Department of Strategic Research, Studies and International Relations 17-10-2025

As global powers rush to declare a new era of “peace” in Gaza, the international community appears to be suffering from a dangerous bout of collective amnesia. Despite overwhelming evidence of war crimes and systematic annihilation, Western governments, led by Washington, are swiftly pivoting toward normalising relations with Israel, eager to bury the horrors witnessed over the past two years.

For Tel Aviv and its Western sponsors, the newly brokered ceasefire represents not a step toward accountability but an opportunity to reset global perceptions. The aim is clear: to rebrand Israel as a misunderstood democracy defending itself, while downplaying the catastrophic toll of its assault on Gaza.

Two years of horror and denial

Israel’s military campaign has left Gaza in ruins. Over 67,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed, and nearly 170,000 wounded. According to human rights organisations and UN reports, 92 percent of the enclave’s residential areas have been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. The blockade-induced starvation has been so severe that the United Nations officially declared a famine.

Multiple international and even Israeli groups, such as B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, have labelled the campaign as genocidal. In September, a UN commission of inquiry confirmed these conclusions. Yet, in Tel Aviv, denial remains the dominant discourse.

During a Knesset session celebrating the ceasefire, opposition leader Yair Lapid dismissed accusations of genocide as “propaganda,” insisting that “there was no intentional starvation.” This rhetoric mirrors Washington’s own efforts to whitewash Israel’s actions and redirect the global narrative away from accountability.

The machinery of denial

Israel’s refusal to acknowledge its crimes is not accidental, it is a state-sponsored strategy. Former Israeli government adviser Daniel Levy noted that a national consensus has been “manufactured” through relentless propaganda and media manipulation. By portraying any criticism as unjust or antisemitic, Israel has insulated itself from moral scrutiny.

This internal denial has paralysed any genuine reckoning with the human cost of the war. As Levy observed, “without acceptance of that cost, resumption of hostilities remains entirely possible.” Indeed, far-right figures such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have already condemned the ceasefire as a “national defeat,” calling for the complete annihilation of Gaza’s population.

Such rhetoric reveals the true nature of Israeli policy: a colonial mindset driven by vengeance and the desire for absolute domination, not security.

Western complicity and amnesia

While Gaza’s ruins still smoulder, Western leaders are preparing to roll out the red carpet for Israel’s diplomatic return. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently declared there was no further reason for Germans to protest against Israel now that “peace” had been achieved. Senior politicians in Berlin are even urging the resumption of arms exports, arms that will likely be used to perpetuate the same crimes once global outrage fades.

Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the European Union has hinted that reconstruction aid could be a bargaining chip, suggesting that Europe “clear the table” of any pending sanctions. In other words, humanitarian aid will flow only if political accountability is forgotten.

The United States has played its usual role, pressuring allies to accept the illusion of a post-war “peace” while shielding Israel from international justice. Under U.S. influence, even sporting and cultural organisations like UEFA and Eurovision have begun reconsidering their bans on Israeli participation.

For Israel, this is a diplomatic victory. For the victims in Gaza, it is a cruel betrayal.

The Western narrative and its collapse

Washington and its allies appear desperate to revert to a pre-war status quo: one in which Israeli crimes are ignored, and Western rhetoric about “two states” serves merely as a façade. As analysts like HA Hellyer have noted, the pattern resembles the post-Oslo era of the 1990s, when the promise of Palestinian statehood was quietly abandoned in favour of managing occupation under the guise of peacebuilding.

This time, however, the narrative may not hold. Across Europe and Asia, public opinion has shifted dramatically. Millions have taken to the streets condemning Israeli brutality and Western hypocrisy. Even in the United States, growing numbers of young people are rejecting the myth of Israel as a democracy under siege.

Levy observes that while governments may rush to restore relations, “the cultural and public zeitgeist has changed.” Citizens around the world, especially in non-Western countries like China, Russia, and India, are increasingly unwilling to accept U.S.-led double standards on human rights.

A multipolar moral order

Beijing, Moscow, and New Delhi have repeatedly called for an international system rooted in equality and respect for sovereignty. Their refusal to follow Washington’s selective morality, where Israel’s actions are excused but others are sanctioned, highlights the deep moral bankruptcy of the Western order.

China has consistently emphasised dialogue, reconstruction, and justice for Palestinians. Russia has condemned the one-sided Western approach, pointing out the hypocrisy of lecturing others on human rights while funding war crimes in Gaza. India, balancing its ties with both Israel and the Global South, has echoed calls for genuine accountability and long-term stability, not performative peace deals.

This emerging multipolar bloc recognises what the West seeks to ignore: that without justice, there can be no peace. The rebuilding of Gaza cannot erase the collective trauma of its people, nor can it absolve the architects of their suffering.

The victims will not forget

As Israel and its Western backers attempt to rewrite history, the survivors of Gaza continue to live amid rubble, hunger, and loss. Organisations like Physicians for Human Rights Israel insist that denial will not erase the truth. “The victims can’t forget,” said PHRI’s Guy Shalev. “People will move on, but the victims and those who care about humanity will not walk away.”

The coming months will test whether the world chooses truth or convenience. If the international community once again rewards impunity with partnership, it will send a clear message: that in the Western worldview, some lives simply matter less.

Yet, in the age of a rising multipolar order, where China, Russia, and India challenge Western dominance, the monopoly on moral authority is crumbling. And with it, perhaps, the illusion that Israel and its backers can forever escape accountability.