On July 24th Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United States Congress at the Capitol; the initial reaction from Congress upon Netanyahu’s arrival yielded a standing ovation from the so-called “Diplomats” and “Peacemakers” in the room. 

What was happening on the outside of the capitol, however, poses a strong contrast to the positive reaction to Netanyahu’s arrival inside the building. The streets were flooded with Pro-Palestinian protestors proclaiming the Israeli Prime Minister to be a genocidal war criminal; the most polarizing of these statements being a large paper mache depiction of Netanyahu with blood on his hands and mouth, accompanied by devil-like horns on his head. 

While the dichotomy between Netanyahu’s unwavering support from Congress, and the belligerent actions from protesters remains consistent, there is one common ideal that unites both of these parties: the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and to make a deal to bring the hostages that Hamas took from Israel home after their October 7th attack on Israel.

According to NPR, The devastating attack left over 1,200 Israelis dead, as well as Hamas taking 251 people hostage. These events were brutal, terrifying, and simply can’t be justified; however, it’s important to note that Hamas’s attack was prompted after decades of division, discrimination, and displacement from Israel, which left over 700,000 Native Palestinians displaced in the West Bank and Gaza.

 And just as Hamas’s attack on Israel can’t be defended, the genocide that is currently being committed in Gaza isn’t absolved of the same questioning. According to AP news, Israel’s invasion of Gaza has left over 40,000 Palestinians dead, and 1.9 million displaced.

 Israel has targeted Humanitarian relief trucks carrying food, as well as support for injured or displaced Palestinians.

The fact that the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) is intentionally targeting places as integral to the Palestinian culture as mosques shows clear evidence of intentional ethnic cleansing, which is defined as the mass expulsion or killing of members of an ethnic group, an attempt to wipe out the remaining vestiges of culture left to them; They have bombed every university in Gaza as well as Mosques, neighborhoods, and hospitals.  According to the BBC, there have been 74 cases of explicitly religious spaces being bombed in Gaza between October 7th and December 31st of 2023: 72 instances of them being Mosques.

Typically, ethnic cleansing (and genocide) starts with something similar to what was just mentioned: The removal of spaces where a people group can freely have community. Like when the IDF bombed designated safe zones for Palestinians who were trying to escape neighborhoods under siege, as reported by Al Jazeera. Netanyahu is fully aware of this conduct from the IDF, and he’s advocating for it.

 As a matter of fact, Benjamin Netanyahu has secretly sent literal suitcases full of cash to Gaza before the October 7th attacks. He knew that it would bolster the power of Hamas, as mentioned in an article by This Week. Why did Netanyahu, the supposed advocate for the safety of Israelis send money to a terrorist organization that opposes the country he runs? The answer is simple: Netanyahu needed a justification for the dehumanization of an entire people; this is further supported by declassified documents that state Israel would be “happy” if Hamas took over Gaza, because then, and only then, Israel can treat Palestine as a hostile state. 

As a final cornerstone of evidence, In a 2001 leaked video from TRT News,  Netanyahu explained his energy toward Palestine, “The main thing is, first of all, to strike them, not once, but several times so painfully that the price they pay is unbearable,” 

He also brags about defying the 1993 Oslo Accords, the accords were made during the Clinton administration and were a bipartisan deal between Israel and Palestine that promised to provide more autonomy to Palestinians, as both sides finally recognized each other’s right to exist.

All this – and yet Israeli officials, as well as both of the major ticket presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump still claim that the war in Gaza is one against Hamas, not the Palestinian civilians.

I have serious doubts that the facts of Israel’s genocide will ever be acknowledged by a figure as prominent as the President, but I do know that we, as Americans, can exercise our right to freedom of speech by protesting, donating, and speaking on behalf of those suffering in Gaza and the West Bank.