Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, Originally Posted in Arabic on October 19
Everywhere we look around us in the Middle East we encounter chaos.
In Syria and Iraq, Islamist militants are taking over vast territories to establish the Islamic State. In Yemen, Houthi rebels are fighting for control over the country. In Libya, religious fanatics have toppled the government. In Lebanon, refugees keep flowing into the country.
And then there is Palestine – the longest-bleeding wound of the Arab world.
The turmoil in our region must not let us forget about what is currently happening there. Why? Because the Palestinians are suffering from a war with two enemies; an explicit one and a hidden one. The first is the fanatic Jewish Right that has made its way to the top of the Israeli government, rejecting any territorial concessions with the Palestinians. It incites the public and buries hope for any solution that would end the conflict. It encourages people to murder and kill, steal lands, and destroy the homes of Palestinians. And along the way, it pushes young Palestinians to adopt ISIL-like methods of resistance against the occupation.
The second enemy – the hidden one – exists among the Palestinians. It is the political divide that is growing bigger and bigger among them, pushing them to fight against one another. It is the result of too many years of failed hopes for a brighter future. By the corruption and nepotism that struck the Palestinian Authority in past years.
Both of these wars mean that the Palestinians, today, have no choice. They have to stand up for themselves and protect their homeland.
We, in the Arab world, must stop dictating to them what to do. Let them stand united as one. For them, it is do or die. – Eyad Abu Shakra