Middle East Press On: Türkiye, Syria, Russia, Syria, Libya, Palestinian, Hamas, Gaza, Israel, and Western Media: New Age Islam's Selection, 27 February 2025
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
27 February 2025
1. Reviving Syria: Türkiye's vision for cultural renewal and lasting peace
2. Russia in the Mediterranean: Military shift from Syria to Libya
3. The West is colonizing the Palestinian cause
4. Removing the mask: Hamas dropped its victim narrative with sadistic hostage releases
5. The lost 'Arab': Gaza and the evolving language of the Palestinian struggle
6. Arab League Summit or Israeli Summit?
7. Israel responsible for the safety of people under its occupation
8. The Western media’s Israel-Palestine double standard
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Reviving Syria: Türkiye's Vision For Cultural Renewal And Lasting Peace
By Yunus Emre Tozal
Feb 27, 2025
Over the past three months, Syria has experienced critical developments. While tensions among local groups have escalated in the prolonged war environment, the positions of international actors are also being reshaped. However, amid this complex landscape, one significant aspect stands out: The principled stance that Türkiye has maintained from the beginning is becoming increasingly important. Türkiye’s efforts in humanitarian aid, infrastructure reconstruction and cultural diplomacy have been well received by the local population. Through cross-border operations and diplomatic engagements, Türkiye has demonstrated that its policy is not solely driven by its own interests but also by a genuine concern for the future of the region's people. At this juncture, Türkiye finds itself at a rare historical crossroads.
Concrete steps in Syria
While theoretical frameworks provide valuable perspectives on nation-building and cultural reconstruction, Türkiye has already taken concrete steps in Syria. The Turkish government has undertaken significant initiatives to restore critical infrastructure, invest in transportation and stimulate economic revival.
The Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has launched an action plan to repair and reconstruct Syria’s airports, bridges, roads and railways. In line with these efforts, Türkiye started the renovation of Damascus International Airport, which was severely damaged during the war. A 25-member technical team from Türkiye's State Airports Directorate (DHMI) has been deployed to enhance security, restore critical infrastructure and train local personnel. These improvements aim to make the airport fully operational, facilitating regional connectivity and economic recovery. Additionally, the reviving of the historic Hejaz Railway, which once connected Istanbul to Mecca, is among the proposed projects under consideration.
Turkish construction and cement companies such as Limak, Bursa Çimento and Oyak Çimento are preparing to play a crucial role in Syria’s reconstruction process. These firms anticipate significant investment opportunities, particularly in the cement, steel and construction sectors.
Türkiye has also expressed its readiness to assist in rebuilding Syria’s energy infrastructure and has hinted at potential partnerships in oil and hydrocarbon exploration, similar to past agreements made with Libya. Furthermore, the reopening of Turkish-Syrian trade routes aims to restore and enhance economic ties between the two nations, fostering long-term regional stability and economic growth.
Cultural reconstruction
Türkiye’s commitment to Syria extends beyond economic and infrastructural development. Institutions such as the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), the Yunus Emre Institute and the Turkish Maarif Foundation are actively engaged in educational and cultural initiatives across Syria. These organizations are leading efforts to rebuild schools, restore historical sites and promote cultural integration through various educational programs.
As one of Türkiye’s key actors in development aid, TIKA has been carrying out a broad range of projects in war-torn Syria, focusing on education, health care, infrastructure and the preservation of cultural heritage. The agency has reactivated its office in Syria, accelerating its fieldwork and taking significant steps, particularly in the restoration of historical structures. TIKA has been working to restore mosques, madrassas, caravanserais and other historical sites across Syria to safeguard cultural heritage for future generations. Additionally, the agency is strengthening the region’s educational infrastructure by repairing schools and providing essential equipment to support learning environments. Beyond physical reconstruction, TIKA’s initiatives contribute to social development by improving access to agriculture, health care and vocational training, ultimately enhancing the economic and social well-being of local communities.
Expanding its educational and cultural activities in Syria, the Yunus Emre Institute has continued to offer hope to the local population. In 2023, the institute established a representation office in al-Bab, one of Syria’s secure regions, where it began organizing Turkish language courses and cultural events. Additionally, it hosted a panel discussion titled "Values Unite: Yunus Emre’s Perspective on Humanity," bringing together regional academic and administrative leaders to emphasize the shared heritage and integration of Turkish and Arab cultures. With recent developments in Syria over the past three months, the expansion of Yunus Emre Institute's activities will undoubtedly further strengthen cultural interaction in the region. These efforts go beyond mere language education and cultural events, enhancing social cohesion among local communities and contributing to long-term peace and stability in the region.
Lastly, the Turkish Maarif Foundation, one of Türkiye’s most influential educational institutions, is recognized internationally for its high-impact projects. Operating in over 50 countries, the foundation manages hundreds of schools and education centres, providing quality education to thousands of students. In Syria’s reconstruction process, its role is of vital importance for the future of the region. By integrating war-affected generations back into the educational system, the foundation holds the potential to restore social stability through education. Projects aimed at fostering multicultural harmony and social integration will enable Syrian youth to reconnect with society and build their future through education.
Damascus reborn
Türkiye’s involvement in Syria extends beyond rebuilding efforts – it reflects a comprehensive approach to fostering long-term regional stability and cultural integration. By combining infrastructure restoration, economic revitalization and cultural renewal, Türkiye is not only contributing to regional stability but also holds the potential to establish a model for multicultural unity in the broader Middle Eastern landscape. However, beyond material reconstruction, Türkiye’s role in reviving Syria’s social and cultural fabric will be a decisive factor in shaping the region’s future.
On this road, there is tremendous potential for new projects and the city of Damascus can be a cultural hub for the future with Türkiye's leading guidance and investments. The city has a special place as one of the intellectual and spiritual centres of the Islamic world. As the capital of the Umayyads, it served as a crucial meeting point not only for Muslims but also for various religious communities with its madrassas, mosques and rich cultural heritage. Today, the prospect of Damascus reclaiming its role as a cultural and academic centre with Türkiye’s contributions can represent a crucial step toward rebuilding regional peace and stability. With Türkiye's support, Damascus can once again emerge as a hub of knowledge and arts in the Islamic world. Notably, Türkiye’s involvement in reconstructing the Hejaz Railway could significantly enhance cultural and economic interactions, reconnecting Damascus with Mecca and Medina. Under Türkiye’s leadership, its revival as a cultural capital could herald a new golden age in the Islamic world.
Initiatives in education, historical preservation, and economic development indicate that Türkiye is positioning itself as not just a strategic actor but also as a cultural bridge between civilizations. If these efforts are sustained and expanded, they could pave the way for a renewed era of cooperation, intercultural dialogue, and sustainable peace in Syria and beyond.
https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/reviving-syria-turkiyes-vision-for-cultural-renewal-and-lasting-peace
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Russia In The Mediterranean: Military Shift From Syria To Libya
By Fatih Mehmet Küçük
Feb 27, 2025
With the end of the Syrian civil war, Russia has started to reposition its military presence in the region. Having maintained a strong military presence in Syria for years thanks to its support for the Bashar Assad regime, Moscow is now shifting its resources to new strategic regions. In this process, Libya has become a critical target for Russia.
According to satellite images and open sources, Russia has started to shift its forces to Libya after having to withdraw them from Syria. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto stated that the military elements in the port of Tartus have been transferred to Libya and that this mobility poses a serious threat to Mediterranean security. Crosetto had made the following statements in the past process:
"Moscow is moving its resources from the Syrian base in Tartus to Libya. This is not good news for us. Russia's ships and submarines in the Mediterranean are always a concern. But it is a much bigger threat to have these assets right next to us rather than a thousand kilometres away."
Russia's redeployment of forces from Syria to Libya is not only related to its naval assets. Russia is also expanding its military presence in Libya, focusing on the Maaten Al Sarra airbase near the borders with Chad and Sudan. Satellite imagery and international open sources show that Russia is modernizing the airbase and strengthening its alliances with key Libyan factions, particularly the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar. The base could serve as a logistics hub for Mali, Burkina Faso and Sudan operations.
Maaten Al Sarra, which was also used during the Libya-Chad war in the 1980s, has become a base where Russia is spending resources again due to its proximity to the Sahel. In this context, satellite imagery shows that Russia has restored and expanded the Maaten Al Sarra airbase by transferring personnel and equipment, including Syrian defectors. The reconstruction work includes runway repairs, the establishment of storage facilities and enhanced logistics capabilities. The base could facilitate operations across the Sahel. In addition, according to publicly available information, there has been an increase in cargo flights between Russian bases in Syria and Libya since December 2024. These flights likely carried military equipment and personnel, strengthening Moscow's influence in North Africa.
Jalel Harchaoui, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, said that while there is no conclusive evidence of large-scale Russian military transfers to Libya, the increased air traffic is noteworthy. He stated that recently, three cargo planes from Belarus and at least one from Russia have arrived in Libya, indicating that Russia's activities in Libya are intensifying.
According to some news sources, Moscow is currently in the process of reaching an agreement with the local leader in Tobruk, Khalifa Haftar. In this context, Russia is looking for a new port to deploy its navy in the Mediterranean, and Haftar, with whom it has good relations in the ongoing civil war, offers an attractive alternative for Moscow.
Russian expansion in Africa
Moscow's presence in Libya is not limited to agreements with Haftar. It also uses Libya as a military logistics center to provide support to coup regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Another region in Sub-Saharan Africa where Moscow is concentrating is Sudan. In this context, Moscow distanced itself from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) and instead cooperated with Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). This shift may indicate that the Kremlin is reassessing its interests in Sudan, a move that could alter the regional balance of power.
Russia has also developed deeper ties with the military regimes in Mali and Burkina Faso, positioning itself as a security partner during the withdrawal of Western forces. The establishment of Maaten Al-Sarra as a logistics hub could strengthen military operations in these countries.
The balance of power in Libya
Since 2017, Khalifa Haftar has been in close military and diplomatic contact with Russia. Moscow's establishment of a permanent military presence in eastern Libya is considered a “bold move” by NATO and the United States. Haftar's growing distance from the West and his closer ties with Russia stand out as a development that could change the geopolitical balance in Libya.
This could lead to the east of Libya coming under Russia's influence, which could lead to new tensions between the Tripoli-based United Nations-backed government and Moscow. While the west of Libya has an internationally recognized government, Russia's backing of the forces in the east could trigger a new power struggle in the country, which has long been characterized by a prolonged absence of conflict.
Libya: A new military centre
Russia's withdrawal from Syria and its shift toward Libya are important developments in terms of Mediterranean security. Following the collapse of the Assad regime and its expulsion from the country, Moscow seems to have shifted toward a strategy of reducing its military presence in Syria and protecting its interests in North Africa more strongly.
Moscow's shift of its military presence to Libya could lead to a major geopolitical shift not only in the Mediterranean but also in Africa. Already, Russia is reorganizing its military presence in the Sahel region under the name of the African Corps and increasing its influence in countries such as Mali, Niger and Chad. Russia's strengthening of its presence in Libya could pose a new security risk on Europe's southern borders.
Improved relations with Khalifa Haftar and the possible opening of the port of Tobruk to the Russian navy could turn Libya into a new military hub for Moscow. Russia's expanding military presence in Libya is a development that should be carefully monitored by NATO, especially Italy. Although Russia aligned itself with NATO member France in the 2019 conflict, its access to a strategic presence on NATO's southern borders in the event of a possible ceasefire in Ukraine signals a major problem. While the latest moves of the newly inaugurated U.S. President Trump are changing the world agenda very quickly, they prevent NATO countries from taking concrete and strong steps in the region. Moreover, the presence of countries like France in the alliance continues to feed the unresolved problems in Libya.
https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/russia-in-the-mediterranean-military-shift-from-syria-to-libya
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The West Is Colonizing The Palestinian Cause
By Gol Kalev
February 27, 2025
The tidal wave of Palestinization that has engulfed the West represents the biggest threat to decades-old Palestinian quest to be viewed as a nation.
Since October 7, the Western pro-Palestinian movement transformed into a well-organized global force with structure, funding, and access to the centres of power.
There has been a hostile takeover of the Palestinian cause by the West: The Palestinian flag is no longer about Arabs in Palestine – it is mostly used as a Western cultural icon; the quest for Palestinian statehood is no longer about Palestinians’ self-determination but about the Western concept of “justice”; and Palestinians’ dire condition in Gaza is no longer about their human rights to flee a war zone and stay alive, but about protecting Western principles, such as opposition to ethnic-cleansing.
The question is not “What is best for Palestinians?” but “What is best for Western pro-Palestinians?”
As discussed in my book, The Assault on Judaism, Palestinians have been drafted to our era’s attempt to eradicate Judaism, which is carried out through the Western ideology of Israel-bashing: negating the idea of Judaism, through negating the idea of Jewish state.
Therefore, the term “Palestine” has been re-appropriated by Westerns to that end.
This is not the first time this happened.
Palestine: A traveling term
This term “Palestine” was first introduced by the Romans. Expelling the Jews from their land, they renamed Judea as Palestine. Over the centuries, this term was accepted by Jews themselves. The Land of Israel and Palestine became synonymous.
But in the 1920s, the West migrated the term. Arabs in Palestine at the time expressed their collective sentiment through the nascent Hashemite Arab Kingdom of Syria. They identified as Syrians. When France took over Syria and ended the Arab Kingdom, Western colonialist offices imposed a new identity on Arabs in Palestine: “Palestinians.” British diplomat Mark Sykes (of the Sykes-Pictot agreement) even came up with a flag.
While this colonialist identity-engineering exercise was initially rejected by Arabs living in Palestine, European powers cultivated the notion of Palestinian nationalism in order to promote their own Western interests: The British as counterforce to the Jews, Germans as counterforce to the British, and since the 1993 Oslo Accords, the EU and European governments as a counterforce to the State of Israel and by extension to America.
This worked and, by the turn of the 21st century, it was clear that the term Palestine, as well as the Sykes flag represented the national movement of Palestinian Arabs.
But in recent years, and especially since October 7, the term has been migrating, yet again, from describing a group of individuals in the Middle East, toward describing an abstract concept in the West.
This, for example, was reflected in the September 2023 University of Pennsylvania Palestine Writes festival. American students were not expected to write of the longing for a land they never been to – nor knew much of – but about such concepts as: occupation, suppression, injustice. Similarly, President Donald Trump referring to Senator Chuck Schumer as a “Palestinian” is not a reference to his ethnic background, but to his ideology.
Some can argue, cynically, that the re-appropriation of the term is legitimate. After all, it was Europe who “owns the copyright” on the term Palestine: The Romans created it, and the British, French, and Germans promoted it.
But what about the human rights of Palestinians themselves?
Voluntary de-Palestinization
Repeatedly, Palestinians are denied their basic rights to personal self-determination by their European oppressors. When Palestinians chose to be employed and mentored by Jewish-owned businesses, European governments launched aggressive campaigns to have those businesses shut down, such as SodaStream. Similarly, when Palestinians in Gaza chose to flee a war zone, the West failed to provide escape routes, and now that President Trump has introduced such a plan, Westerns are opposing it, effectively denying Palestinians the basic human right to leave.
There is an inevitable clash: Europe and Europhilic circles in the United States care exclusively about Palestinian national rights, even at the price of Palestinian human rights. This, while Palestinians naturally care about their personal safety, prosperity, and indeed rights as human beings.
To put it bluntly, Europeans and Western pro-Palestinians dehumanize Palestinians.
We are in an era of seismic changes. The Middle East of September 2023 is not coming back, and therefore, Western foreign offices and seasoned peacemakers should get rid of legacy frameworks and assumptions that, perhaps, were relevant back then, but are only standing in the way of peace today.
In this realm, there is a golden opportunity to shift away from frameworks based on a zero-sum game, such as “land for peace” and the two-state solution, toward frameworks that are based on a win-win, such as the Abraham Accords and President Trump’s Gaza relocation plan.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-843915
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Removing The Mask: Hamas Dropped Its Victim Narrative With Sadistic Hostage Releases
By Douglas Altabef
February 27, 2025
The summer of Gazan love has ended with a thud. The ability to scream about the resistance, about the river and the sea, along with the free-wheeling accusations of genocide, all without accountability, is over.
Hamas has, to no one’s surprise in Israel, made itself completely unpalatable, let alone heroic. It has required its fellow travellers to excuse, contextualize, or defend conduct that, were there no Jews involved, would be universally condemned and despised.
Hamas did it all by itself and to itself. It did it by showing its true colours and straightforward world view, on its own initiative.
The morphing realities and narratives in Gaza
In this regard, the ironies are immense and all but overwhelming. That is because, with its discretionary handling of the return of the hostages, Hamas has just made Israel’s case for why it should be expunged from Gaza, and indeed from history.
What happened to the starving, bereft Gazans? We have morphed from pictures of bedraggled Gazans to pressed uniforms, cheering crowds, and an environment worthy of a Hitlerian rally in the 1930s.
All of this was to show the world that Hamas had won. This in and of itself undercuts the case of devastation that must be stopped, privation that must be addressed, and an all-but-eradicated people that must be rescued.
The face that Hamas has chosen to show the world is not one of “We survived Israel’s onslaught,” but in effect one of “Israel never laid a glove on us.” That, of course, beggars the imagination.
However, it is with its treatment of the returned hostages that Hamas has shown its true colours to any who would look objectively at its doings, and listen to what it is, in effect, saying.
Of course, the images of the returned hostages, particularly the men, speak for themselves. Those of us who are allergic to any analogies with the Holocaust nevertheless found ourselves invoking such comparisons when presented with pictures of some of the released men.
The world clearly saw the heinousness of Hamas, and, by extension, its formerly bereft but now screamingly happy acolytes, as Hamas stormtroopers orchestrated scenes that could have easily devolved into lynchings and certainly had all the feel of them.
The messaging here was not terribly esoteric: “We could kill you, but this time at least, we choose not to do so. After all, we are awaiting the return of hundreds of our heroes who will wreak havoc upon you in the nor too distant future, guaranteed,” Hamas is clearly saying. “So today, we don’t kill you, we merely give you a final humiliation to remember us by. We toy with you, we force you to be cast members of a ghoulish psychodrama designed, as we conceive it, to humiliate and to debilitate, not to mention frighten. And we show the world the true power and strength of our indomitable resistance.”
Ironically, with each of these non-fatal quasi-execution ceremonies, Hamas has been trading in its long-nurtured victim status in favour of a gloating, sadistic, and would-be murderous image. All of this was a prelude to the ultimate unmasking of the barbarism that Hamas holds dear. That unmasking, of course, happened with the return of the Bibas family.
It matters not what religion, race, or nationality (I am even tempted to add “species”) one is: You cannot look at a picture of the beautiful Bibas boys without a smile, and you cannot consider their deaths and that of their sheltering and loving young mother at the hands of Hamas terrorists, without great pain.
In its ongoing effort to ensure that they are unworthy for inclusion in humanity, Hamas has pointed out that there are fatwas that say that it is okay for Muslims to kill the children of its enemies because this degrades, diminishes, and disheartens the enemy.
Let’s hope that this is in fact a minority opinion within Islam. Regardless, it sure speaks volumes about the worldview of Hamas. And it serves to remind us of the human shield defence that Hamas has been so diligently employing since the war began.
We know that there are no words for this, there is no excuse for this. There is nothing in any civilized society that allows, not to mention extols, the murder of babies.
The great irony of what Hamas has done is to turn the tables on all the numbers that have been negotiated for the hostage return. We, in Israel, have gritted our teeth, suspended disbelief, and have allowed ourselves to release hundreds of despicable murderers and terrorists, knowing that many of them will once again seek to target Israelis.
We are therefore paying a steep and excruciating price for the release of the hostages.
However, with the return of three murdered angelic Bibas souls, I predict that Hamas has just torn off its mask.
For all but the most hardened, debased and Hamas-wannabe supporters, Hamas has shown itself to be loathsome and barbaric, completely lacking in its purported worthiness.
There are moments in life where a single gesture can speak volumes, where a single act can unearth an indisputable reality, and provide irrefutable clarity. The realization, as has now been forensically ascertained, that Hamas members murdered two innocent, cherubic souls, as well as their mother, with their own bare hands, is such an event.
May Yarden Bibas have the comfort of knowing that the horrific sacrifice of his beloved wife and sons will prove to be the vehicle of the avenging of their blood and, please God, an important step in the annihilation of their murderers.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-843905
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The Lost 'Arab': Gaza And The Evolving Language Of The Palestinian Struggle
February 26, 2025
By Dr Ramzy Baroud
Language matters. Aside from its immediate impact on our perception of great political events, including war, language also defines our understanding of these events throughout history, thereby shaping our relationship with the past, the present and the future.
As Arab leaders are mobilising to prevent any attempt to displace the Palestinian population of war-stricken Gaza – and the occupied West Bank for that matter – I couldn’t help but reflect on language: when did we stop referencing the “Arab-Israeli conflict”, and started to use “Palestinian-Israeli conflict” instead?
Aside from the obvious problem that illegal military occupations should not be described as “conflicts” – a neutral term that creates a moral equivalence – the removal of “Arabs” from the “conflict” has greatly worsened matters, not only for Palestinians, but for Arabs themselves.
Before we talk about these repercussions, that of swapping words and altering phrases, it is important to dig deeper: when exactly was the term “Arab” removed? And equally important, why was it added in the first place?
The League of Arab States was established in March 1945, over three years before the establishment of Israel. A main cause of that newly-found Arab unity was Palestine, then under a British colonial “mandate”. Not only did the few independent Arab states understand the centrality of Palestine to their collective security and political identities, but they also perceived Palestine as the single most critical issue for all Arab nations, independent or otherwise.
The Arab League summits always reflected the fact that Arab peoples and governments, despite rebellions, upheavals and divisions, were always united in a singular value: the liberation of Palestine.
The spiritual significance of Palestine grew hand in hand with its political and strategic significance to the Arabs, thus the injection of the religious component to that relationship.
The August 1969 arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem was the main catalyst behind the establishment of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) later that year. In 2011, it was renamed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, although Palestine remained the central topic of Muslim dialogue.
Still, the “conflict” remained “Arab”, as Arab countries were the ones who bore the brunt of it, engaged in its wars and suffered its defeats, but also shared its moments of triumph.
The June 1967 Arab military defeat by the Israeli army, which was backed by the United States and other powerful western powers, was a watershed moment. Humiliated and angry, Arab nations declared their famous “Three No’s” at the Khartoum Summit in August-September of that same year: no peace, no negotiations and no recognition of Israel while Palestinians are held captive.
That strong stance, however, didn’t survive the test of time. Disunity among Arab nations rose to the surface, and such terms as Al-‘Am al-Qawmi al-‘Arabi – the Arab national security – often focused on Palestine, splintered into new conceptions surrounding the interests of nation-states.
The Camp David Accords signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979 deepened Arab divisions — and marginalised Palestine further — although it didn’t invent them.
The “Arab” was dropped, in favour of “Palestinian”. That simple change was earth-shattering, as Arabs, Palestinians and people around the world began making new associations with the political discourse pertaining to Palestine. The isolation of Palestine had thus crossed that of physical sieges and military occupation, into the realm of language.
Palestinians fought hard to win their rightful and deserved position as the guardians of their own struggle. Although the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was established at the behest of Egypt in the First Arab Summit in Cairo of 1964, Palestinians, under the leadership of Fatah’s Yasser Arafat, were only given the helm in 1969.
Five years later, at the Arab Summit in Rabat (1974), the PLO was perceived collectively as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people”, and was later to be granted observer status at the United Nations.
Ideally, a truly independent Palestinian leadership needed to be embraced by a collective and unified Arab position, aiding it in the difficult, and often bloody, process of liberation. Events that followed, however, attested to a far less ideal trajectory: Arab and Palestinian divisions weakened the position of both, splintering their energies, resources and political decisions.
But history is not destined to follow the same pattern. Although historical experiences may appear to replicate themselves, the wheel of history can be channelled to move in the right direction.
Gaza, and the great injustice resulting from the destruction caused by the Israeli genocide in the Strip, is once more being a catalyst for Arab dialogue, and, if there is enough will, unity.
Palestinians have demonstrated that their sumud – steadfastness – is enough to repel all stratagems aimed at their very destruction, but Arab nations must reclaim their position as the first line of solidarity and support for the Palestinian people, not only for the sake of Palestine itself, but also for the sake of all Arab nations.
Unity is now key to re-centring the just cause of Palestine, so that language may, once more, shift, injecting the “Arab” component as a critical word in a struggle for freedom that should concern all Arab and Muslim nations, and, indeed, the whole world.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250226-the-lost-arab-gaza-and-the-evolving-language-of-the-palestinian-struggle/
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Arab League Summit Or Israeli Summit?
February 26, 2025
An emergency Arab League Summit was scheduled to be held in Cairo on 28 February to respond to Donald Trump’s proposal to displace the people of Gaza to Egypt and Jordan. The aim was to create a united Arab position against the liquidation of the Palestinian cause, which is what this crazy proposal intends.
Suddenly, though, the summit has been postponed. It’s not surprising. We are entitled to know whether it was an Arab League Summit or an Israeli Summit.
And since when have Arab leaders ever taken a unified position, and since when have their decisions — that are prepared in advance in any case — had any value, apart from the 1991 Cairo Summit after Iraq invaded Kuwait on American orders?
Where was the Arab League during the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip for 15 months, when Gaza was being completely destroyed; Palestinians were being killed in cold blood; and the genocide was being committed live on social media for the whole world to see? The organisation did not even dare to issue its usual bland statements of condemnation.
No one cares about these summits; they are useless events put on by a body that was pronounced dead after the US-led 2003invasion of Iraq; and buried during the Syrian revolution, the Russian-Iranian occupation of Syria, the Saudi invasion of Yemen, and the violent conflict in Libya. It has sat idly by and watched the ongoing Zionist aggression against the Palestinians; the Israeli desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Judaisation of Jerusalem; and normalisation with the occupation regime by some of its members following in the footsteps of Egypt and Jordan. The Arab League said nothing about such normalisation, because the dead don’t speak, and now the rulers of the Arab Zionist regimes control its remains. Palestine has been sold cheaply.
It held no firm position on Trump’s recognition of a unified Jerusalem as the “eternal capital” of the Zionist entity, and his move of the US Embassy to the city. It kept quiet when the same entity annexed the Syrian Golan Heights, a move endorsed by Trump. It also failed to resolve any internal disputes between the Arab states. Instead, it exacerbated the disputes and ignited Arab conflicts, according to the policy of the axes that controls it, and the superiority or dominance of one axis over another, especially after the “counter-revolution” axis became dominant, allowing Saudi Arabia and the UAE to use their money to control the organisation and its decisions.
True to the saying “money is power”, the standards and balances of power have been changed. The League’s compass deviated from its constants, and the term “Zionist enemy” was erased from its dictionary. Now we have reached the point where we miss the empty condemnations once issued after every Zionist transgression.
The Arab League was, in theory, a unifying body for the Arab countries, despite its ineffectiveness when it came to any of the vital issues concerning the Arab people. It was a living expression of the Arab conscience, of which the Palestinian cause was the strongest pillar and most important constant and principle, since its establishment, which predated the Palestinian Nakba by just over three years. Palestine was the main pillar of its structure, and it is credited with its continued survival for years, before it was assassinated by the Arab neo-Zionists who seized control of the organisation.
As such, it was never a thorn in the side of our enemies since its creation in March 1945, under the watch of the British mandate occupation, and at the hands of UK Foreign Minister Anthony Eden. He told the British House of Commons in February 1943 that the British government “shows sympathetic consideration to all action between the Arabs that aims to achieve their economic, cultural and political unity.” In a 1941 speech, he had called on the Arab world to help His Majesty’s government to strengthen the cultural, economic and political ties between the Arab countries.
Eden wanted to bribe the Arab countries during World War II to stand by the Allies through establishing a series of national entities of their own, far from their great Islamic entity, using or exploiting the instinct of races and ethnicities in people’s nature, to weaken and fragment the Islamic nation. He presented them with tempting promises of complete independence and the right to self-determination, which disappeared quickly as soon as Germany was defeated.
There is a big difference between Eden’s sympathetic view and Balfour’s sympathy for the “Jewish people”, despite them being cut from the same British cloth. They served the same cause, though; Balfour’s sympathy led to the establishment of the occupation state of Israel, while Eden’s tore the heart out of the Islamic nation. In the end, the Palestinian cause was lost in the corridors of power, despite the Islamic sanctities it involves, most notably Al-Aqsa Mosque.
With hindsight, we know that Britain didn’t help to create the occupation state and the Arab League out of any love for the Jews and the Arabs.
They needed watchdogs in the Middle East to protect oil supplies. Hence, the kingdoms and emirates and even the nominal republics, all of which act as representatives of the Crusader West in exchange for preserving their thrones.
If Eden’s League is escorted to its final resting place without any regrets, then his tyrannical regimes will also follow soon once the Arab people regain their revolutions and are liberated from the two occupations of their land: the usurper regimes in the Arab capitals and the Zionist usurper of Palestine.
The victory is near, God willing.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250226-arab-league-summit-or-israeli-summit/
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Israel Responsible For The Safety Of People Under Its Occupation
Daoud Kuttab
February 26, 2025
One of the strangest situations taking place in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict today is the Israeli and, to a certain extent, international attitude regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Despite Israeli efforts to claim that it is not an occupier, all the relevant UN bodies have made it clear that, in fact, what we see with our own eyes is what is happening: namely that Israel is the occupier of Palestinian territories.
Therefore, since the status is clear, what are the responsibilities of an occupying power toward the population it is occupying? International humanitarian law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention, which was issued to deal with the problems of prolonged occupations, makes it clear that the occupier has a responsibility to protect the civilian population, provide for their humanitarian needs and ensure that their cultural, educational and medical institutions are preserved.
All these issues have been violated during the 58 years of Israeli occupation. Its violations of the Geneva Conventions could fill volumes. The illegal annexation of East Jerusalem, the movement of citizens of the occupying power into the occupied territory and the building of illegal (including most recently under UN Security Council Resolution 2334) Jewish settlements are just a few of the violations.
In the Gaza context, a few issues stand out. As Francesca Albanese, the UN rapporteur for human rights in the Occupied Territories, has stated, the occupying power does not have the right to self-defence, while the right of resistance is in fact guaranteed to the people under occupation. Furthermore, detentions of people under occupation accused of any act against the occupier are supposed to take place within the occupied territory — another major violation by Tel Aviv, which has for years been holding thousands of Palestinians inside the internationally recognized borders of the state of Israel.
Moreover, the issue of the safety of civilians under occupation is also of uppermost importance, as tens of thousands of civilians and civilian institutions (including houses of worship, hospitals, bakeries and educational institutions) have been deliberately targeted. These revenge acts against Palestinians and Palestinian institutions cannot be justified, despite the unacceptable claims of solidarity of occupied people with the resistance movement.
The claim that schools and hospitals are being targeted based on the claim that they are harbouring “terrorists” has also been debunked many times. There have been videos of mosques and other institutions being blown up after occupying engineers placed explosives within their empty premises. Israeli soldiers have been seen celebrating the blowing up of these buildings, further contradicting the claim that they were targeted because they were hosting combatants.
The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza have been collectively punished in a number of ways, including forcible relocation and preventing them accessing energy and other basic humanitarian needs.
Ironically, the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians in Gaza have become part of the trade-offs in the ceasefire negotiations sponsored by Qatar, Egypt and the US. The idea that the occupying power, a member state of the UN, is being asked to allow access to oil, drinking water, medical supplies, tents and other basic humanitarian needs is a scandal. Even when the International Court of Justice made a binding rule last January, in the context of the South African case, that Israel should allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, the occupying forces totally ignored this demand and continued using food and energy as a tool of pressure on the population under occupation.
While Israel itself refused to meet the occupied population’s humanitarian needs, it also prevented any third party from helping Gazans receive aid. Israel used the ungenuine claim that demonstrations by radical groups were preventing aid vehicles from reaching the Gaza border.
Media reports have also noted that an Israeli government body that controls the influx of aid sometimes, through bureaucracy, ends up causing deaths and illnesses as food aid goes rotten, as well as leaving entire communities without electricity or other sources of energy and heating during the extremely cold winter months.
The basic obligations of an occupying power are still part of international humanitarian law and UN member states are obliged to ensure that other members of the UN, as well as other bodies that are violating these laws, are held accountable and not given a free pass.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2591711
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The Western Media’s Israel-Palestine Double Standard
Ray Hanania
February 26, 2025
America and Israel’s manipulation of the violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, exaggerating crimes against Israelis or Jews and ignoring those that target Palestinians and Muslims, should anger the entire world, especially the people of the Middle East. Unfortunately, this disparity does not get much attention in either the US or Israel. But the gap between how the two are reported is immorally immense.
Last Thursday, explosions destroyed three empty civilian buses in separate car parks in Bat Yam, a city south of Tel Aviv. Israeli police immediately called it a terrorist attack. Even though no one was hurt, the nonlethal attacks dominated media reports in America and Israel.
Meanwhile, barely reported by any American mainstream media is the daily carnage in Gaza. Israel’s violence in the Strip takes place 24 hours a day, every day, meaning it does not fit the journalistic definition of “news” — that of being “new.”
Under that cloud is another wave of ongoing violence being carried out by the Israeli security services and armed Jewish settlers against West Bank Palestinians.
Little is being reported. It is almost like nothing is taking place. But it is happening. Daily.
The day before the attacks on the three empty buses, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces had killed at least three Palestinians in an attack on a house in the Far’a refugee camp. The mainstream American media ignored this. Had the victims been Israeli, the reporting would likely have been hysterical.
B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights watchdog staffed by Jews and Arabs, continues to persevere despite an ongoing campaign of harassment, beatings and bullying by Israeli security forces. It reports on violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israel itself, but its findings are often ignored.
This month, for example, B’Tselem published a report into the events of Dec. 19, 2024. At about 10 a.m. that day, two vehicles with Palestinian license plates drove into the market street, a central thoroughfare in Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus. Local security signalled for the unknown buses to stop and that is when Israeli soldiers emerged from the vehicles and began firing indiscriminately, wounding six people and killing two.
Halimah Abu Leil, 80, who was shopping for vegetables in the market, was shot and killed. The Israeli attack lasted more than two hours. Soldiers blocked all attempts to take the injured Palestinians to hospital for treatment.
The Israelis entered a nearby home, expelled the family that lived there and used it as a command centre. They used one of the family’s daughters, Lara Sawalmeh, as a human shield, stationing her at the front door as they shot at residents from the home’s windows. A neighbour, Qusai Al-Saruji, peeked out of the door of his balcony to check if the raid was over so that he could go to work. He was shot dead, the B’Tselem investigators reported.
Even with all that detail confirmed by a highly respected agency, nothing was reported by the Western news reporters who work out of Jerusalem under Israeli government supervision.
In another incident last year, Israeli forces went on a campaign of destruction in Tulkarem refugee camp. B’Tselem reported that special forces personnel arrived at the camp at about 12.30 p.m. on Sept. 10 in civilian vehicles with Palestinian license plates. They were later joined by additional military, border police and Shin Bet forces, who brought bulldozers. The purpose? To dig up the streets, smash Palestinian-owned cars parked on the side of the road and block the entrances to homes. The destruction was so widespread it turned much of the area into rubble.
As residents returned to their homes on hearing about the raid, the Israeli forces shot at them. Two young Palestinians were killed. They were Ahmad Majdubah, 25, who was trying to close the gate of his family’s car wash to go home, and Hibat Allah ‘Obeid, 21, who stepped out of her house with her mother to see what was happening.
Also, in the summer of 2024, Israeli forces repeatedly entered Hebron and injured dozens of Palestinians. B’Tselem volunteers took testimony from 25 of the victims who were abused by Israeli soldiers between May and August last year. They describe acts of violence, humiliation and abuse by Israeli soldiers against men, women, teenagers and children. The victims gave harrowing accounts of physical and psychological abuse, including beatings, whippings, cigarettes being put out on their bodies, blows to their genitals, injections of an unidentified substance, prolonged binding and blindfolding, threats, insults and more.
Soldiers appeared to select the victims arbitrarily as they went about their daily lives. In most cases, they were taken away to military facilities, where the worst of the abuse occurred. None of the victims were suspected of or prosecuted for any offense. They were mostly released immediately after being assaulted, with many requiring medical treatments. Only two victims were arrested and both were released without charge within days.
Nearly every Palestinian city is being targeted by Israeli forces and Palestinians are being killed every week. But where are the media reports?
These incidents are ignored. Why? Because terrorism against Palestinians is not considered news by the mainstream Western news media and many Western reporters are forced to work under the confines of Israeli government censorship. They lack the courage to speak out against the inhumanity occurring right before their eyes.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2591689
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