Israel will yet pay for its disdain of Sinwar
Israel built Yahya Sinwar up when he was alive — but also in his death, and once again those who belittle and diminish the one who was the bravest enemy that arose in the Middle East are mistaken. ■ It would be good to rid ourselves of Israeli arrogance — that arrogance may yet bring next October 7 somewhere in the future.
By Yasmin Levy • Translated by Sol Salbe
In Israel, Yahya Sinwar’s death was celebrated with embarrassing ecstasy. In many places, they handed out sweets, popped open bottles of Arak and almost danced in the studios when the historic good tidings emerged a mere one year after the war began. The Hamas leader was not killed in a planned targeted assassination, but by sheer coincidence. But there were those who saw the random achievement as reflecting a great operational capability. Not only was the picture of Sinwar’s battered body circulated from every angle, but also his last moments. These were shown with pride on the various stations. A video released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Office shows the solitary figure of the architect of the October 7 massacre on as dusty an armchair as him in a bombarded building, severely wounded in his arm but holding out to throw a stick with his other arm at an army drone.
It was not necessary to release the footage at this time of the arch-terrorist before he collapsed, a video which degraded him even after he had already departed to join Nasrallah in the same arena. The video, whose exposure could lead to Hamas terrorists taking revenge against the abductees, was like a lolly handed out to viewers when the barbaric collective rejoiced as they viewed Sinwar as a cowardly mouse which has been caught and crushed. But what you see from here you don’t see from there, and the only one who decisively and accurately pointed out the difference in the way the Arab world saw its final moments compared to Israel was Elior Levy, head of the Palestinian desk at Kan News, on Friday’s edition.
His Tweet:
“The narrative you see is not what Hamas or Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah see. They see a man who fights until the last moment, to his last drop of blood. Even when he’s injured. Certainly not disgraced. Sinwar has already become a legend; A figure that is much bigger than the person himself. It’s good that he was eliminated, but no elimination will change that image for generations to come. It should be said:…
“Yahya Sinwar stands here with what the last ounce of his strength, and that’s how he’s framed — as someone who fought to the last drop of his blood. As far as they are concerned, these are pictures of victory, nothing less,” he said of the man who has now been etched in the memory of many Palestinians as a martyr and hero who fought against the occupying corrupt Zionism as a brave Arab leader who fought, wounded, until his last moments. “And if Israel thinks that this picture leads to Sinwar’s humiliation among Gazans who support a pro-Iranian axis, they are making a big mistake,” Levy said, explaining how the distribution of the video contributed to building Sinwar’s legendary image that will be etched in the consciousness for years to come.
It was evident that Levy was outraged by the arrogant narrative created in Israel; He countered military commentator Roy Sharon, who was in favour of distributing the clip, and who could not spot any glorification in those moments and who saw Sinwar as a frightened man facing his bitter end. “You don’t understand what Hamas is. You must stop looking at this from an Israeli perspective,” rebuked Levy, who reiterated how Sinwar is praised in the Arab world. Levy is right. Israel built Sinwar up when he was alive — but also in his death, and once again those who belittle and diminish the one who was the bravest enemy that arose in the Middle East are mistaken. A sophisticated and murderous strategist who struck Israel and dealt it the worst blow it has suffered in its history. One who didn’t flee to Egypt as the regime mouthpieces had prattled, nor to Miami [like Netanyahu’s son] and nor did he barricade himself in a really secure place with some neighbouring billionaire [Netanyahu’s friend Simon Falic.]. In his last moments, Sinwar was not even surrounded by bodyguards. “When your enemy falls, do not be happy.” It would be good to rid ourselves of Israeli arrogance — that arrogance may yet bring next October 7 somewhere in the future.
