Riyadh will host an emergency Arab League summit tomorrow to discuss Israel’s war on Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian crisis
Throughout ancient and modern Arab history, there has never been a time that has witnessed the kind of atrocities that are being committed today by an enemy who displays no sense of morality, humanity or mercy.
We witness nothing but the looting and plundering on an industrial scale of anything and everything that is dear to the Palestinians, including their properties and even their very souls.
The devastation of their ritual places continues with unabated deprivation of the very elements that sustain life … water, food, housing, electricity and security.
A brutal enemy supported by Western countries whom we had considered as friends currently confronts us. These countries have used the subject of ‘human rights’ to accuse and blackmail the people and governments of the developing world.
You should understand that history will document that you have already met together to find solutions for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions and to put an end to the massacres which are being committed against our people in Gaza.
It must also be noted that many Arab foreign ministers held a long discussion with the US Foreign Secretary without any fruitful result.
Your people are fully aware that you have been honest, committed and dedicated … but they will also wonder now what will be the result of this gathering.
They appreciate that there can be no military answer on the part of the Arabs but they are also fully aware that Israel believes only in war and the kind of action that will impose tyranny as the de facto solution.
Then, what is the alternative in such circumstances?
Will the Arabs be willing and able to boycott the West, perhaps economically? Will the Arabs be able to find alternative partners to ensure the continued smooth operation of their own economies?
The economical compass shows that the world is travelling towards the East and, indeed towards China, a country in which growth and productivity has outflanked the entire West, offering new opportunities for the Arab world.
The worst-case scenario would be for the Arabs to accept that the ‘Palestinian Cause’ is no longer a top priority for their nations’ political future.
Palestine should never be reduced to a tale of misery and suffering with lots of tears shed over the loss of its heroic children.
Palestine should never be a chapter closed and forgotten.
We ought to bear in mind that confrontation with Israel is not what we want but it may be our destiny because its greed appears to be not only limited to the land of the Palestinians, as sooner or later the Israel threat will be felt by many other Arab countries.
In fact Israel’s military supremacy has already opened the appetite for another regional power that has a complete grip over Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
We should never accept to close the story with a sad ending that sees the Palestinian homelands obliterated and its owners expelled with their very identity erased, all for the sake of Israel’s futile greed.
Despite the attempts over the past years to weaken Arab resolve, I am fully confident that this indestructible body of people remains endowed with the resources and potential that will enable it to impose its will on an unjust Western community driven by self-interest.
When you meet at this urgent Arab Summit, put in your minds one single goal. Don’t get distracted by disagreements which in the past have harmed Arab interests.
The primary goal of this summit must be the restoration of Arab dignity that has been diminished in the global arenas, together with compelling the United States of America and the West to realise the huge losses they may face as consequences of the continued fanatical support of Israel against the Palestinians.
I do not request you to do what is beyond your powers or to revive outdated statements.
I only call upon you to unify your words and ranks for the sake of establishing an independent Palestinian state.
I hope this summit will not conclude with only a global appeal to send bundles of humanitarian aid – most of which, ironically, will be blown-up by renewed brutal Israeli bombing after a fragile US proposal for a humanitarian pause of just a few hours to the hostilities.
I fully realise that the world’s understanding of peace and humanity appears to have dramatically changed.
The Western countries claim that they are our partners. Let your message be strong enough to shake this unjust world, detaching it from Israel’s almost ecstatic killing and slaughter that has resulted in thousands of dead bodies of innocent Palestinian children and their parents.
Your forthcoming meeting is a peaceful gathering that calls for the avoidance of all military action. You, especially in the GCC countries, own a strategic weapon – your economies.
No nation can ignore your vast economic presence that must be used to great effect in the present political environment.
Will your urgent summit produce a plan for a resolution that will restore the strength of the ‘Arab nation’ and repudiate the allegation that the Arabs are just a voice that fades into the traceless volume of the atmosphere?
We reiterate once again - we should unify our ranks, opinions, stances and solutions that you will present to the entire world from the East to the West, to ensure that the ‘Palestinian Cause’ does not lose the unprecedented support it is currently getting from the ordinary people of the world.
We all know that Palestine has inflicted a major defeat on Israel when it comes to global sentiment and that is not just my opinion but true when you look across the millions marching in all the major cities around the world where sympathy abounds for the plight of the Palestinians.
One last word. This urgent summit must ensure that the Arabs contribute to the delineation of future boundaries and do not leave it to those who hold a brush that has been soaked in our blood.
We must deter whoever has plans to draw up new maps of the region that could affect our lives, only serve their own interests, and make sure that we remain in the frame.
Finally, I hope the decision-makers who are capable of putting forward solutions to end this catastrophe will not be absent from this meeting or unwilling to voice their opinions.
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