The Arab-Israeli Axis

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

sattarkassem@hotmail.com

The formation of the Arab-Israeli axis must be counted among the most important — if not the most important — consequences of Hezbollah’s victory. Most Arab regimes were never serious in their outward hostility to Israel, and any Arab aware of international relations and of the strategies for prolonging one’s grip on power knew that many Arab regimes could not possibly be genuinely hostile to Israel. This truth is no longer hidden, after years have passed with Palestinians groaning under the weight of displacement, killing, torture, and unrelenting daily humiliations, while Arab governments possess nothing but condemnation and a scramble to the United Nations. And if those governments growl and grow angry, the most they send the Palestinians is some flour, chickpeas, fava beans, tins of sardines, and aspirin.

Only the foolish and the naive imagined that Arab governments would one day stand with Arab causes — the same fools who remember these governments at every crisis the nation passes through, and cry out for help, only to receive no answer. The nation has passed through many ordeals and crises, and many of its parts have been subjected to invasion and occupation, yet no emotions were stirred, no resolve was sharpened, and the Arab citizen never saw chivalry or zeal from Arab governments and their presidents. Was this continuous Arab abdication not enough to convince the Arab that Arab governments stand on the other side of the equation, and are not truly with the nation?

The equation is as follows: the overwhelming majority of Arab presidents and kings occupy their positions because of the will, the desire, and the interests of colonialism. The Saudi family was installed over Najd, and then over parts of the Peninsula, by Britain, as was the Hashemite family in both Jordan and Iraq — though it was later overthrown in Iraq. As for the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, they received fiefdoms from Britain, and so we ended up with the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was originally an unemployed man whom America installed as president over Yemen. President Hosni Mubarak would never have stood on his own feet and endured were it not for American support, and he always remained under America’s thumb, always committed to appointing the keys of Egyptian policy according to the American will. Qaddafi lifted his legs too late, after squandering and wasting the money of the Libyan people without the slightest restraint or feeling. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was essentially an American employee, deeply hostile to Islam and Muslims, and there is doubt about his genuine Tunisian Arab origin. As for Bouteflika, he embodies the revolutionary who turns into an agent of foreigners, and how wretched is leadership by such men who have turned against themselves. The ruling family in Morocco is a creation of French colonialism, and to this day it holds the Arabic language in contempt, preferring to remain in the French-American embrace, which is not always seamless. In Mauritania, one Mossad agent stepped down only for another agent to take his place.

…they cannot possibly adopt policies hostile to Israel, and they must always tame their own peoples and the Palestinian people so that they accept Israel, normalize with it, love it, and serve its policies in the region and the world. We know that Israeli intelligence and the Israeli army have rendered many services to a number of Arab regimes in defense of their security and the continuation of their rule.

Only a fool would entertain, even as a mere fantasy, the idea that these leaders and these governments will one day stand with the Arab nation, or with Islam and Muslims. Whoever thinks so reads no history and analyzes no events, and forever chases after wishes that will never come true.

Things were quiet for Arab leaders in the days of defeat, but now matters have changed because of Hezbollah’s victory. This is a victory that heralds radical transformations across the Arab and Islamic arena, and it points to an Iranian-Syrian-partly Lebanese-partly Palestinian alliance. The matter is now very serious: if Israel proved unable to dismantle Hezbollah and strip it of its weapons, then who can? This is a party that will gain more strength, that will become a model for Arabs, and Mr. Hassan Nasrallah will become a leader of the nation. And if the party is this strong, what then of the Syrian army? What then of the Iranian army? The region is now witnessing a transformation that terrifies Arab leaders: that an Arab victory has actually been achieved. And victory may drag further victories in its wake, and may drag social, economic, and moral transformations along with it. What a calamity!

America is on high alert now, after having imagined that the “New Middle East” would see the light of day, and Israel is on high alert because of the security pressure that threatens it in the days to come. As for many Arabs, they appear terrified, having lost their bearings on where to hide. Here I single out, in particular, the Lebanese and Palestinians allied with Israel and America — men like Geagea, Siniora, Jumblatt, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization. I also single out the Saudi family on the Arabian Peninsula, the Hashemite family in Jordan, and the ruling class in Egypt.

The alliance of these forces with Israel has existed for years, but matters can no longer bear secrecy, and continuous coordination between them and Israel has become a necessity. Saudi leaders visit Israel, Jordanian leaders never once stopped cooperating with Israel, and Egyptian leaders have now remembered that there is nuclear energy they want to benefit from for power generation. And the matter is not confined to Hezbollah alone, but extends to Syria and Iran. Syria must be struck to topple the regime and replace it with one loyal to America and Israel, and measures must be taken to strike the rising Iranian power. Yesterday, Arab leaders groveled at the feet of the Shah of Iran, who was America’s policeman in the Gulf, but the moment the revolution triumphed in Iran, their necks stiffened in defiance; now it seems their very flesh trembles as they watch successive generations of Iranian weapons being tested.

These Arabs are jealous of their positions, their appetites, and their interests, and they are allies of whoever keeps them in power. Israel and America are against the nation but with the rulers; Hezbollah is with the nation, and therefore does not serve the rulers. This, in simple terms, is the equation.

No Arab should be surprised by an Arab-Israeli axis gradually emerging into the open. But the more important question is: what are we to do? Every honorable Arab must mobilize their energies and come together to defeat this Arab-Israeli axis, backed by the states of the West, foremost among them the United States. What is needed is an organization as vast as the Arab homeland itself, one that rebels against the Arab regimes and their laws, so that we — the public — may have a role in defending this nation’s future, in confronting its internal enemies first, and its external enemies second.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “المحور العربي-الإسرائيلي” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.