Hosted by Amanpour: Contradiction as Strategy: Barghouti’s Pre-Written "Genocide" Claims and the 'All Civilians' Narrative

Hosted by Amanpour: Contradiction as Strategy: Barghouti’s Pre-Written "Genocide" Claims and the 'All Civilians' Narrative. Weaponizing Victimhood: How Gaza's Leaders Framed Israel for "Genocide" Before the First Tank Rolled In.

In Context:

On October 13, 2023, Israel initiated ground operations in the Gaza Strip in direct response to the Hamas-led massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7. By October 27, those operations expanded into a full-scale ground incursion—targeted and deliberate—aimed at dismantling Hamas’s military infrastructure deeply embedded within civilian areas.

Yet, astonishingly, within just 72 hours of Israel’s initial ground movements, Palestinian Authority figure Mustafa Barghouti had already leveled the loaded accusation of "genocide" in an interview aired on Amanpour & Company on October 16, 2023. Reading from a prepared note, Barghouti wasted no time in rolling out the usual rhetoric:

Mustafa Barghouti on PBS, October 16, 2023:

"I'm sorry to say that what Gaza is exposed to now is nothing but three war crimes[sic] committed by Israel. The first one is siege and collective punishment[sic], which is a war crime by international law. The second one is genocide[sic] through this terrible air bombardment non-stop of the civilian population, and the third one is ethnic cleansing[sic], which already started in the north and they're planning to continue it towards Egypt."

The contradiction is glaring. When the IDF urges Gazans to evacuate—to save civilian lives from imminent danger—it is labeled "collective punishment." Yet, if civilians stay, it becomes "genocide." According to Barghouti, Israel’s actions are criminal no matter what they do. This is not analysis; it’s political theater.

After a line of, Amanpour promoting the fringe Haaretz propagandists

Fast forward to August 29, 2025. Again on Amanpour & Company, Barghouti made another sweeping, evidence-free claim—this time with even more confidence, and seemingly to the approval of Amanpour herself:

Barghouti, August 29, 2025:

"More than a hundred people are killed every day in Gaza. They're all civilians[sic]!"

“All civilians”? Just like that. No acknowledgment of Hamas operatives, no mention of militants firing rockets from hospitals or using schools as weapons depots—just a blanket accusation designed to inflame public opinion and discredit Israel’s right to self-defense.

These accusations—of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and collective punishment—are not just inaccurate; they are part of a deliberate disinformation campaign. They weaponize legal and emotional language to delegitimize Israeli actions and whitewash the crimes of Hamas.

Israel, like any sovereign nation, has the right—and obligation—to defend its people. What it faces is not just a battlefield of rockets and tunnels, but a media war where facts are often twisted and moral clarity is intentionally blurred.