There was a period when Arab countries fought against Israel for its occupation of Palestinian lands (1948, 1956, 1967, 1973). They left the world in doubt in 1973 Oil blockade dealt a heavy blow to the global economy It caused unemployment and recession in retaliation for countries supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
None of this will happen in 2023, despite Gaza suffering its worst massacre at the hands of Israel in more than half a century, or the West Bank and East Jerusalem (the other two parts of the Palestinian “puzzle”). ) causing daily murders, open arrests, and attacks by Israeli settlers at an unprecedented rate. At least 11,000 Palestinians lost their lives Just five weeks after Israel retaliated against Gaza for Hamas attacks, which led to the deaths of 1,400 Israelis. However, the Arab and Islamic world keeps its reaction limited to rhetoric.
Countries Arab League And Islamic cooperation organization They met on an emergency basis in Riyadh this Saturday, at the call of Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salmán, to discuss the Palestinian crisis. The final result was a statement in which they called for an end to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which they described as a massacre. They are asking the International Criminal Court to take action against Israel for “war crimes” and “against humanity”. However, they did not accept any diplomatic or economic retaliation, as some countries there demanded. Did they abandon Gaza?
“Palestinians have known for a long time that they are alone. That is why some entrust themselves to those who promise to liberate them in the name of God,” he explains to this newspaper. Haizam Amirah-Fernández, researcher at the Elcano Royal Institute. “But there was something striking and important about Saturday’s summit: the call for a joint meeting and the participation of senior leaders of all countries, especially Iran and Saudi Arabia. In other wars, the issue was resolved by a meeting of foreign ministers.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who organized the meeting, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi. This would have been unthinkable a few months ago because both are regional rivals. Gaza facilitated the greatest rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in decades.
The President of Türkiye was also there Tayyip Erdoganthe only NATO country among those present; Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thanipresident of syria beshar Esad or the Palestinian himself, Mahmoud Abbas…. There were representatives from Algeria, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar… It was a large meeting attended by the heads of State or Government of 22 countries of the Arab League and the remaining 57 Muslim but non-Arab countries. Like Indonesia or Central Asian or Sub-Saharan African countries.
Positions of Arab countries on Gaza
The mix was difficult to manage, and positions regarding possible retaliation against Israel differed greatly depending on proximity to the West (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Emirates) or its opposition (Iran), including Algeria or Morocco. , try to resolve the contradictions of a strongly pro-Palestinian population with less belligerent governments.
“Finally, everything was expressed in harsh words against Miguel Hernández, professor of Arab and Islamic Studies at UCLM, explains: “The barbarism practiced by Israel in Gaza.” “Organizing the summit shows that beyond solidarity with Gaza, there is a rift between these countries.”
The professor points to the first group of Arab or Islamic states that have demanded to go further, such as Iran, Algeria or Lebanon, which at a previous meeting had proposed economic sanctions, the use of oil as a form of pressure or economic sanctions. Algerian president himself Abdelmadjid Tebboune, A genocide lawsuit was filed against Israel in the Hague court.
There is a second group that seeks to avoid retaliatory actions against Israel because they have normalized diplomatic relations with the US ally or plan to have such a relationship.
There is Egypt, which was the first to establish ties with Israel after the Arab-Israeli wars of the last century and is located on the border with Gaza. Minister, Abdelfata Al SisiHe came to power after forcibly overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group affiliated with Hamas. Al-Sisi is in favor of weakening Hamas.
Arab countries, which have recently normalized their relations with the Jewish State, also have moderate reactions towards Israel. Especially, Abraham Accords Normalization with Israel: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Saudi Arabia was going to follow this path, but Hamas’ attacks on October 7 and Israel’s reprisals forced it to freeze the plan. Countries were also shown
The Moroccan example is paradigmatic. He gained significant benefits from his rapprochement with the Jewish State. The most obvious is Israel’s “recognition” of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. He does not want to sever relations, but the streets of Morocco are very inclined towards the Palestinian cause. Rabat’s strategy was to allow unprecedented: Massive street demonstrations in support of Gaza. As for the rest, Professor Larramendi recalls, King Mohammed VI kept a low profile on the Palestinian issue, which did not feature in his three annual speeches. The Palace’s silence is particularly striking because the Alawite king is also the chairman of the Jerusalem Committee, which is responsible for the protection of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. When the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, breaks out, “there is no intention to freeze relations with Israel, either diplomatically, militarily or in the security field, as there was in 2000,” he concludes.
The country with the most maximalist attitude towards the Palestinian issue is Iran. Calling on Islamic countries to impose oil and trade sanctions, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said, “There is no option but to resist Israel.”
Harsh language against Israel
Even if they do not take concrete steps, the sentiment on the Arab streets is forcing the ruling elites of these countries to raise the tone of their rhetoric against Israel.
“We categorically reject it” barbaric war against our brothers Palestine,” said Saudi Mohammed bin Salman. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, “We are facing a war that amounts to genocide and we call on the United States to put an end to this Israeli aggression,” and called on the UN Security Council to “assume its responsibilities and stop responding immediately to these brutal attacks.” Israeli aggression against Gaza and the rest of Palestine. Iranian Ibrahim Raisi said, “We kiss the hands of Hamas for its resistance against Israel.”
Abdel Fatta al-Sisi was the most moderate, and although he condemned what was happening in Gaza as “collective punishment”, he limited himself to asking for an unconditional ceasefire. Qatar’s Tamim bin Hamad al Zani accused the world of allowing Israel to act as if it were above the laws of International Law: “How can the world remain silent when we are attacking hospitals?” he complained.
“I think we are not aware of the emotional breakdown in the Arab world following the reaction of Western countries to Israel’s attack on Gaza,” says Amirah Fernández. “And not just from people who initially felt a natural hostility towards the West, but also from Percentage of people who believe they have a role to contribute to the region”. For example, Washington’s ally but its president is King Jordan II of Jordan. Jordan gives the harshest speeches against Israel for Abdullah and Queen Rania’s occupation of Gaza.