In a February 24, 2025 article in the Qatari daily Al-Sharq, senior journalist Ahmad Ali, the former director-general of the Qatari state daily Al-Watan, describes Trump's plan for relocating the Gazans as "a colonialist plot" that poses an existential threat to the Arab nation in general and to the Palestinian cause in particular. He states that the plan looks like something from the movie The Godfather, with Trump in the role of the mafia boss Don Corleone.
Condemning the U.S. for "trying to impose colonialist facts on the region that are taken from the Middle Ages and from the days of the pirates and colonialists," Ali warns that, if the Arab regimes succumb and accept Trump's plan, the result will be total collapse. He therefore advises the Arab leaders, who are slated to convene on March 4 for the Arab League summit in Cairo, to adopt a joint position rejecting this plan out of hand. He also notes that this summit will take place during the month of Ramadan, which saw the Islamic victories in Muslim history, including the conquest of Mecca and Andalusia and the 1973 war against Israel. He therefore expresses hope that this summit will gain another such victory by taking a united stance against "the barbaric Zionist attack that is supported by America's imperialism."
At the end of the article Ali comes out against Arab League Secretary-General Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit, who recently urged Hamas to relinquish power in Gaza.[1] Ali claims that under Al-Gheit's leadership the Arab League's performance has been poor, ineffectual and out of touch with the concerns of the nation, and therefore calls on him to resign immediately.
Ahmad Ali (Image: Al-watan.com)
The following are translated excerpts from the article:[2]
The Plan For Expelling The Gazans Is A "Colonialist Plot"; Trump Is Behaving Like A Sadistic Mafia Boss
"First of all, [I think] we can agree, without sparking controversies that may lead to conflict, that our Arab nation is facing an existential threat and a fateful plight that can seriously harm its security, its borders and its rights, detract from its sovereignty and undermine its fundamental principles, chief of them the basic principles of the Palestinian cause. This cause is in danger of being eliminated, and is the target of the plot to exile the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and banish them far from their homes, to be lost in the wilderness and wander in the desert!
"In order to implement this colonialist plot, Israel – with support from Trump, assistance from the Zionist lobby, encouragement from the forces of global arrogance[3] and incitement by the U.S. administration – is trying to expel the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and to Judaize what still remains of the lands of occupied Palestine!...
"We feel like we are watching an endless scene that was deleted by the censor… from the 1972 movie The Godfather, which presents terrifying stories and heinous crimes committed by the crime gangs in America. In the Palestinian reality, President Trump plays the role of Vito Corleone, the head of the mafia gang that controlled the New York crime scene… However, the American President added to this sadistic character an aspect of global criminality when he openly and directly incited to bring Hell upon the Palestinians, [an act] that includes all the elements of global organized crime, and is penalized by international law and condemned by human norms. What grabs the attention is that, in the Trump era, the U.S… is trying to impose colonialist facts on the region that are taken from the Middle Ages and from the days of the pirates and colonialists, [facts] that violate the rights of others and are out of step with the spirit of the times and with the rule of international law."
The Arabs Must "Stop The Zionist Greed That Is Supported By Trump's Toxic Statements"
In light of these grave facts, the entire Arab nation now stands helpless at a dangerous crossroads on the brink of a deep abyss, [and must choose between two options]: either decide and act to prevent a deterioration [by] supporting the oppressed Palestinian factions and expressing solidarity [with them], so as to stop the Zionist greed that is supported by Trump's toxic statements, or else head in the direction of collapse – and history will attest that the American President forced the Arabs to carry out his plans that fly in the face of legal norms, state borders and the standards of human rights. Then the geographical borders [of the Middle East] will be redrawn to suit the Zionist movement and its old-new plan to expel the Palestinians from their homes and exile them to Egypt, Jordan or other [countries]…
"All these serious challenges and all the plans and threats that follow from them require the Arabs to take a joint stance, under the aegis of the Arab League, in order to stress that these [plans] that are currently peddled by Washington and echoed by the mouthpieces in Tel Aviv are unacceptable to the Arabs, [as well as] legally absurd, inconceivable [in terms of] sovereignty, politically unjustified and undesirable from a moral and human point of view…
"A just, sustainable and comprehensive peace will not be attained in the region until the Palestinian people is allowed to establish its independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders and apply Palestinian sovereignty to the occupied territories. In this context, as a member of the Qatari people, I reiterate my praise for Qatar's staunch historical stance that supports the steadfastness of the Palestinian people as well as the just Palestinian cause, the international resolutions and the Arab peace initiative and guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. And let us not forget [Qatar's] support for the greatest national plan in Arab history: the comprehensive [plan for] rebuilding the Gaza Strip while leaving the Palestinians in their land…"
The Arab League Summit This Ramadan Must Rally The Arabs Against The Zionists, Who Are Supported By The American Imperialism
"As part of implementing all of this, the Arab summit has been scheduled for March 4, [2025]… in order to restore the momentum of the Palestinian cause, reignite the hope of uniting the Arabs' political efforts, revive the lost Arab solidarity and jointly confront the Zionist threats that are supported by the American administration.
"One of the features of the fateful upcoming summit… may be the fact that it is convening in [the month of] Ramadan in Cairo, the Arab capital that defeated[4] all the greedy enemies. It goes without saying that most of the Arab [feats of] heroism are associated with this month of fasting [Ramadan] and that the greatest of these heroic feats was the victory over the Israeli enemy on the 10th day of Ramadan, October 6, 1973. This blatantly victorious [battle] was fought by the soldiers of the brave Egyptian army… while they were fasting and constantly repeating the words 'Allah akbar.' Thanks to this slogan they managed to destroy the Bar Lev Line, which was described at the time as the largest and strongest Israeli defense line in modern history…
"The biggest Islamic victories took place during this great month [of Ramadan], from the Battle of Badr,[5] which was the most decisive battle in Muslim history, through the conquest of Mecca[6] to the conquest of Andalusia,[7] in addition to other decisive battles, chief of them the battles of Hattin,[8] Ain Jalut,[9] Amorium,[10] Al-Zallaqa,[11] and others. This proves that, in the month of Ramadan, the spirit of victory busts forth and an existential threat gives birth to pride, and I hope that this will also happen during the fateful Arab summit that will convene in the capital of Egypt. This summit will take place on one of the nights of Ramadan in the [Egyptian] capital of Cairo, which over its history defeated many challenges and thwarted many threats and Zionist plots. [It will take place] under a single title: thwarting the Zionist plots that aim to undermine the Palestinian cause, and forming a solid Arab front that will come out against the Zionist enterprise and act to rebuild the Gaza Strip without expelling its residents… The Egyptian rooster will stand atop Cairo Tower and call upon our Arab nation to awake from its deep coma, defend its noble history and unite against the barbaric Zionist attack that is supported by the American imperialism…"
Arab League Secretary-General Abu Al-Gheit, Who Called On Hamas To Relinquish Power, Must Resign; His Performance Is Poor
"It was there in Cairo, which will host the Arab summit, that Arab League Secretary-General [Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit] eagerly addressed Hamas and fervently asked it to relinquish power in Gaza. This Palestinian movement, which leads the resistance against the Zionist occupation, does not need Abu Al-Gheit's call to prove that it would not cling to power if this did not serve the interest of the Palestinian people and its just cause at this fateful stage. Therefore, Abu Al-Gheit must… prove that his political position stems from inner conviction and not from external dictates! This will only happen if he first of all sacrifices himself and gives up his senior post [as the head of the Arab League] secretariat, which during his term is experiencing unprecedented weakness and degradation and is out of touch with reality. It suffices [to mention] that the secretary-general did not bother to visit the Gaza Strip and did not [even] initiate a visit to the Egyptian [town of] Al-Arish, on the border of the Palestinian [Gaza] Strip, in order to check on the wounded Palestinians receiving treatment in its hospitals.[12] He didn't even think to stand on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, far from the gate [on the Gaza] side, and take a selfie while waving a Palestinian flag in his right hand, or the flag of the Arab League, or the flag of Nicaragua, which hurried to sever its diplomatic ties with Israe in solidarity with the Palestinians and to protest the ongoing Israeli aggression and the barbaric genocide that the fascist Zionist government is perpetrating against the Palestinians! He could have come there with a cup of tea and a piece of basbousa [cake] in his hand, or a loaf of bread, as a token of his solidarity with the Gazan children and their families, his objection to their starvation, his support for them and his efforts to alleviate their hunger… But Abu Al-Gheit sufficed with sending his deputy Hossam Zaki to visit the [Rafah] crossing in mid-[February 2025], more than a year after the launching of the first Israeli missile against Gaza!
"This highlights the helplessness and neglectfulness of the [Arab League] secretariat in its handling of the Palestinian tragedy, due to its poor management and ineffectiveness, which do not match the magnitude of the Palestinian people's suffering. Perhaps Abu Al-Gheit does not know that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres came especially from New York to show solidarity with the Palestinians. He made a solidarity visit to Rafah last March… [during which] he addressed the people of the [Gaza] Strip and said 'you are not alone.'
"All these positions prove that, under Abu Al-Gheit, the Arab League secretariat is in a tragic state of weak management and arrogance and is out of touch with the concerns of the nation. This requires Abu Al-Gheit to immediately resign and quit his senior post."
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11834 - Senior Saudi Journalist Supports Statement Of Arab League Secretary-General That Hamas Must Relinquish Power: It Is A Rational Alternative To Trump’s Plan; The Palestinian Interest Demands It – February 12, 2025.
[2] Al-Sharq (Qatar), February 24, 2025.
[3] "Global arrogance" is a term frequently used in the rhetoric of the Iranian regime to describe the West and the U.S. leadership.
[4] The author uses the verb qahara ('to conquer, vanquish'), a play of words on the name Kahira (Cairo).
[5] A battle that took place during Ramadan in the second year after the Hijra (624 CE), in which the Prophet Muhammad's forces defeated a much larger force of Meccan polytheists.
[6] According to Muslim sources Muhammad's conquest of Mecca took place during Ramadan in the eighth year after the Hijra (December 629 CE – January 630 CE).
[7] According to some sources, the conquest of Andalusia began with a raid on the town of Tarifa on the Spanish coast by a Muslim force under the leadership of the Berber commander Tarif bin Malik, during Ramadan in year 91 AH (710 CE).
[8] A battle between the Crusaders and the Muslim forces of Saladin Al-'Ayyubi that took place during Ramadan in 583 AH (1187 CE). The battle ended in the defeat of the Crusaders and set off the swift Muslim conquest of the entire Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
[9] This battle was fought between the Mamluks of Egypt and the Mongol Empire during Ramadan in 658 AH (1260 CE), in the southeastern Galilee, and ended with a resounding Mamluk victory.
[10] A Muslim victory over the Byzantines in which the Muslim army, led by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mu'tasim, sacked the city of Amorium in Asia Minor during Ramadan in 223 AH (838 CE).
[11] The battle of Al-Zallaqa (also known as the Battle of Sagrajas), in which the Muslims in Spain triumphed over the forces of Castile, took place at Sagrajas near the current border of Portugal in 1086 CE.
[12] Here the writer hints at the visit made to Al-Arish and Egyptian Rafah in November 2023 by a Qatari delegation headed by Lolwah Al-Khater, then Qatar's Minister of State for International Cooperation and now Minister of Education. During the visit the minister visited Gazans in Al-Arish General Hospital (Thepeninsulaqatar.com, November 27, 2023).
