'God gave us Canaan' and other justifications for Israel's bloody attacks

Smoke billows during an Israeli strike on the besieged Palestinian territory in Gaza Strip, on September 17, 2025. [AFP]

There paradoxically are countries that are ‘free’ to attack others and to break international law with impunity. These include the United States and Israel, countries that are immune to criticism for their warlike activities. Israel justifies its aggressiveness in four ways. First, it claims that God authorised the Israelites to invade and grab ‘Canaan’ from those residing there. Second, it claims the right of self-defence against many hostile Arab and Islamic forces. Third, it is a virtual extension of the Christian Conceptual West in the Middle East. Fourth, there is the sense of guilt that the Conceptual West feels for having persecuted the Jews for centuries.