TEHRAN – Recently, desperate to cling to his position as Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump. The statements that emerged from the meeting were shocking, to say the least. 

Trump declared that Gazans should be relocated to other countries, the Gaza Strip should not be rebuilt, and that Americans would control the territory and oversee its economic development.

Cameras captured Netanyahu's beaming face at that moment. Like the sly fox from the Pinocchio story, he seemed to believe he had once again outsmarted the Cat, and easily manipulated Trump into perpetuating injustice and blatant violations of Palestinian rights.

The critical flaw in these two men's thinking is this: after fifteen months of resistance and the tragic loss of over fifty thousand lives, with at least twelve thousand still buried beneath the rubble, the people of Gaza are far too resilient to be victims in their schemes. They no longer need the help of a kindly fairy or a Geppetto to rescue them from their predicament; they’ve recognized who the real "cunning fox and Cat" are.

Only the most naive could find sincerity or genuine empathy in these seemingly gentle and sympathetic pronouncements regarding Palestinian children, women, and people. The very same policies of destruction and killing continue and spread in the West Bank.

These two men fail to understand that the atrocities they themselves have committed in Gaza have created at least three generations of unwavering fighters. The children who witnessed the massacre of their family members, friends, and relatives will be carrying lasting emotional scars. History teaches us that a small fire is easily extinguished, but a large one rages.

Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump, history will undoubtedly demonstrate that neither the people of Gaza nor the world will continue to be the Pinocchio of your racist fantasies!

You will see.