“Today, nearly everything is made in China – except courage; it’s made in Palestine.” – Anthony Bourdain.
ANYONE conversant with world affairs knows what’s happening in the Middle East. One does not have to belong to a particular faith to take an interest in events there because, where humanity is concerned, all divine religions agree on the sanctity of human life.
Even though Nigeria has unending problems, that does not mean one should shut out other humans and their suffering. It’s like saying we don’t have enough food, so we would not give someone in dire need, even a bite.
We have seen the devastating attacks on the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria by Israel. The situation in Gaza, with a population of about 2.5 million, is particularly tragic. As of March 4, 2025, over 50,000 men, women, and children have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Among them are 166 journalists and media workers, 120 academics, and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, including 179 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a UN agency established to provide assistance and protection to registered Palestinian refugees.
It is estimated that 80 per cent of the Palestinians killed were civilians, and 70 per cent of those killed in residential buildings or similar housing were women and children. At least 112,719 have been wounded. In other words, one in every 50 people in Gaza has been killed, and one in every 20 has been injured.
Similarly, nearly 70 per cent of all structures in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged, along with 92 per cent of all housing units. There is nothing left except rubble, which the United Nations has said would take at least 15 years to clear, with 100 trucks working full-time, and reconstructing the Strip would require over $53bn.
The destruction is deliberate. And Israel, which has a displacement agenda, does not want the area rebuilt; it wants Gazans to leave the land completely, and finally. The best way to achieve that is to kill and maim them, destroy their lands, and render them homeless – in short, make the environment unfit for living.
This idea was echoed by Israel through Donald Trump’s mouth when he opined that the people there should be displaced elsewhere, “where they would be safe, where no one would kill them.” He did not mention who wanted to kill them and why, even though the world knows who. He did not say anything about sanctioning those who have wrought this murderous expedition on hapless civilians. No, instead, he continued arming Israel with devastating weapons. When he recently stopped aid to other countries, Israel was not affected.
When that idea of displacing Gazans on behalf of Israel met a brick wall, Israel, with America’s encouragement, reneged on the ceasefire and, in a strategy of territorial nullification, resumed its attacks to make Gazans so disillusioned as to leave their land. Food, medicine, and other relief materials were denied entrance to the beleaguered, desolate, and hungry Gazans during the holy month of Ramadhan. Sometimes, Israel even dropped poisoned candies for hungry children.
Jeffrey David Sachs, an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, said: “Israel, under Netanyahu, has planned seven wars in five years to overthrow foreign governments that oppose Israel’s domination and recreate the map of a ‘New Middle East’ without a Palestinian State. Rather than making peace, Netanyahu makes endless war.”
In a write-up in many international policy journals titled Defending the U.S. from the Israel Lobby, Sachs said, “The governments to be fought and dismantled are those of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran.”
But Israel does not fight directly; it uses America. It’s like the case of the tail wagging the dog, with Israel being the tail and America the dog.
He further wrote, “Iraq was to be the first of the seven wars in five years, but as Fritz explains, the follow-up wars were delayed by the anti-U.S. Iraqi insurgency. Nonetheless, the U.S. eventually went to war or backed wars against Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Lebanon. In other words, the U.S. carried out Netanyahu’s plans—except for Iran. To this day, indeed to this hour, Netanyahu works to stoke a U.S. war on Iran, one that could open World War III, either by Iran making the breakthrough to nuclear weapons or by Iran’s ally, Russia, joining such a war on Iran’s side.”
Now, only Iran remains. Apart from being one of the countries earmarked to be fought, it is the only Muslim country that is not beholden to the West or living in awe of Israel. It is independent, respects the sovereignty of other nations, and demands that its sovereignty be respected. It does not lean on any superpower, living up to the creed of its revolutionary and spiritual leader, Imam Ayatollah Khomeini, who said: “neither East nor West.” There is no country on Earth that Israel loves to hate like Iran.
America has been questioning Iran’s right to develop its nuclear potential for peaceful purposes.
Trump issued a two-month ultimatum: “negotiate or face military action.” But for 20 months, Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S., plus Germany), along with the European Union, negotiated an agreement signed in Vienna on 14 July 2015.
Called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement placed significant restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. But President Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018, claiming it failed to curtail Iran’s missile programme and regional influence.
So, which agreement does he now want within two months?
We should not forget that, in all this, nobody is asking Israel about its nuclear programme. While America is quick to tell the world that Israel has a right to self-defence, you never hear them say that Lebanon, Palestine, or Iran have similar rights.
Can we all see America’s double standards here? How Janus-faced it is! This can be seen in its attack on the Houthis.
America was deeply involved in the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. But when Israel, which had no intention of halting its bombardment of Gaza in the first place, reneged and stopped relief materials from reaching Gaza while intensifying its unprovoked attacks on the people, America was silent. The Houthis told the mediators of the ceasefire deal what was happening, but Israel was not cautioned. Then, the Houthis gave four days for the genocide to stop, or they would resume fighting as well.
Because the attacks and blockade continued, the Houthis blocked the Red Sea and aimed their attacks at Israeli-related ships carrying mainly cargo that might allow them to continue their war on Gaza. The Americans, who have been telling the world that they care about freedom and justice, could not tell the Israelis to stop. No. Instead, they started attacking the Houthis while continuing to give Israel money and weapons.
Jeffrey David Sachs concluded his write-up with this piece of advice: “The real issue facing the Trump Administration is not defending Israel from its neighbours, who repeatedly call, almost daily, for peace based on the two-state solution. The real issue is defending the U.S. from the Israel Lobby.”
Trump now says anything the Houthis do would be seen as done by Iran, just so the dog would do the bidding of the tail to complete the seven wars Trump has been seeking excuses for, like a man clutching at straws. Today, it is a threat to “negotiate in two months or…”; next, it is “whatever the Houthis do is done by you”; then it’s “you are producing nuclear weapons.” This is America living by double standards and Janus-faced relationships. But now you see why it has to attack Iran.
- Dr Gimba, anipr, is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Neptune Prime. His syndicated column, The Arbiter, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Mondays.