A June 5, 2011 op-ed in the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour marking the 44th "Naksa Day," the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1967 war, claimed that four decades later, it was clearer than ever that the struggle with Israel was existential in nature rather than territorial. The article called on the Arabs to join forces and stand up to the genocidal Zionist enterprise which posed a threat to the entire Arab ummah.
Following are excerpts of the article:[1]
"On the 44th anniversary of the oppressive Zionist aggression against the [Arab] ummah on June 5, 1967, the repercussions of this tragedy are still clearly evident in the Arab world, in the form of the occupation of all of Palestine, from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, [in the occupation] of the Golan and the Shab'a Farms, and in the fact that Sinai remains a demilitarized zone in accordance with the Camp David Accords.
"Looking over the reasons that led to the tragedy of June [1967], one finds that [the same reasons] still exist. The Arab states, from the ocean to the Gulf, have not learned the lessons of the Naksa, and have not taken the measures or [invested in] the tools which can [move] them from the chessboard square of failure to the chessboard square of victory. Indeed, the hidden disputes among some of the [Arab] countries remain as they were [then]. What is more, they have multiplied, and the policy of hostility and alienation is worse now than it was in the past. The [state of] helplessness [the Arab countries] have reached over the past four decades is proof of the same.
"On the other hand, the Zionist enemy still adheres to the Zionist strategy based on occupation, settlements, and [human] transfer, and refuses to obey legitimate international resolutions and to withdraw from the occupied Arab lands. And this is despite the fact that the Arab [states] and the Palestinian Authority have committed themselves to the conditions for peace...
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"The [Arab] ummah, throughout its long and glorious history, has proven its ability to achieve victory and expel the invaders and occupiers from Arab soil. [It has also proven] that its abilities and great resources, its geographical location, and its glorious history can all restore it to the forefront of events, taking it from a [solely] reactive stance to one of action and initiative...
"The events of history, both ancient and recent, have proven that the Arab ummah has no other path to ensure its survival, to repel the Zionist aggression, and to liberate the land, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa Mosque but [the path of] unity, the unification of fronts, the use of force, the utilization of the ummah's resources toward [resolving] its issues, the strengthening of democracy, and respect for human rights. It has already been proven that dictatorship, oppression, and corruption are incapable of state-building or of repelling aggression. They have been and will remain instruments of destruction rather than of construction, and the main cause of the long series of defeats suffered by the ummah.
"Arab Jordan, under its illustrious Hashemite leadership, has worked toward building Arab solidarity and [resolving] inter-Arab disputes as the only path by which to unite fronts and [solidify] a unified and effective stance that can stand up to the Zionist genocidal enterprise, which poses a threat to the entire ummah. Jordan has invested all its diplomatic and material capabilities in supporting its brother Palestinian people and that people's just struggle to realize its national and historical rights, its right to establish an independent state on its national land with holy Jerusalem as its capital, and [the right of] return for refugees.
"On the 44th anniversary of the Zionist aggression against the ummah on June 5, 1967, the eternal facts are verified: The struggle with this enemy is an existential struggle rather than a territorial one, and it requires the ummah to adopt all means and measures that will lead to victory and repel the Zionist invaders...
"After four decades, it has been proven that the entire ummah has no enemy other than the Zionist enemy that insists on banishing the Palestinian people from its homeland, despoiling [its] holy places, and Judaizing Jerusalem."
Endnote:
[1] Al-Dustour (Jordan), June 5, 2011.
