MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan on Thursday compared the ongoing Russian assault on Ukraine to past Israeli operations against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, making him the latest left-wing figure to use the Russian invasion as a means of attacking Israel.
"Wonder how people in Gaza feel about the intensifying debate over no-fly zones in Western capitals right now," Hasan wrote on Twitter, including a link to a 2021 ABC News article and a 2014 piece written by Amnesty International referring to Israeli strikes on Hamas, the terrorist group in control of Gaza, as "possible war crimes."
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Hasan's comparison comes as the debate over whether to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine airspace rages between those eager to give assistance to the Ukrainian military and those seeking to avoid a potential clash between NATO and Russian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the implementation of a no-fly zone as the Russian military continues to bombard cities across Ukraine, often hitting civilian targets and causing the deaths of non-combatants, including children.
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Hasan wasn't the only liberal media member to make the comparison between Israel and Russia. The Washington Post published an op-ed this week headlined, "The world of inconsistencies between Ukraine, the Middle East, and beyond," in which a university professor likened Palestinians to Ukrainian "freedom fighters."
Politico penned a story giving voice to critics claiming politicians in support of sanctioning Russia for the invasion were hypocrites for not supporting the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, as did The Guardian.