|
Trending Topics
|
Arab Countries' National Concerns Trump the Palestinian Cause
(Asharq Al-Awsat-UK) Hazem Saghieh - The Palestinian cause no longer intersects with Arab countries' national concerns. It no longer carries the promise of liberation for anyone. It no longer holds an economic promise for a better life. The calls for infinite resistance and endless confrontation have lost all their appeal in the Arab world and, in all likelihood, among the Palestinians themselves. The Palestinian cause no longer speaks to states and peoples' interests or fears; indeed, it sometimes feeds those fears. Let us think for a second about movements like Hamas or the Islamic Jihad that ally with Iran, which a significant segment of Arab societies is fearful of. At the very least, it has become possible to say that what goes on between Israel and the Palestinians has barely an impact on the rest of the Arab world. The writer, a Lebanese political analyst, is the political editor of the London-based al-Hayat.