For decades the Palestinians found that their “cause’ – that is, the destruction of the state of Israel and its replacement by an Arab “Palestine” – kept them at the center of the Arab World’s attention, and the object of its support and sympathy. But no longer. Mahmoud Abbas has been horrified to discover that even as Israel may extend its sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”), the Arab states have issued pro-forma and muted condemnations, while several of the most important – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt – have made it known that they do not intend to take any concrete steps against Israel and, in fact, they are continuing their cooperation with the Jewish state on intelligence and other military matters against a mutual enemy, Iran.
The story is here.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and several Persian Gulf states reportedly do not plan to take action over Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria. PA said to be pressing for “holy war” against Israel “before it’s too late.”
Palestinian frustration and anger with the Arab world for its general indifference to Israel’s plan to extend sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley is growing, Palestinian Media Watch reported over the weekend.
Diplomatic sources told Israel Hayom Sunday that high-ranking officials in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and several Persian Gulf states have told their Israeli counterparts that while they must have their ear to the ground with regard to their respective publics’ response to the move, their governments do not plan on taking any action against Israel beyond declarative condemnations.
In other words, instead of whipping up anger against Israel, and support for the Palestinians — as the Palestinians expected — these Arab governments will attempt to satisfy the “Arab street” with verbal condemnation, but will take no further hostile action. Meanwhile, security cooperation with Israel against Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood will continue as before.
So far, the only Arab leader to oppose Israel’s plan outright has been King Abdullah of Jordan, who has explained that while it is in Amman’s interest to have permanent Israeli security presence along the western border between the two countries, such a move could spark riots that would threaten the stability of Jordan’s government, which is why he has to try to counter the move on the regional and international levels.
King Abdullah has had to take a stronger position against Israeli plans to extend sovereignty than other Arab states because 70% of Jordan’s population is Palestinian, and he has to mollify them. But he has said privately that he knows perfectly well that his regime depends on Israel’s security presence in the Jordan Valley, which will prevent Palestinians in the West Bank from joining up with the Palestinians in Jordan to overthrow Abdullah. He has to satisfy the Jordanian “street” with words in the hopes of preventing riots, but at the same time he will not risk whipping up that “street” in anti-Israel riots that might well morph into protests against his own regime. He will continue to claim to oppose that which, in fact, he needs: Israel’s continued permanent security presence separating the Palestinians in the West Bank from those in Jordan.
This type of caution in the Arab world coincides with the overall change in policy in many Arab countries, which no longer immediately dismiss the notion of normalizing relations with the Jewish state.
Saudi Arabia has long stopped denying it maintains behind-the-scenes diplomatic and intelligence cooperation with Israel, primarily in pursuit of mutual objectives with respect to the two countries’ common enemy – Iran; and just last week United Arab Emirates firms signed a historic partnership deal with Israeli companies as part of the fight against the coronavirus
Overall, since the Arab Spring stormed through the Middle East in 2011, toppling longtime rulers and forever changing the geopolitical landscape, many Arab leaders have been busy stabilizing their regimes and focusing on counterterrorism efforts.
This change has marginalized the Palestinian issue with respect to Arab leaders’ agendas. These leaders can no longer afford to prioritize the Palestinian interest over their own, something Ramallah has found hard to counter.
Since 2011’s Arab Spring, the Arab rulers have been preoccupied with holding onto power and preventing regime change. The monarchies of the Gulf have been preoccupied with Shia Iran’s threat to them, as the Islamic Republic has supported proxies and allies in Yemen (the Houthi rebels), Iraq (the pro-Iranian Shia militia Kataib Hezbollah), Syria (Bashar Assad’s army) and Lebanon (Hezbollah). Regime change brought down Qaddafi in Libya, Ben Ali in Tunisia, and Mubarak in Egypt, all of them strongmen who were famously corrupt. Memories of these changes haunt today’s rulers.
There are so many other things for Arab rulers to worry about, besides those pesky Palestinians who are so very needy, and take for granted continued support from the Arab countries that have supported them in the past. Egyptians, in particular, feel that in three wars – 1948-49, 1967, 1973 – their country lost men, money, and materiel (including almost the entire Air Force in 1967), for the sake of the Palestinians, and has received little gratitude in return. Kuwaitis remember how the Palestinians who had been given refuge in Kuwait all supported the Iraqi invaders in 1990. After Saddam Hussein’s troops were chased out of Iraq by the Americans, Kuwait promptly expelled 400,000 Palestinians. But the anger remains.
Now the Arab lands are roiled in conflict. There are civil wars in Yemen, Syria, and Libya, as well as lesser conflicts in Lebanon — pitting Hezbollah against Sunnis, Christians, and even some Shi’a — and in Iraq, pitting much of the country, including many Shia, against the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah. In Yemen Saudi Arabia is supporting the national government against the rebel Houthis backed by Iran; the UAE has dropped its support for the national government, and now supports separatists in southern Yemen;. In Syria, Iran and its puppet Hezbollah are backing Bashar Assad’s Alawite army, while the Gulf Arabs support the Sunni opposition; Turkey has entered Idlib Province, not just to push the Kurds away from the Turkish border, but to support Sunni forces opposed to Assad. In Libya, the GNA (Government of National Accord) is backed by Turkey, while the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, known as the LNA (Libyan National Army), are backed by the U.A.E., Egypt, France, and Russia. These ongoing conflicts use up men, money, and materiel. Domestic protests against mismanagement and corruption, too, threaten governments in Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran. In all of this continuing tohu-bohu, the Palestinians and their “cause” hardly register. For some Arab states, that have made security cooperation with Israel a cornerstone of their policies, there is not indifference to the Palestinians, but impatience and an outright antipathy, best expressed by an exasperated Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, who brusquely told a complaining Mahmoud Abbas that he had better accept whatever deal the Americans were offering, while there was still time.
According to Palestinian Media Watch, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has been taken aback by the fact that the solid backing he expected to receive from Arab leaders over Israel’s sovereignty bid is simply not there.
Faced with this unexpected indifference, the Palestinian Authority is pressing all Palestinian factions, as well as the Arab world, to launch a “jihad” – holy war – against the Jewish state, saying they must “act before it’s too late” using propaganda on Palestinian state media.
Mahmoud Abbas can come to some sort of understanding with Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups, albeit temporarily (for they will soon fall out again over the division of the spoils – that is, over the aid money provided by foreign governments to which Hamas and P.A. leaders help themselves), but that will have no effect on the twenty-two Arab states that have nothing to gain, and much to lose, if they again sacrifice for the “Palestinians.” Some of them – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain — stand to lose an effective ally against Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. Just now Israel’s devastating series of cyberattacks on Iran have yet again demonstrated its value to the Arab states most alarmed about the Iranian threat. Israel’s military cooperation with Egypt against the Muslim Brotherhood and remnants of Al-Qaeda in the Sinai has also been appreciated by Saudi Arabia and UAE, both of which see the MB — Hamas, remember, is simply the Gazan branch of the group — as a threat to their regimes of inherited rule.
Mahmoud Abbas may have been “taken aback” at the lack of Arab interest in joining a “jihad” to be waged against Israel, but very few others are surprised. For the Arab leaders, dealing with so many different kinds of conflicts both within, and among, the Arab states, variously suffering from the severe drop in the price of oil, from the mismanagement and corruption that characterize so many Arab states, and from the effect of the coronavirus, have had enough — with, about, for, because of — the “Palestinians.” The Arabs may not all express their exasperation as brusquely as the Saudi Crown Prince, but they’ve had quite enough of the “Palestinians.” For the Arabs, the new policy is “Sauve qui peut.” From now on, those “Palestinians” are going to be, as they’ve never had to be before, on their own.
owensgate says
JERUSALEM is the Physical and Spiritual Center of the Universe, and the Fulcrum of History and Time. It is wholly owned by God, and leased in perpetuity to Israel and the Hebrews. “Palestinians” have no claim or legal standing to even voice an opinion. Period.
Linde Barrera says
To owensgate-Love your comment.
DH says
There have been signs of intelligence coming from the Muslim World for a few years. This is very good news, especially if Saudi Arabia tones down it’s mischief.
Keith O says
Sounds like the rest of the Arab world is tired of the over indulged the whiny brat in the playground who keeps demanding attention.
About time Arab leaders realized who the real threat to their lives is.
I wonder what their “oh crap” moment was?
Chistopher Watson says
I wish Mr Fitzgerald would write something on “oh crap”. It’s such a beautiful expression. I taught and translated French for most of my life but my studies did not include English. Yet the English language has some of the most wonderful expressions of anger and repulsion ever written. Shakespeare was a master, of course: “Away, you starvelling, you elf-skin, you dried neat’s-tongue, bull’s-pizzle, you stock-fish! “
gravenimage says
Shakespeare’s insults are truly epic, Christopher. The one you cite comes from Henry IV Part 1 (Act 2, Scene 4).
Probably my favorite is this one: “A most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of no one good quality”–although for sheer dismissiveness, it’s hard to beat this one: “Would thou wert clean enough to spit upon”
Hugh Fitzgerald is quite well known for his own erudite turns of phrase.
carpediadem says
LOL, nice post Christopher!!
Agree with you!
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Hugh Fitzgerald is a vocabulary expander. He writes: ” In all of this continuing tohu-bohu, the Palestinians and their “cause” hardly register.” Huh? “tohu-bohu”? What’s that? See
http://www.shirhadash-ma.org/divreiTorah/2007-10_breishit_DavidGoodson.pdf
gravenimage says
Mark, I can’t count how many new additions I have added to my vocabulary reading the erudite Hugh Fitzgerald.
Phil Copson says
Hmm….need to brush-up on the maths as well then, GI….. ? LOL
gravenimage says
Sadly, math is not my strong suit, Phil. But even if it were, I might be a bit challenged here, given how often Hugh has driven me to my edition of the OED…
carpediadem says
His prose as well as content is a pleasure.
Mollyz says
Hmmm. Think I’ll stick with the Tanakh.
gravenimage says
Palestinians Furious at Discovering They are No Longer the Center of the Universe
………………..
This is hilarious!
carpediadem says
Agree!
mortimer says
The ruling houses of Saud and the Hashemites were paid off by Britain so they would accept the existence of a Jewish homeland following WWI. They went along with it at the time, then they backed out. Now they are going for it again.
No Arab every believed that the Pallies were a separate, distinct Arab ethnicity, because everyone knows they are the same as the Jordanians.
Through most of Islamic history, the Holy Land region has simply been known as Lower Syria (Shams) to Arabs. As well, everyone knows that most of the Pallies came from other Arab countries in the period from 1880 to 1940 when Jewish enterprises were hiring and the offer of jobs drew unemployed Arabs to take them in the British Mandate. Many of the Arab migrants came under the wire … illegally. The Pallies are descendants of recent migrants to the region and they never really had any title to the land, most of which was owned by Turks in Constantinople.
Linde Barrera says
To Mortimer-You are a most knowledgeable person. I love to read your comments but rarely make a reply to them. Thank you.
And this was another great article by the incomparable Hugh Fitzgerald. Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald. I learn so much from this website.
gravenimage says
True, Mortimer.
And Linde, agree with you about Mortimer and Hugh Fitzgerald.
Mollyz says
The “Palestinians” have never been the center of the Universe at any time. They’ve only ever been a useful political tool, to be picked up or put down as needed.
PRCS says
Hugh,
That is a GREAT headline!
JJ says
Palestinian Arab Christians are the oppressed. This is good news.
OLD GUY says
The Palestinians cause has been vary successful for their leadership financially. Millions of dollars have gone into this cause that never have helped the people on either side of the question.
gravenimage says
Yep.
Clifford Fodor says
They can never run out of complaints.
As for Jerusalem being the center of the university. It is the apple of God’s eye. But it will be trodden under by the gentiles before the Second Coming. God’s messages to us today is: Watch.(Matthew 25:13).
TKF says
I say to HELL with the phony baloney Palestinians and their phony Baloney cause. To Hell with them all.