In an August 4, 2024 column in the Saudi daily 'Okaz, journalist Hamoud Abu Taleb harshly criticized Iran's interference in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He explained that, until the outbreak of the war in Gaza, the Arab world had been working to promote a peace process in the region, but since the outbreak of the war it has been busy trying to extinguish the fires started by the Iran-backed Hamas militia and to prevent a great disaster. According to Abu Talib, ever since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has been using the slogan of liberating Jerusalem in the service of its own agenda in order to take control of aggressive militias in the Arab countries. As a result, a conflict which used to be a direct one between Israel and Arab countries has become an indirect conflict between Israel and the non-Arab Iran, but the victims of the conflict are still Arabs and not Iranians. The article concludes by stating that, while Israel is an aggressive and occupying country, and it is not easy to reach a political arrangement with it regarding the Palestinian issue, Iran is a foreign object in the Arab body which causes it great damage. Therefore, Iran must cease its involvement in Arab matters and focus on its own affairs.
Hamoud Abu-Talib (Source: X.com/hamoodabutalib)
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"Today, the number one issue in our region is not the quest for peace, but rather the question of how to prevent the possible rush towards a very great disaster. There used to be hope for peace, for the two-state solution and for an end to the chronic Israeli-Palestinian-Arab conflict, thanks to the intensive efforts made by Arab countries with influence in the international community, which led to greater understanding of the need for a just and sustainable peace. However, the war that broke out in Gaza took [us] off course, and the search for a comprehensive and root-cause solution became a search for ways to douse the flames that Hamas ignited in Gaza, which in turn ignited the highest level of Israeli violence and barbarism.
"A foolish spark [lit] by the decision of a militia led to a war that is devastating for Gaza and its residents. Then [this war] started to deteriorate into a regional crisis, which portends dangerous confrontations, especially following Israel's recent assassinations of senior officials in Hamas and Hizbullah, culminating in the elimination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. [This incident] provoked threats of a clash between Iran and Israel, and no one knows how these [threats] will be realized this time, but it is clear that they will make the arena more dangerous.
"In the past, there was a conflict between Israel and Arab countries. But after its [Islamic] Revolution, Iran started to exploit the slogan of 'liberating Jerusalem' in order to take control of organizations in Arab countries, and the conflict became an indirect one between Israel and Iran, [which is acting] by means of its militias…"
"When the Iranian leadership meets with representatives of the organizations and militias it nurtures in Arab countries to [determine] the appropriate response to the assassination of Haniyeh, and when Israel mobilizes most of its military and security capabilities to contend with what Iran is likely to do, the Israeli-Arab conflict, the main reason for which is the Palestinian issue, becomes a regional conflict between Israel and Iran, which has no border with Israel, and whose people do not suffer from the Israeli aggression. [However], Iran causes damage to Arab countries and peoples by means of its proxies in the region who exploit the Palestinian issue as a pretext for their aggression. This crisis between Israel and a non-Arab side [plays out on] Arab land, and with Arabs as the cannon fodder, [and it is] likely to lead to even more dangerous crises that will dissolve both Palestine and the Palestinian issue.
"Israel is an occupying state that is extreme in its aggressive acts, and it is not easy to reach a just solution with it regarding the Palestinian issue. However, Iran's interference as a direct side in this issue does not only complicate the situation further, but also makes it more dangerous. This level of danger will only decrease when Iran returns to dealing solely with its own internal affairs and removes its proxies from Arab [countries]. Iran must realize that it is a foreign object in the Arab body that has caused it great damage, and that it must remove itself [from the Arab world]."
[1] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), August 4, 2024.
.jpg)
