Israel Blames Egypt for Deprivation Faced by Gaza Citizens
Israel has pointed fingers at Egypt for the deprivation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In front of the International Court of Justice, the Israeli attorney stated that Egypt, by closing the Rafah border crossing which is under its sovereignty, has prevented aid from reaching Gaza. Israel, by making such accusations, lashes out at those who have been engrossed in peace talks with it from the very beginning.
Such stance isn’t surprising, nor is it unique. History is replete with instances where the more powerful consistently blames and chastises the subordinate for any shortcomings, taking responsibility for their transgressions because they have been stripped of their humanity before entering the palaces of the powerful.
Israel treats us Arabs as subordinate, deriving its dominance from the greater master sheltered in the White House, who we fear more than our creator. In their view, our place is that of servants and followers to be whipped for any failure. I assert that in their eyes, each of our entities is merely a nail hammered into the facade to hang the possessions of their palace masters.
What, then, is the goal the West and Israel aim to achieve through normalization campaigns? Moroccan philosopher Dr. Taha Abdul Rahman, in his monumental book “Thaghoor Al-Murabita,” answered this question by stating they want those who respond to normalization to abandon their morals, essence, and identity, to become puppets controlled by their masters.
I acknowledge that this is self-flagellation, but alas, it is deserved and painful. For those who accept indignity instead of dignity find it easier to be degraded and disrespected. Menachem Begin, the former Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, once stood by the Pyramids during a visit to Cairo and claimed, “Our Jewish ancestors built these pyramids!” A blatant lie and an audacious distortion of history, which Anwar Sadat met only with his characteristic broad smile, knowing that the pyramids were built by Egyptians long before the Jews arrived.
Israel treats any Arab who reaches out, whether through peace or reluctance, with disdain, implying “You are nothing, incapable of building or achieving anything; everything you have is from us and for us.”
Israel and its Western allies strive by all means to normalize Israel as a natural part of the region, to be loved by Arabs and to claim their love, only to discard them at any moment of discord, as their attorney did in The Hague. It’s the love of the humiliated and debased for the lord with the whip and scepter.
If someone says today that Israel fears for its future and thus seeks normalization with Arabs, they would be selling illusions. When have Arabs made Israel fear them, save for the recent Al-Aqsa Intifada? Today, Israel fears the likes of the Al-Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades, assured that the decorated elites whom they’ve defeated multiple times will not act.
It is astonishing that no official Egyptian response was issued to counter the Israeli attorney, even with mere words, which we have long been accustomed to hearing. If Egypt had acted, it could have restored some stature in the world’s eyes and perhaps would have made Israel think twice before wanting to invade the Philadelphia Corridor to tighten the noose on the resistance in Gaza.
More painfully, the entire Arab regime agreed to let South Africa lodge the complaint before the International Court of Justice without the participation of any Arab country. Perhaps it was for the best since historically, they have always been the architects of failure, not success.
Our greatest problem with the Arab regime is pervading impotence in everything, all the time. As this regime clings eternally to power, its impotence extends to the populace, prolonging their slumber. Those who wake up or attempt to are lashed back into nightmares of despotism, made to fear and submit, vanishing from the scene, leaving their homelands prey to the rapacious.
The impotent regime is oblivious to the world around and learns nothing from history. Winston Churchill, the former Prime Minister of Britain and a notorious racist towards the Palestinian cause, said, “If you want to look into the future, study history carefully.”
If our Arab regime glanced only a few years back and reviewed its recent history, it would see that developments in the Red Sea, a result of the Western-Israeli war on Gaza, portend graver consequences than strikes on Yemen governed by “Ansar Allah” Houthis. If they retaliate to the American-British raids as they’ve threatened and if tensions escalate, closing the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, the West might use this as a pretext for military action beyond carrier-launched air raids.
What prevents Americans from landing on southern Yemeni shores, as the British did in 1839, remaining for 128 years? The Red Sea, once entirely Arab, fell prey to Western colonialism intent on dismantling the Ottoman Caliphate. It was only after the British left in November 1967, following complete Israeli occupation and the Six-Day War, that the region saw some reprieve.
Nothing seems to prevent such a dire possibility from materializing. Arab regimes are either impotent or complicit; Yemen itself is war-torn and divided. Some in Yemen advocating for southern independence are willing to normalize with Israel.
The West may not sustain naval deployments in the Red Sea indefinitely and might prefer land-based or allied forces akin to the current status quo. If this transpires, the noose tightens further—we lack effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, and the keys to the Strait of Gibraltar lie with the colonial British. The possibility sends a chill down any Arab’s spine.
Is the occupation of Arab lands far-fetched? Just a few years ago, Syrians were massacred and displaced for clamoring for freedom; multiple nations still occupy Syrian territory. Iraq, too, remains under occupation; even Denmark and Liechtenstein have forces stationed there. This is part of our recent history, and there’s no need to delve deeper to understand the gravity of our situation.
Nor is there need to mention the plight of Gaza and the West Bank today, as the Arab regime seems to have dismissed Palestine from its national agenda. Regrettably, the people have neglected every consideration of human pride, dignity, and honor, watching silently as children in Gaza are reduced to ashes.
Israel understands this Arab impotence, and it was Western support that established Israel in 1948, capitalizing on that weakness. Will official Egypt then derail Israel’s declared plan to occupy the Philadelphia Corridor and deploy occupation forces along Gaza’s borders with Egypt? Given Egypt’s silent stance on the Israeli attorney’s court statement, one can’t be optimistic.
The question we must answer is, how do we shake off the disgrace of incapacity? The fighters of Gaza hold the sure answer.
