By the Editorial Desk, Newspot Nigeria
We have read with attention—and due regard—the rejoinders from Mr. Fẹ̀mi Akọ̀mọ̀làfẹ̀ and Mr. Idris Muhammed Abdullahi and many other email responses to our editorial titled “How Dare Israel Defend Itself and Win?” As a platform committed to free expression, we welcome informed dissent and principled debate.
However, it is important to correct any misrepresentation of our editorial intent and restate the values we hold dear—values that prioritize human dignity, international law, and the pursuit of peace without partisanship.
We Do Not Endorse War. We Support Ceasefire.
Newspot Nigeria does not cheer war—neither in Gaza, nor in Israel, nor anywhere. The editorial in question was not a celebration of missiles or military might. It was a reflection on the global reaction to a sovereign nation’s right to self-defense, a right enshrined in international law and routinely exercised by all nations, including Nigeria.
We support an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to all affected civilians. We recognize the suffering in Gaza, which is both real and tragic. We mourn every child lost, every mother grieving, every civilian whose life has been shattered.
But we also reject the notion that Israel forfeits its right to exist or defend its people simply because its enemies fail in their aggression. That was—and remains—the central point of our editorial.
Law is Not a One-Way Mirror
We are reminded—rightly—of the Geneva Conventions, the UN Charter, and recent proceedings at the International Court of Justice. These instruments are vital. They bind all parties, including Israel and Hamas. The killing of civilians is never excusable. Not by airstrike. Not by rocket fire. Not by hostage-taking or indiscriminate bombing.
Let the law speak—for all. Let investigations proceed—without bias. Let accountability be shared—not selectively assigned.
Just as we condemned Hamas’ atrocities on October 7, we also believe Israel must be judged not by its trauma, but by its actions, with no exemption from scrutiny.
Support for a Two-State Solution
Newspot Nigeria has consistently backed the two-state solution: a secure, recognized Israel and a free, sovereign Palestine living side by side in peace. This is not utopian—it is necessary. The current trajectory benefits no one. Occupation, blockade, rockets, and bombardment are symptoms of a larger failure—the world’s failure to broker a durable peace.
We will not be drawn into the politics of erasure. The Nakbah is real. The Holocaust is real. Both peoples have known exile, trauma, and injustice. Both deserve recognition. Both deserve safety.
Africa Must Not Parrot, But Think
We hear the call not to parrot Western narratives—and we agree. But rejecting foreign influence must not mean silencing truth, even when it comes from uncomfortable quarters. Our role as journalists is not to echo Tel Aviv or Tehran, not to amplify Washington or Ramallah—but to sift truth from noise and tell the hard, sometimes messy, story as it is.
We are not “garnishing propaganda with editorial cloaks,” as one writer put it. We are reminding readers that even in war, clarity matters. That condemning terrorism is not incompatible with mourning civilian deaths. That defending a state’s right to survive does not require denying another’s right to freedom.
A Word on Justice and Memory
We do not seek to glorify the hunter, nor to silence the hunted. We seek, as Achebe rightly hoped, a world where both the lion and the hunter can speak—and be heard.
Newspot Nigeria stands for peace, law, accountability, and human dignity—for all peoples. If we failed to make that sufficiently clear in our previous editorial, we are grateful for the opportunity to do so now.
Our pages remain open to truth. Even painful truths. Especially painful truths.
Newspot Nigeria Editorial Board
www.newspotng.com | [email protected]
