Photograph Source: Chenspec – CC BY-SA 4.0

By now, it should surprise no one that Benjamin Netanyahu prefers the echo chamber of his own making to the international chorus demanding accountability. The Israeli prime minister, clinging to office as tenaciously as he clings to delusion, has managed to place himself among the most cynically manipulative leaders of our time, a man who governs not by vision, but by vindictiveness.

Once vaunted as a statesman in the mold of Churchill, Netanyahu now more closely resembles a bunker-dwelling autocrat, lashing out at allies and adversaries alike as his credibility collapses under the weight of his own contradictions. His latest tirade, this time aimed at French President Emmanuel Macron, is emblematic of a broader pattern: weaponizing moral outrage to deflect from moral bankruptcy.

Macron’s offense? A tepid acknowledgment of Gaza’s humanitarian collapse, describing Israel’s blockade as “shameful.” In Netanyahu’s world, even this mild reproach is grounds for hysteria. Accusing Macron of trafficking in “blood libels”—a grotesque invocation that trivializes historical trauma—Netanyahu displayed once again his uncanny ability to turn every diplomatic encounter into an operatic display of self-pity and belligerence.

That the French president stopped short of sanctions, or even a formal condemnation, makes Netanyahu’s outburst all the more absurd. No call for a ceasefire, no explicit criticism of military tactics, just an acknowledgment of the obvious: Gaza is a humanitarian disaster zone, engineered by policies that bear Netanyahu’s........

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