Another Black Day in Arab History: No Arab Support for Great March of Return!

Rasa - At a time when Israel continues to kill and maim Palestinian protesters along the Gaza border, for some Arab regimes it’s still business as usual with Tel Aviv.

News ID: 437296

Date: 22 April 2018 - 23:24

RNA - Palestinians in Gaza held another mass demonstration against Israeli occupation for the fourth week in a row as part of the Great March of Return. Many protesters have since Thursday been staying in camps and sit-in tents near the fence separating the besieged Gaza Strip from the Israeli-occupied territories. Tens of thousands of Gazans attended the mass rally, which reached its peak after Friday prayers.

Organizers say they have this week moved the tents 50 meters closer towards the fence “as a message of persistence from our people to the world that we are moving forwards towards our rightful goals.” Now the question is how come Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are not voicing any support for the Great March of Return? It’s obvious:

It is almost five decades since Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem al-Quds and the Syrian Golan Heights, thus extending the process of ethnically cleansing the indigenous population and installing settlers. All this is illegal under International Law, which has been flouted by Israel and aided by the complicity of some Western governments, and the media, portraying Israel as an innocent victim, exempt from any norms of behavior.

Under the circumstances, regional countries are more than ever compelled to hold Israel accountable. They have a responsibility to do so, especially through the civil society campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). Countries such as Jordan and Egypt, which share borders with Palestine, have greater responsibilities too.

Sadly enough, far from it: Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt have called on the resistance group of Hamas to end the annual weekly protests Palestinians are holding for the Great March of Return. And if that's not enough to prove some Arab regimes like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have normalized ties with Israel, it suffices to state that Cairo and Tel Aviv have also agreed to double textile exports to the United States to $2 billion within three years. Jordan and Israel have likewise signed a deal to build a pipeline to link the Red Sea with the Dead Sea. Don’t believe that the water would be desalinated and shared with the Palestinians.

Those behind the boycott Israel campaign describe the new developments and business deals as disgraceful for the international community. It is evident that the US sponsorship of the negotiations/deals represents a direct cover for liquidating the Palestinian cause, displacing the remaining Palestinians under the so-called Jewish state, and handing over Jerusalem Al-Quds “as the eternal capital of Israel.”

Without question, the main purpose of the US-sponsored deals or the decision to move its embassy to Al-Quds is not to promote peace in the Middle East. It is designed to prolong the occupation amid lecturing the Arabs about the alleged dangers of Iran. It’s also a clear rebuff to International Law and campaign to boycott Israel, as it endorses the occupation and covers up the crimes of the occupation.

According to Fars News Agancy, whatever happened to the struggle against Israeli colonization, occupation and apartheid? The DBS is a rights-based strategy to be pursued until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination and complies with the requirements of International Law. Israel remains the only regime on earth that does not recognize its own nationality, as that would theoretically avail equal rights to all its citizens, including Palestinians, undermining its ethnocratic identity. The argument that BDS, a nonviolent movement anchored in universal principles of human rights, aims to destroy Israel must be understood in this context.

Within this framework, regional nations and organizations such as the Arab League should never admit Tel Aviv as a partner/member, as it will keep the Israeli war machine going, especially seeing that it has no intension of ending the oppression and suffering of the Palestinian people, much less stop shooting peaceful Palestinian protesters along the Gaza border.

They should support the international campaign to boycott Israeli goods and companies, as well as universities and academic centers that support the usurper regime culturally, scientifically and financially. They should also support the Great March of Return protests. Common sense dictates it’s not too much to ask.

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