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Israeli Machine Guns and Activist Slogans

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
March/April 2026 – Volume XLV No. 2

Wars are formally declared and approved by United Nations resolution and fought between armies with similar armaments. Since 1973, Israel has been careful to avoid open combat with its neighbours’ modern military forces, preferring surprise air attacks and assassinations to further its ends.

Given the overwhelming power of the U.S.-backed Israeli military, it is ridiculous to portray Palestinian guerilla resistance to occupation as part of an actual war. Since the mid-1930s Palestinian Arabs have actively-resisted Zionist plans to remove all Arabs from Palestine and create a Jewish supremacist state. Unfortunately, this unlawful and brutal campaign continues.

In contrast, the Palestinian’s lawful and morally-justified struggle continues, against heavy odds. Of course, Gaza and West Bank guerrillas have killed Israeli citizens along the way, but the death toll among Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli military and settler gangs is vastly higher.

Raising the Palestinian flag above Canadian government buildings is obviously annoying to those who habitually dismiss the Palestinian cause as terrorism. Even this token symbolism seems excessive to people who support Canada’s ongoing military, economic and diplomatic support for the expansionist but fracturing Israeli state.

Some mainstream editors object to Palestinian supporters wearing masks and chanting slogans while portraying such peaceful actions as, “…a different kind of nationalistic culture and an attempt at intimidation.”

Perhaps these editors should examine images of masked Israeli military and security forces expressing their “nationalistic culture” with machine guns rather than shouted slogans.