THE Arab and Islamic Summit in Doha, Qatar has concluded. His Highness the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani delivered a speech during the summit. He explained the position clearly and revealed the details of the Israeli aggression against his country. HH the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s regarding what could be done in response to the lies and pretexts of Tel Aviv.
Several stances were discussed regarding the mechanisms for responding and preserving the collective Arab security. However, these discussions did not specify the steps to activate such mechanisms. It is clear that Arab leaders are committed to peace as the best solution for Arabs and Muslims, and that it is the primary option.
Nevertheless, honest talk is required on this matter. How can the slogan be transformed into action? What comes next? For eight decades, the Arabs have not changed their strategy in approaching the Palestinian issue. They have become accustomed to responding to defeats by raising more slogans, which have alienated the world, especially in their adherence to war and the liberation of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. The Arabs have not realized that the results of World War II established an inescapable reality -- Israel’s existence is a must for European and Western countries. These countries and their peoples will not accept the return of the Jews to Europe.
On the other hand, the Arabs, as I mentioned earlier, do not have the power to impose their conditions. The Arabs did not learn from what Prophet Mohammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) did when he concluded a 10-year peace treaty with the Jews and polytheists despite his knowledge of the incitement and conspiracy of the Jews in Khaybar against the Muslims. Nonetheless, prophetic wisdom saw what the Companions did not see. The Jews broke their covenant with the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him), and the situation turned against them. Without a fight, they agreed to leave and never return to Madinah.
This important lesson on concluding the peace treaty had positive results for the Muslims, as it helped strengthen their power. The Arabs did not realize the truth behind Levi Eshkol’s statement at the height of his euphoria after the 1967 War. He said, “We must keep the Arabs under fire. Every 10 years, we must occupy a new territory so that they forget the land previously taken from them and demand what they lost recently. This is the best option for maintaining Israel’s superiority and imposing its terms on the Arabs, as long as they respond with slogans.”
The Arabs continued to escalate their fervent slogans, while failing to establish their own power. This led to the situation we see today: Israeli attacks on some countries and the systematic genocide being perpetrated by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Israel does not care about international conventions or United Nations resolutions, because first, it is supported by the major powers and Europe, and second, it uses Arab slogans to incite the hostility of European and Western governments against the Arabs. What benefit will the Arabs gain if they continue to raise slogans without seeking peace, even temporarily, until they can build their own strength?
The Arabs are in urgent need of changing the world’s perception of them as the ones intent on annihilating the Jewish race. The world has not yet forgotten the actions of Hitler during World War II. The Arabs fought four wars with Israel and were defeated in all of them. Even the October 1973 War could have been a defeat had it not been for the far-sighted vision of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Sadat said that 99 percent of the cards were in Washington’s hands. He emphasized that the Arabs could not defeat Israel, because the United States would not abandon it.
That is why Sadat signed the peace treaty with Israel. I repeat the same questions: What can we do beyond denunciation, condemnation and denunciation? What are the winning cards in the hands of Arabs? Is not peace better for them at this stage? Is it not better to seek peace, far from the futility of Hamas, and the futility of those who boast and exploit the Palestinian cause, who are accustomed to wage war from five-star hotels rather than the real battlefield?
