The decision to not publish the atrocities committed by Hamas is Israel’s mistake, says Director of NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence in Riga Jānis Sārts.
In an interview to TV3 programme 900 seconds, he agreed that the war between Israel and Hamas means an unprecedented wave of disinformation. As result of this disinformation, it may be difficult for observers to tell between what is and what seems to be.
Israel has not fully developed a strategy on what to do with acquired footage, says Sārts.
Israel has decided to not publish the footage allegedly showing atrocities committed by Hamas.
“One the one hand it is understandable why such horrors shouldn’t be published. But on the other hand this is not the correct strategy in the context of information war and international support for Israel, because all we see now are the consequences of Israel’s attacks on Gaza,” said Sārts.
He also added that Israel’s failures in the information war are not directly related to the wave of antisemitism around the world. There are other causes for protests and other activities.
The expert said that in a situation when Palestinian children are drying, most of the blames is on Hamas,
which not only caused an escalation but which also has a tactic that revolves around hiding behind children while also hoping that Israel’s attacks cause suffering and deaths for Hamas to use to raise support around the world. The Latvian expert said this is nothing new for this region.
Sārts agrees that there is room for a discussion how exactly a war of this kind can be performed, but it is important to understand that if Israel hadn’t made counter-attacks after Hamas’ attack, numerous terrorist organisations would likely make it their goal to destroy Israel. “For Israel this is and existential situation. The best way to support Israel is making sure its response is tempered with availability of humanitarian aid and deciding on firing targets. Western society has a degree of influence here,” he says.
The centre’s director admits the war in the Middle East is not black and white – there are many nuances. “We reference Ukraine, but we have to understand that Ukraine’s war is a rare war that is
clearly black and white, where the good guys and the bad guys are obvious.
Even here there are many nuances and historical contexts,” said the Latvian expert.
Also read: Expert: Latvia’s airports will be among chief targets in event of conventional war
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