Israel waged a war of annihilation in Gaza. Now it wants everyone but itself to disarm

Smoke rises following an explosion, within the ‘yellow line’ zone, which is controlled by Israel, in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, February 2026

Gideon Levy writes in Haaretz on 25 February 2026:

An armed nation in the Middle East – which holds weapons of mass destruction – has a regime of terror that threatens peace in the region.

These characteristics are usually attributed to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they justify prohibiting war against it. But this characterization is true for another country in the Middle East. Israel is armed to the teeth and has a terror regime against some of its citizens, which endangers peace in the region. Such a country has no authority and no permission to manage the armaments of its neighbors and decide what is permissible for them and what is not.

Israel is working to disarm and demilitarize most of the countries and armed groups around it, without stopping to arm itself. This is an arrogant and unacceptable approach.

As long as Israel was a Western democracy, or at least perceived to be one, part of the family of civilized nations whose governments are considered to be responsible and reasonable, it was possible to somehow accept this arrogant approach – that Israel will determine what weapons were allowed around it, from the Gaza Strip and Ramallah, to Lebanon, all the way to Iran.

But since the government here has become more dangerous, its right to set the regional arms map and win world support has been revoked. Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered to be a responsible leader? And if National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir comes to power? Israel could very well endanger regional peace no less than the ayatollahs.

Israel is an obstinate nation that refuses to accept the positions of the international community – from allowing international supervision over its weapons stockpile to ignoring international law and flouting the decisions of international institutions. A country that ignores the sovereignty of neighbors such as Syria and Lebanon, and treats them as if they were its own territory. Bombing in Sudan, assassinations in Jordan and, if necessary, Qatar too.

Such a country is dangerous. Most of the world still embraces it, or unfortunately allows it to do what no other country is allowed to: occupation, war crimes, genocide, apartheid and, according to foreign publications, even developing nuclear weapons.

But from here to the realization of all its brazen demands – there is a long way to go. Disarm the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran as well, and leave everything in its own hands? A country with exclusivity.

This unbelievable phenomenon reached its peak during the war in the Gaza Strip. There Israel proved how dangerous it is to leave unrestricted weapons and armaments in its hands, and how much it endangers regional peace, international law and in particular humanity.

A country that has embarked on a declared war of annihilation is a dangerous country. Will such a country decide whether other nations will have certain types of weapons, or not? Nuclear weapons for no one else, nothing for Hezbollah, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Ballistic missiles only for itself and sophisticated American air force squadrons not even for countries with which it is at peace. “A violation of the qualitative military edge,” as it is called.

Why is the Palestinian Authority forbidden from arming itself so that it can protect its helpless citizens when Israel sends murderous militias and an unrestrained army against them? And why is what is permitted for Israel forbidden for Iran? Because Iran has a dark and dismal, cruel and unrestrained regime that threatens the United States and Israel and endangers the world. This is truly an honest and commendable reason.

But what about Israel? Iran has a despotic and fundamentalist regime. What type of government exists in the West Bank? Is the way the Iranian government treats its citizens any worse than the way Israel treats the Palestinians? Both have thousands of political prisoners, while kidnappings in the dark of the night without trial and torture to the death in prisons exists here, too. The rights of a Palestinian in Nablus are worse than the rights of an Iranian in Mashad.

When Israel tries to push the United States to attack Iran, it is worth looking at itself first.

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