KeghartEditorial by Karen Mkrtchyan, Yerevan, 13 September 2025
The brutal logic of power continues to unfold before our eyes. Just as Azerbaijan extinguished Artsakh with violence, “ethnic cleansing”, and the blessings of the so-called “international community,” Israel is now on the cusp of finishing its long-awaited project: the end of Palestine. Benjamin Netanyahu has never hidden his ambition. Today, he states it more openly than ever. On September 11, 2025, from Ma’ale Adumim city, he declared bluntly: “There will never be a Palestinian state.” Days earlier, he signed off on the most controversial West Bank settlement expansion in decades, the E1 plan, which cuts the West Bank into two and, in the words of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, physically buries any hope of Palestinian sovereignty.
Netanyahu has made clear that Gaza will be subdued permanently. In August, he announced Israel’s intention to take full control of the Gaza Strip, eliminate Hamas, and install a “security perimeter” under permanent Israeli oversight. “We have no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas,” he told the press. This is not temporary military language—it is the rhetoric of annihilation. Even his ministers strip away all ambiguity. Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu boasted in July: “The government is rushing to erase Gaza, and thank God we are erasing this evil. All of Gaza will be Jewish.” When such genocidal language is uttered not by fringe extremists but by government ministers, it reveals the true trajectory of Israeli policy. And Netanyahu himself admitted before the Knesset in March this year that one of Israel’s objectives in Gaza was nothing less than the conquest of territory. This is not about Hamas alone—it is about the future of Palestinians as a people on their own land.
We Armenians recognize the blueprint. Azerbaijan extinguished Artsakh in 2023 through blockade, starvation, and blitzkrieg, while the world issued platitudes and moved on. Aliyev, with far fewer allies and weaker lobbies than Israel, managed to uproot 120,000 Armenians, erase centuries of presence, and celebrate his “victory.” Israel was not a neutral observer. It was a key supplier of weapons, drones, and military know-how to Azerbaijan. Artsakh became a testing ground for Israel’s plans in Palestine. What succeeded in Artsakh is now being refined in Gaza. If Aliyev, with his meager influence, could annihilate Artsakh, then for Netanyahu—with Washington’s military shield, Europe’s silence, and the world’s most powerful lobbies—it will be a cakewalk.
Some will argue: But the world recognizes Palestine! But there were UN votes! But the two-state solution is still alive on paper! Yes, unlike Artsakh, the majority of countries recognize the State of Palestine. Yes, endless resolutions are passed in New York. Yet when Netanyahu declares that there will never be a Palestinian state, there are no sanctions. When Israeli ministers vow that “all of Gaza will be Jewish,” there are no international tribunals. When entire neighborhoods are erased, the responses are reduced to “deep concern” or temporary condemnations. This is the pattern: the international community will issue statements of outrage, and then return to business as usual—continuing to ship weapons, continuing to shield Israel diplomatically, continuing to trade. The transactional world, where justice is weighed against arms deals and strategic alliances, guarantees that Israel will face no meaningful consequences.
And let no Armenian delude themselves: once Palestine is erased, Israel can and probably will turn toward us. The Armenian community of Jerusalem, guardians of ancient holy sites, is already under quiet siege. Land grabs by radical settler organizations in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City, intimidation of clergy, and attempts to contest Patriarchal properties are accelerating. First, our presence will be weakened, and our youth will be pressured to emigrate. Then will come the “legal” confiscations—rubber-stamped by Israeli courts and legitimized by silence abroad. At the end, the Armenian Patriarchate’s priceless properties and sacred sites will be stripped away, and the last Armenian witness in the Holy Land will be erased.
Why is this possible? Because we live in a transactional age where morality is measured in contracts and justice is auctioned off to the highest bidder. Donald Trump inaugurated his version of this age with his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and his so-called “Abraham Accords.” Since he returned to the Oval Office, and under his predecessor, nothing has changed. In this world, Palestinians may be toasted at banquets and praised in lofty speeches, but no amount of solidarity chants will save them from tanks and drones.
Artsakh’s annihilation should have been the warning. It was not. Now Palestine stands on the edge of the abyss, and when it falls, the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem will be next. History will record that while millions shouted in the streets, those with the power to act chose silence, deals, and complicity. And in that silence, a people—and perhaps two—will be erased.
Keghart
Keghart
Keghart
3 comments
All true. And while Christianity is also being systematically erased from Syria, Armenia itself is next.
For a detailed treatise on how the same strategies were employed for Artsakh and Gaza, see Ms. Mischa Geracoulis’ new book, “Media Framing and Destruction of Cultural Heritage: News Narratives about Artsakh and Gaza” (Routledge).
Dear Mr. Karen Mkrtchyan,
In my previous comments I have written that no power on earth can stop Israel.
Very often, I read printed statements like, ‘America, don’t be afraid, Israel backs you.’
Moreover, it’s Israel that exports weapons to Europe and to many other countries, like Azerbaijan.
If the Arab countries unite to fight against Israel, support Palestine and the Palestinian people, these united Arab countries will be flattened. The Arab leaders understand this very well; all their wealth, which is deposited in so-called American banks, will be confiscated.
As far as the Armenians are concerned, the ‘Cows Garden’ deal started as a business deal. As you know, the Jews and the Turks have the same mentality; whoever is not a Turk is a ‘Gyavur’ and whoever is not a Jew is a ‘Go’. The conclusion here is that what’s going on now in Gaza, in Artsakh, and in the Cows garden, is a super eye opener. The victims must think twice, and only then choose the right allies.
Regarding Palestine and the Palestinians, they are Arabs, and the majority are Muslim; hence, the entire Muslim world speaks up for them. They organize protests all over the world, and Palestine gets news coverage.
Whereas in the case of Armenians, none of the Christian (secular) nations complained. There were very few people (at the government level) who raised their voice, but there isn’t much momentum there, and it is already a forgotten event. You may talk all you want about Armenia being the first Christian nation, but that is not important for the West. Look at past examples: Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974. The USA did nothing since Turkey was in NATO, and subsequently, they gave more weapons to Turkey. As a result, Greece left NATO for a few years. In the case of Pakistan vs India, the USA and Turkey gave weapons to Pakistan.
As an additional remark, I would like to add that the combined armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan were defeated in the 6-day war. The Arab countries were not well prepared, and they lost. There are a billion of them, but they are not strong in science, technology, research, or military intelligence and strategy. They keep on losing.