Permanent occupation by Israel and the subjugation of Palestinians in a land that is nearly half Palestinian will never bring stability and security.

As Israel carpet bombs and levels a totally besieged Gaza, killing thousands of civilians, including more than three thousand children, Western media continues to use the “right of self-defense” mantra to shut down discussion of Israel’s ultimate responsibility — as occupier — for the situation in Palestine.

Enter United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres. Last week Guterres stated that Hamas’s heinous October 7 attacks “did not happen in a vacuum” and that “those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” He also explained that:

The Palestinian people have been subjected to fifty-six years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.

As expected, Israel responded with outrage, demonizing Guterres. But he was stating a simple fact — describing a historical and political reality that people from Yemen to Yakima can understand, despite much of the mainstream media’s refusal to acknowledge it.

For justice to prevail one day, it is essential to first recognize that truth and tackle the question of responsibility.

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