Maybe this time, the world has really learned a lesson … if only for a moment. A Palestinian envoy apparently attempted to demand action from Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, only to discover a profound lack of sympathy for the side that started the war. This clip between de Sousa and the unnamed envoy has Portugese subtitles, but de Sousa helpfully rebuked the envoy in English, for all to enjoy.

How does one say “FAFO” in Portugese, anyway?

Portugal 🇵🇹 president roasts the Palestinian ambassador who complains about Israel's attacks:

“The Palestinian side started it. You can't blame Israel, you shouldn't have started it.”
pic.twitter.com/o3F4X7B6yk

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) November 3, 2023

The Jersualem Post reported on it this morning, although it took place yesterday. DeSousa apparently didn’t have much tolerance for the Mom He Hit Me Back gripe:

“Radicalism creates an ambiance of radicalism, and this time the radicalism started from some Palestinians,” President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told to the Palestinian ambassador.

“That’s not an excuse for [the] reaction, it was brutal,” responded the ambassador.

“I know, I know you blame the Israelis, but this time someone from your side started it,” said Rebelo de Sousa “The Palestinian side started it. You can’t blame Israel, you shouldn’t have started it.”

“Ten thousand people died!” the ambassador attempts to argue, along with something about “56 years of occupation.” As to the second point, Gaza was not occupied and hasn’t been since 2005. Israel and Egypt have sealed its border, but that took place after Hamas won the election in Gaza in 2006 and then defeated Fatah in a quick civil war to seize all power. The border got sealed in order to prevent Hamas from committing acts of war and receiving arms from abroad, while at the same time receiving billions of dollars in aid and water and power from the Israelis.

Gazans had 18 years to choose another path. They chose to cheer Hamas for parading dead Israelis and hostages through the streets instead.

As to the first point, President de Sousa covered it well enough. When you start wars, you’d better expect to take losses. De Sousa offered the envoy the grace to offer that only “some Palestinians” started the war, but no doubt at all as to the aggressor in this instance.

Unfortunately, public pressure forced DeSousa to recant in part. He tried to walk this back later yesterday by emphasizing the “some” … and blaming Israel:

“What I said was the following, was that, in this specific case, the terrorist attack as it occurred served as a pretext that did not facilitate our purpose, which is to have a Palestinian State and an Israeli State. The attack gave a pretext to those who are opponents of this”, he highlighted and added: “And then I even added ‘fortunately the Palestinians, as a whole, cannot be confused with the terrorist attack of a very specific group’.”

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reiterated that “Portugal maintains the same position as always” that “there must be two states coexisting peacefully” and that “everything that contributes to this in terms of peace, Portugal supports”.

And, finally, he also pointed blame at Israel: “It seems that this happened, obviously, as it happened many times on the other side, on the extremist Israeli side, with behaviors such as placing settlements or occupying a certain type of territory.”

“But it is clear that acts of greater violence, such as terrorist acts with the effects they had, later end up serving as a pretext”, he reiterated, quoted by Lusa.

Ahem. Israel has never attempted a “settlement” in Gaza after their 2005 withdrawal from the territory. In fact, they erected a wall to prevent any transit across the border in either direction. Israel has not attempted to “occupy” Gaza at all since then either and won’t do so when the war ends, which makes DeSousa’s walkback entirely incoherent. Settlements had nothing to Gaza, and nothing to do with Hamas’ agenda in annihilating Israel.

Maybe DeSousa missed that story. I’d bet that the EU news media were just as bad at covering it as their American cousins, with the singular exception of NBC News.

So the world may be learning, but only very slowly … and then getting pressured back into stupidity by moral idiots. We’ll keep trying nonetheless.