on the socialist president’s “arrest and/or conviction.” A record warrant, this greatly increases the $ 15m reward set by the first Trump government in 2020, claiming Venezuelan coordination with Colombian FARC leftists in military and narcotics smuggling.
Aimed at Venezuela and its allies, the Caribbean is witnessing the most significant US naval deployment since its invasion of Panama in 1989, utilizing the navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R Ford. Claiming to be targeting Venezuela-backed drug trafficking maneuvers, US warships carried out 78 recorded strikes on Caribbean vessels between September 2 and November 16, killing over 80 people by December 1.
Alongside these operations, former UN Special Rapporteur Alfred De Zayas estimates that 100,000 Venezuelans have died as a result of US, EU, and British sanctions.
War on a Political Alternative
While the threat of an all-out invasion is higher than ever, Matar points out that the narratives, pretexts and “fierce political, media and economic attacks” faced by Venezuela echo previous imperialist interventions.
Visiting US-occupied Puerto Rico on November 25, Chief Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine told marines that they were “on the front lines of defending the American homeland.”
Mirroring the disregard for human life seen in the Zionist genocide on Gaza, The Washington Post reported on September 2 that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had told troops to “kill everybody” on Venezuelan boats. Despite the call of UN human rights chief Volker Türk for an investigation into the attacks as extrajudicial killings, on November 30, Trump doubled down on supporting repeated strikes against survivors of initial missile attacks.
Referring to SOUTHCOM troops as “warriors,” Hegseth claimed on November 28 that these were “lethal, kinetic” and “legal” strikes, designed to “kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
Despite classifying Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist group, even anti-Maduro academics like Pérez Guadalupe admit that the cartel does not exist, let alone ship from Venezuela to the US.
Referencing Iraq, Matar told the Palestine Chronicle:
Venezuela possesses the world’s largest oil reserves, rivaling Western-allied Arab Gulf states. Since the electoral victory of Hugo Chávez in 1998 and the launching of the Bolivarian project for socialism, Venezuela has reoriented its foreign relations from an authoritarian history of loyal dependence on imperialism to channeling funds into social provision.
Writing in Al-Hadaf magazine, Palestinian analyst Mohammed Abdel Qader shows that Venezuela’s commitment to socialist transformation “generated resentment, anger and animosity from the US and the West towards the political system led by Chávez.” Imperialism cannot tolerate “a system that prioritizes the interests of the people and the country.” Abdel Qader continues:
Venezuela Stands for Palestinian Liberation
With the development of revolutionary politics on the national level, Chávez heralded a sea-change in Venezuelan policy. The capitalist regimes of Venezuela’s past had promoted normalized relations with the Zionist state, but this was challenged by a leftist government promoting progressive causes internationally.
Opposing the war on the Middle East, the Chávez government broke off all ties with Israel during its murderous invasion of Gaza in January 2009, calling for premier Shimon Peres to be stripped of his Nobel Peace Prize; Peres had been given a lavish two-day reception under the Caldera government in 1995.
In a letter he delivered to the UN in 2011, Chávez recognized an independent Palestine and declared: “Let us be unequivocal: Zionism, as a worldview, is fundamentally racist.”
Offering a sharp critique of the forces preventing Palestinian liberation, Chávez exposed imperialist “double standards” in the Arab region, with NATO “violating international law in Libya while letting Israel act with impunity, making the US the chief accomplice to the Palestinian genocide by Zionist barbarity.”
This socialist position found continuation in Maduro, elected as Chávez’s successor in 2013. US destabilization campaigns in Venezuela have since enjoyed Israeli support, including Netanyahu’s preposterous recognition of opposition figure and attempted coup leader Juan Guaidó as “president” in 2019. Matar explains:
Venezuela has strongly opposed the genocide since October 2023, with Maduro labeling Palestinian resistance a “critical battle against fascism and colonialism.” As in Cuba, Palestinians have been platformed at rallies and international events in Caracas, including Leila Khaled’s invitation to the International Conference of Solidarity with Palestine in December 2024. She told attendees:
This battle has raged in the Venezuelan context, too. In October 2025, Venezuelan reactionary Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Alongside her support for US military intervention and oil privatization in Venezuela, she declared “The struggle of Venezuela is the struggle of Israel,” signing cooperation agreements with Netanyahu’s Likud party and promising friendly relations with the occupation if her counterrevolution was victorious. Machado has also cozied up to European racists and called for the ‘reconquest’ of Europe from a supposed Muslim takeover.
‘Those Who Resist’
“Defending Venezuela today means defending Palestine, just as defending Palestine is defending every people facing the imperialist-Zionist machinery of oppression. The struggle is one, regardless of geography,” Matar said.
Trump’s call for the closure of Venezuelan airspace has a recent precedent. So-called no-fly zones were imposed by the US, Britain and France upon Iraq in 1991, by NATO allies in the 2011 invasion and destruction of Libya, and called for in Syria by US presidential candidate Hilary Clinton in 2016.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry responded to the November threats:
Venezuelans are organizing to defend the country against foreign intervention and over 8 million volunteers have joined the Bolivarian militia. Communal councils and mass organizations that stood with Palestine are now preparing to repel the invasion of their own lands. Matar told us:
The battle ahead, Leila Khaled told Venezuelan commune organizers, “is the fight for future generations to come.” Palestinians and Venezuelans are walking this path of resistance together.
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/the-struggle-is-one-palestinians-in-venezuela-oppose-us-aggression/
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The Myth of Total Victory and the Reality on the Ground: Is Israel Winning Its Seven-Front War?
By Robert Inlakesh
December 2, 2025
From the Gaza genocide to the assassination of Hezbollah’s senior leadership, Israel has carried out unprecedented destruction across the region. Yet, despite everything that has happened since October 7, 2023, has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu truly delivered the “total victory” he promised over his regime’s adversaries?
The current state of play across West Asia has left many in despair. Undoubtedly, the genocide in the Gaza Strip has inflicted a generational psychological wound, not only on the people of the region, but concerned citizens throughout the world.
When the genocide began in October of 2023, many assumptions were made regarding who or what was going to come to the aid of the Palestinian people.
Some trusted in international institutions, others believed that the Arab masses would mobilize or assumed that the rulers of Muslim Majority countries would utilize their trade leverage, resources, and even militaries to rescue the people of Gaza. Then there were those who depended upon the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance.
On the question of the international institutions, the Israelis were brought before the UN’s top judicial organ, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found Tel Aviv plausibly guilty of committing genocide. However, when it issued its provisional measures, the court was simply ignored.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) even passed resolution 2728 on March 25, 2024, which called for a ceasefire until the end of the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan, which was supposed to be binding and was again ignored by Israel.
Then came along the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Tel Aviv and Washington decided to go after the court and its prosecutor, undermining its authority.
The Arab Nations, with the exception of Yemen’s Ansarallah government in Sana’a, refused to lift a finger, as did the rulers of most Muslim Majority nations. The populations of Jordan and Egypt that were expected to act, didn’t even live up to the popular actions taken by European populations. The people in the major cities of the West Bank and in occupied Jerusalem didn’t even stage notable protests.
The only ones who acted were the Axis of Resistance. Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Ansarallah waged support fronts in solidarity with Gaza, while some Iraqi factions occasionally sent suicide drones and rocket fire from Syria would occur periodically.
Yet the way that the Axis of Resistance dealt with the genocide appeared to be the execution of a strategy to ultimately de-escalate hostilities and bring the assault on Gaza’s people to an end. The Israelis, however, were not interested in a cessation of hostilities and were instead hell bent on destroying the entire Iranian-led Axis once and for all.
Israel broke every tenet of international law and violated all diplomatic norms. They would go on to carry out countless assassinations eventually stretching across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, with a failed attempt on the lives of Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar. The consular segment of Iran’s embassy in Syria was even bombed.
Israel carried out the pager terrorist attacks across Lebanon, which wounded thousands and killed dozens, including countless women and children. This not only shook Lebanese society to the core, but also proved a major security and communications blow to Hezbollah itself. The infiltration of Hezbollah allowed Israel to murder the majority of the organization’s senior leadership. Perhaps the biggest psychological blow was the assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Shortly after thousands had been murdered by Israel’s onslaught on Lebanon between September and late November, the next major blow to the Axis of Resistance came in the form of regime change in Syria. Suddenly, a US-backed government had been ushered into power and instantly opened up lines of communication with Israel.
What occurred in Syria was significant for a number of reasons, the most important of which was the collapse of the Syrian military and occupation of vast portions of territory in southern Syria, including the strategic high-ground of Jabal Al-Sheikh (Mount Hermon). It also meant that weapons transfers to Lebanon, to supply Hezbollah and the Palestinian armed factions, were instantly made much more difficult.
The resistance in the West Bank that had been growing in the north of the occupied territory since 2021 was significantly cut down through aggressive Israeli and Palestinian Authority military campaigns. In the Gaza Strip, the resistance forces were also degraded and had no supply lines. Meanwhile, the only consistent front that never buckled and only accelerated their attacks was the Yemeni Armed Forces, but due to their geographical constraints were limited in what impact they could have.
For all of the above-noted reasons, the Israelis have appeared to have gained the upper hand, and this has left many fearing what they have in store next. It is assumed that further attacks on Lebanon and Iran will be aimed at achieving regime change in Tehran, which, if successful, would indeed declare Israel the undisputed ruler of the region.
A Reality Check
Despite the gains that the Israelis have made, they have also suffered enormous blows themselves, which are often left out of many analyses offered on the current situation the region finds itself in. Before delving into this, to avoid accusations of “cope”, it is important to make note of a few different points.
Many refutations offered to the pessimistic view commonly adopted of the region engage in exaggeration, speculation, and refuse to even acknowledge the obvious losses their side has suffered. This is often the practice of those who remain die-hard supporters of resistance against the Israelis and their regional project.
When such positive and romanticized depictions are used to describe the current situation and are heard by those who are convinced that their side has already lost, they often experience a visceral opposition to that sense of optimism. Supporters of the resistance to Israel’s tyranny attempt to rescue morale through slogans and dogmatic rhetoric, which falls on deaf ears, as such explanations lack logical consistency.
This all being said, things are not exactly as doom-and-gloom as the popularized pessimism that prevails across the region suggests.
At this current moment, Israel has not won on any front; the caveat is obviously that the Axis of Resistance has not won either. Every front is a de facto stalemate. This being said, the Israelis have undoubtedly inflicted much greater damage on their adversaries in the short run.
Yes, the Palestinian factions in Gaza have been weakened, and the human cost of the war has been enormous, beyond anyone’s imagination, but they have not been defeated. Instead, they have waged a guerrilla war against the occupying army that has targeted the civilian population as a means of attempting to defeat them by proxy. Are they capable of defeating the Israeli military? No, not by themselves, but this has always been the case.
In Lebanon, the Israelis certainly dealt a massive blow to Hezbollah; there can be no doubt about it. Although they were incapable of collapsing the group and it is clear that they still retained an abundance of arms, something demonstrated throughout the course of the war in late 2024. Today, Hezbollah is rapidly rebuilding its capabilities and preparing for the inevitability of the next round.
One key takeaway from the Israel-Lebanon war was that, beyond assassinations and intelligence operations, the Israelis proved incapable on the ground and were even deterred from conquering villages like Khiam along with the Lebanese border area. Their greatest tactical achievements came at the beginning of the war, while the remainder of the battle proved that Israel’s only edge came through its air force.
The reason why the Lebanon war was a loss for Hezbollah was down to the collapse of Hezbollah’s image. Previously, the propaganda of the organization and the trust commanded by its leader, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, had convinced the world that the group was powerful enough to destroy Israel by itself. In his last speech, before he was murdered alongside 300 civilians, Nasrallah had publicly admitted that there is, in fact, no parity between Hezbollah and Israel militarily.
In 2006, just as occurred in 2024, the result of the war was a stalemate. No side decisively beat the other. Instead, it was the combined fact that Hezbollah’s performance was militarily stunning, from a planning and execution point of view, in addition to the fact that nobody expected the group to even survive, let alone force the Israelis to abandon their war plans. If you look at the difference in Lebanese to Israeli casualties in 2006, there is no comparison; in fact, it was even a major achievement for Hezbollah to have hit Haifa with rockets back then.
The 2006 war proved that Hezbollah was a force to be reckoned with, that it would inflict serious blows on Israel if it sought to re-invade and re-occupy southern Lebanon, so Tel Aviv made the calculation that it was best to leave it alone. This is why there were 17 years of deterrence, where Israel would not dare bomb Lebanon.
Fast forward to 2023, Hezbollah was a group capable of striking any target across occupied Palestine, and in 2024 hit Tel Aviv for the very first time. Compared to a force of an estimated 14,000 men in 2006, Hezbollah’s current armed forces consist of over 100,000 men, making them a larger armed group than many of the militaries of various countries.
The difference is that Hezbollah is fighting Israel, which is equipped with an endless supply of the world’s most technologically advanced weapons and equipment that enables it to pinpoint target leaders.
It suffices to say, the two sides are not equal, but by no means is Hezbollah finished or weak; it is simply that the group must suffer immense sacrifices in order to prove victorious in any confrontation with Israel. This is because the equation has changed since October 7, 2023; it is no longer the case that the Israelis can be deterred. It is a long war that will lead to the total defeat of one side or the other. What happens from here is largely down to leadership and the willingness to commit to total war.
Syria is itself a totally different issue. First, we must keep in mind that the government of Bashar al-Assad was not actively engaged in the war against Israel; instead, it allowed for the Axis of Resistance to operate inside its territory and establish a defensive front in southern Syria.
Again, being realistic, the new government in Syria has weakened the entire State and divided it even more than was already the case. Ahmed al-Shara’a is joint at the hip with his US allies and pursues policies that explicitly favor his backers in Western governments. All of the denialism in the world does not change this fact, nor does it change Damascus’s establishing direct communications and even coordination with the Israelis.
To avoid going through what is already well known and beating a dead bush, there are a number of key considerations to make when looking at the situation in Syria, which could lead in various different directions.
I will preface everything below by saying that it is plausible that for the foreseeable future, the Israelis are going to succeed at every turn in Syria, as they have done since the pro-US government took power.
Unfortunately, the Syrian conflict is the top cause of sectarian division in the region. These divisions work on two pillars: tribalism and propaganda. Round-the-clock propaganda is churned out to cause fitnah and you will still hear baseless claims, including totally fabricated statistics, spread to achieve this division. Some would blame these conflicts on religion, yet it is more about blood feuds, corruption, and tribalistic tendencies.
Putting this aside, the Syrian front is now open and various possibilities exist. There is a competition between Turkiye and Israel inside the country, meaning that a proxy conflict is not off the table. It is also very possible that Ahmed al-Shara’a, who has managed to create problems with even his once staunch allies, will be assassinated or ousted from power, creating a bloody power struggle that could pour into the streets of Damascus.
For now, the weapons flow into Lebanon to supply Hezbollah is ongoing and there are also indications that during the final days of the former regime, many advanced weapons fell into various hands. The US is now working alongside the government in Damascus to ensure that these weapons transfers are stopped or at least rendered much more difficult. In addition to this, in the event of a war between Hezbollah and Israel, it is safe to assume that weapons transfers will be put to a halt.
As Israel advances further into southern Syrian territory, more villages will likely choose to resist them, as occurred in Beit Jinn recently; this will happen independent of the government in Damascus. As Ahmed al-Shara’a does not enjoy full control over his country, this also provides opportunities for armed groups to pop up and begin resisting the occupying force, something that the Syrian President will not be able to control, especially if Israel makes mistakes and gets itself embroiled in a crisis.
This story is not over and Syria is a hostile environment for Israeli forces due to the rejection of the people there. Ultimately, just as occurred in southern Lebanon, when the government abandons its duties, the people end up taking matters into their own hands to resist occupation. Does this mean we can expect a robust fighting force there soon? Probably not for now, but various possibilities exist in the foreseeable future.
Then we look to Iran and Yemen, whose capabilities remain and only grow; neither has been defeated. Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi have not been mobilized until now, and it is unclear what role they could play in a broader regional war, but it is of note that they exist.
What has happened is that Israel has proven time and time again that it is willing to be daring with the one tactic that they can actually excel in, assassinations and intelligence operations. However, these operations do not win wars; they are undoubtedly blows, but they do not inflict a knockout punch.
When two sides engage in such a war, it is expected that losses will occur on both sides. The Israelis have suffered a battered economy, a divided society, their settlements in the north are still in ruins, they haven’t repaired the damage inflicted on their infrastructure, and they have lost public support across the world, including in the United States. They are a global pariah sustained only by their Western backers, incapable of defeating what was viewed as the weakest link of the Axis of Resistance in Gaza.
In their favor, they have eliminated most of Iran’s influence in Syria, committed one of the worst crimes in modern history against Gaza and weakened the armed resistance there as a result of it. They also took out Hezbollah’s senior leadership, while degrading it and its political standing. In addition to this, many leaders and generals in the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC)’s chain of command were killed.
In Iran’s case, the so-called 12 Day War, back in June, had resulted in failure for the Israelis. Instead of achieving regime change and/or the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program, it is clear now that it has only succeeded in driving out international monitors and even united the population in a way previously unimaginable. Tehran has leaned into the growing trend of Iranian nationalism among its people and is preparing for another round. That battle also ended with Iran landing the last real blows.
The Israeli military must be viewed for what it is; it has the military edge in the air, possesses the most advanced weapons in the world, enjoys full US support and is backed by one of the best intelligence agencies in the world. It also has something else on its side, which is that it does not care for morality or international law at all; it will break any rule to achieve an objective.
At the same time, its ground force is largely incapable, and it is also massively fatigued. The Israeli army was only really prepared to fight very brief battles and is an occupation force, which is why it now struggles to mobilize the soldiers necessary to carry out various offensive actions. It also needs to pay some of its soldiers’ danger money salaries. It has also recruited the private sector and civilians, paid as much as 800 dollars per day, to carry out their demolition missions in Gaza.
There is a reason why, on October 7, 2023, a few thousand Palestinian fighters armed with light weapons managed to collapse the Israeli southern command in a matter of hours and temporarily took control of the Israeli settlements surrounding Gaza. In other words, they are far from invincible.
Is this all to say that “Israel has lost”? No, clearly no side has won yet. There are various conspiracies in the works. In the Gaza Strip, the US is working alongside its allies to find a way to defeat the armed resistance groups. The Israelis clearly have their sights set on new wars against Lebanon and Iran; they will also likely strike Yemen hard again. However, they now find themselves in a much more vulnerable situation and could easily overextend themselves on one front, leading to significant losses.
So, can we say that Benjamin Netanyahu is closer to his “total victory”? The answer to this question is no. Is it possible that the “Greater Israel Project” will be implemented and that Iran will be toppled? This always has to be considered as a threat, because this is clearly Israel’s goal, but it is also just as likely that Tel Aviv will suffer a strategic defeat. It is especially the case because they are fighting an opposition that is more likely to commit to an all-out war, given what they have suffered up until this point.
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/the-myth-of-total-victory-and-the-reality-on-the-ground-is-israel-winning-its-seven-front-war/
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