By
Irfan Husain
22 Aug 2020
THE one
constant in life is that nothing is permanent, and everything is in perpetual
motion.
From
sub-atomic particles to the giant spheres that float silently across the skies,
we are all part of the great celestial dance. So the idea that empires, dogmas
and beliefs are carved in stone that will last forever is a delusion created by
puny humans who think a few generations are an eternity. But as the ruins of
dead civilisations across the world attest, nothing we create is forever.
FILE - Hamas supporters protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of
the West Bank and US President Donald Trump's Mideast initiative, at the
Palestinian side of Erez checkpoint between Israel and Gaza, in Beit Hanoun,
Gaza Strip, July 9, 2020.
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Against this background of change and evolution, the idea that Arab policies towards Israel would remain frozen in time unsurprisingly turned out to be a huge fallacy. Firstly, the notion that the ‘Arab street’ would explode if Israel were to be recognised was punctured once and for all. In fact, this has been a much-overrated concept ever since the first Gulf War in 1990.
But apart
from a few scattered demonstrations, the response was tepid. Saddam Hussein had
certainly not helped his cause by first invading Kuwait. But for Americans to
enter Saudi Arabia and use it as a base for launching its attack was not seen
by most Arabs as a very big deal.
So if the
common reaction was not going to be a deterrent, what would stop Arab rulers
from recognising Israel? After all, they are nasty towards their own people, so
why would they care about Israeli repression of Palestinians?
Why
Would Arabs Care About Israeli Repression Of Palestinians?
One reason
the support for the Palestinian cause has diminished in the Middle East is that
the younger generation has greater concern for their own education and
employment than whatever the Palestinians are going through. They want their
leaders to focus on them and their needs, rather than fight distant battles.
Iran is
another factor that drives many Arab states to side with Israel. Tehran’s
aggressive use of proxies to gain support across the Middle East has angered
many. But it is Tehran’s apparent determination to produce nuclear bombs that
causes the greatest concern, especially in Saudi Arabia. So when the UAE urged
the US to “cut off the head of the snake” in a bombardment of Iranian nuclear
facilities, it was enunciating official policy.
The recent
recognition of Israel by the UAE is driven by its reading of the evolving
American policy towards the Middle East. The new approach, first taken by
Obama, was to reach out to Iran through an agreement that would freeze its
nuclear ambitions for a time in return for a lifting of sanctions. Obviously,
such a policy was anathema to Israel which convinced Trump to dump it in when
he came to power in 2016. But even Trump refused to bomb Iran although American
Special Forces have, apparently, conducted covert operations against Iranian
targets.
In return
for UAE recognition, Israel says it will “suspend’ its planned annexation of
much of what remains of Palestinian territory. Although the UAE claims this to
mean a cancellation of the annexation policy, we all know that when it comes to
land, the Israelis will grab all they can and then negotiate for more.
Thus far,
Saudi Arabia has refused to follow the UAE’s lead. But once the Crown Prince,
the thuggish MBS, takes over completely — and it won’t be long before that
happens — my guess is that he will join the American-led pro-Israel, anti-Iran
alliance.
For
decades, the Palestinians have dreamed that the righteousness of their cause
would keep the Arabs — and much of the world — on their side, and that one day,
they would get their own state, albeit on a much-reduced scale. Dream on. As
time went on, more and more land was grabbed by Israeli settlers.
Now well
over half a million of them live in houses built on land handed to them by the
state. These settlements are connected by roads only they can use; these,
together with the vast wall that separates Israel from the West Bank, has cut
off ancient Palestinians towns, villages and farms from each other.
Our prime
minister has announced that Pakistan will not recognise Israel until it returns
occupied land to the Palestinians. While this will hardly enter Israel’s
calculations, it does raise questions about what recognition implies. Is it a prize
for good behaviour? If so, half the countries in the world would not recognise
the other half.
Turkey,
despite all the fuss Erdogan has made about the UAE initiative, has had an
embassy in Israel for decades. Egypt and Jordan have had full diplomatic
relations with the Zionist state since the 1970s and 1990s respectively. Many
other states have traded with Israel for years.
India has
built up its relations with Israel mainly so it can buy high-tech weaponry
unavailable elsewhere. So each state has its own reasons for moving on. When a
deadlock occurs, it is usually the stronger party that imposes change. There is
no morality or justice in the great celestial dance.
Original
Headline: The celestial dance
Source: The Dawn, Pakistan
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/arabs-care-israeli-repression-palestinians/d/122689