Hundreds of Londoners protest against Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque

'GAZA IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST OPEN AIR PRISON': People gather to protest against Israel's attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque in front of the Israeli Embassy in London, United Kingdom on April 08, 2023.

(Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Horrific. Unjustified. Morally Wrong. But 'Unprovoked'?

'Nothing about today is "unprovoked"'

Horrific. Unjustified. Morally wrong. But 'unprovoked'?

After the Palestinian group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years--with many killed, hostages taken, and fighting raging--many US elected officials released statements Saturday condemning the "unprovoked" attacks.

But many others took to Twitter Saturday to ask incredulously how Israel’s continued brutal occupation of the Palestinian people cannot be considered a provocation.

75 years of ethnic cleansing
15 years of blockade
Confiscation of Palestinian lands
Pogroms on Palestinian towns
Desecration of Palestinian sacred sites
Daily raids into Palestinian homes
Constant humiliation of a entire people
Nothing about today is "unprovoked."

Writer Caitlin Johnstone tweeted: "It's clear now that whenever the western political/media class starts bleating the word "unprovoked" in unison, you know with absolute certainty that whatever they're talking about was massively provoked."

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And here are a sampling of statements released Saturday by US elected officials and politicians calling the attacks "unprovoked":

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