The Soul-searching the Palestinians Never Do

Dr. Michael Milshtein examines in Haaretz how the Palestinian historical narrative swings from aggression to victimization.
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"History is rife with examples of aggressors who were defeated, but the case of Hamas is unique in this context. Many nations and states have attacked others, often committing war crimes in the process, later engaging in serious soul-searching or embarking on a systemic internal overhaul when they were ultimately vanquished. The Palestinians, in contrast, are taking a different course. From the start of last month’s military attack and its massacre, they have represented themselves as the victim, all the more so since Israel launched a counterattack."

"Palestinian society has engaged in soul-searching over the years, but it was always functional, and lacked an ideological dimension and a broad scope. Within this framework, criticism was leveled at the leadership’s performance, at a lack of social cohesion, the absence of collective advancement of that society, the impotence of their Arab brethren in aiding the Palestinians, and mistaken political or military decisions. Nonetheless, there has never been any trenchant discussion among the Palestinians within a context of values and morality, or such as might give rise to a different perception of what they term the 'Zionist enemy'."


*The opinions expressed in MDC publications are the authors’ alone.

Read the full article in English - Haaretz, 17.11.23.

Read the full article in Hebrew - Haaretz, 8.11.23.