Renowned peacebuilding advocate and conflict resolution expert Emmanuel Bombande has blasted Israel’s military posture and global narrative.

The former Deputy Foreign Minister accused the country of “orchestrating victimhood” while engaging in acts of aggression against Iran and the Palestinian territories.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, June 17, he said Israel has become highly sophisticated in manipulating international sympathy even when it is the aggressor.

“They have become very sophisticated in orchestrating how, as an aggressor, they are always a victim,” Mr Bombande said. “And everybody must see it the way they see it. But they are not prepared to see it the other way around.”

His comments come days after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes targeting Iranian military and government facilities, reportedly killing several senior Iranian officers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive “as long as necessary.”

Mr Bombande warned that such moves, and the justifications often offered, are dangerous to global peace and stability.

“Without a doubt,” he stressed, “we cannot run away from the fact that what the ambassador observed underscores a sense of entitlement.”

He argued that the world’s reluctance to challenge Israel’s narrative only emboldens its aggressive actions, deepening instability in the Middle East and beyond.

He also tied the crisis to Ghana and Africa’s broader foreign policy approach, defending Ghana’s abstention in recent international votes concerning the conflict.

He said the country’s long-standing tradition of “positive neutrality” seeks to position Ghana as a credible mediator in global crises rather than a partisan actor.

“The antecedents of our foreign policy,” he explained, “are that when there is a global crisis such as the one we have, Ghana wants to mediate and be an intermediary.”

He noted that since independence, Ghana has understood the links between global instability and local economic setbacks.

“We understood right at our independence that when there is instability globally, it directly impacts on our capacity to attain our vision of economic development,” Mr Bombande said.

“We are a developing country — and so is much of Africa.”

He said Ghana cannot afford a relapse into global crises that slow down its economic recovery.

“We are coming out of a situation in which economists will tell you we are beginning to look on the brighter side,” he said.

“Some of our indicators that were downgraded are now being upgraded. The last thing we need is the type of instability that draws us back to where we came from — where we do not want to be.”

In a critique aimed at the international community, Bombande challenged global actors to stop viewing the Israel-Iran conflict in binary terms and to recognise the multi-layered culpability involved.