For nearly two years now, not a single Western power has taken a serious step to ban arms sales to Israel, even though Western governments are fully aware of how Israel has been using its weapons every day to flatten residential buildings, attack schools and hospitals, and deliberately target civilians, mostly women and children.
However, the fact is that such remarks reflect a poor understanding of how international processes work. Fundamental decisions that reverse policies entrenched for decades are not made overnight. Change usually faces powerful resistance from governments, significant segments of which will have become direct beneficiaries from those long-standing policies. Take, for example, the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which supports politicians abroad who promote Israel’s interests. The influence of this lobby is particularly visible in the US, where so many politicians’ electoral successes have been linked to AIPAC’s lavish campaign contributions and where the defeat of representatives critical of Israel has been linked to AIPAC’s equally lavish funding of their electoral opponents.
Nevertheless, the events in Gaza have not yet changed this reality, they have galvanised large segments of public opinion into crying out against the atrocities being aided and abetted by their governments. They are the ones marching in the streets, publishing articles, signing petitions, and chanting on university campuses and in every political or cultural gathering: “Free Palestine!” Their numbers are growing, in part because they are informed and aware, thanks to independent news outlets and social media.
As a result, the West is seeing a growing tide of grassroots groups mobilising to challenge the power of AIPAC and the hold of the Zionist narrative. The pressure may be slow in building up, but it promises to be powerful and unstoppable. We have already begun to see its effects materialise in official statements calling for an end to the war, in the decisions of some Western countries to recognise the Palestinian state, and in the reports of disagreements and friction between Washington and Tel Aviv. More is yet to come.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 5 June, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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