Traitors in the Battle Against Zionism
Rai al-Youm, Jordan, September 30
The ongoing Arab scramble for normalization with the entity occupying the land of Palestine is a core achievement upon which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is depending to maintain his political relevance. With this gamble, he is betting that the success of this normalization process will bring about an alteration to the Zionist entity’s presence in the Arab region. Is it possible for normalization deals to form a solid foundation on which the Zionist entity is accepted into the Arab region? The normalization agreements with Israel throughout history, be they the 1979 Camp David Accords or the 2020 Abraham Accords, have differed from each other. However, they have all shared a common core element: legitimizing the occupation’s presence as a legitimate entity in the Middle East. The Camp David Accords of 1979 and the Abraham Accords of 2020—known by various names such as the “peace agreement” or “normalization”—may differ in certain details, but the core element is the legitimization of the occupation’s status as a state. Recently, reports have suggested that Saudi Arabia may enter into a normalization deal with Israel. If this actually transpired, the effect would be disastrous, given the immense moral value that Saudi Arabia holds within the Islamic world. There can be no denying that momentous strides have been made in the Arab political scene, allowing Arab leaders to engage with Zionist war criminals amid the ongoing occupation of Palestine and persistent Zionist offenses. Throughout the long history of the Palestinian struggle for liberation, the resistance has been confronted with numerous obstacles, but these normalization agreements are not the greatest challenge it has had to face. The Palestinian people remain steadfast in pursuit of justice and unshakable in their belief that the occupation will eventually be dismantled, even when it has been embraced by some Arab politicians. Although some may have been driven to serve the oppressor’s cause, the revolution still carries on. We cannot ignore secular thought in our pursuit of justice. Religion is an essential component of our endeavor; however, the language of money, economics, and interests is often the dominant factor. The Holy Quran speaks to this, saying, “And if they want to betray you, they have certainly betrayed God before.” Thus, anyone who betrays God can be expected to easily undertake the betrayal of others. This is no different from the treacherous behavior of the vizier Ibn al-Alqami, who conspired with the Tatars to attack Baghdad and topple the Abbasid Caliphate. There are many who are like Ibn al-Alqami in the conflict between Palestinians and Zionist occupiers. Betrayal knows no religious or cultural boundaries and generates the same devastating outcome. Palestinian resistance has suffered many forms of betrayal, both from internal sources and from other Arab countries, yet still managed to develop and strengthen over the years. In response, Israel has moved to normalize relations with the Arab world, in an effort to both bolster its own legitimacy and further constrain Palestinian resistance. Despite the circumstances, the Arab population remains a powerful force opposing the expansion of Zionism in the Middle East, a fact exemplified by athletes who publicly refuse to participate with Israeli competitors in any sporting, economic, or cultural events. The Oslo Accords failed to crush a new generation of Palestinian resistance fighters, with the Lions’ Den, the Palestinian resistance group in Jenin, serving as concrete evidence of the ineffectiveness of Israeli methods of coercion. —Ali Abu Saleek (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)
