The dangers of Gaza to Arab countries

Hamas is not alone in the battle for survival, nor is Israel alone, which is fighting to erase the humiliation and regain its position. The entire region is on the verge of a volcano erupting for other reasons, and Gaza is the trigger button.

In dealing with the Gaza crisis, is it more appropriate to ride the wave and go along with popular trends, or to ignore them?

Before delving into the treatment, we tell the story of extremism, and the relationship of wars to ideas. Wars are the hunting season for extremist groups.

With the American war launched against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2001, extremism entered the mosques, homes, and schools of countries in the region. It was repeated on a larger scale when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. Saddam’s forces collapsed quickly, in three weeks, and easily occupied Baghdad. But the battle changed its direction after a year, as the extremist discourse succeeded in attracting thousands of young Arabs to fight under the banners of Al-Qaeda, then ISIS, across Syria. They changed the equation, with American forces leaving and Iran dominating the scene.

Organizations with extremist ideas were not limited to Iraq, they continued their advance and their attacks targeted more than half of the Arab countries between 2003 and 2010.

When it failed to bring about change with weapons, what was called the Arab Spring exploded in 2011, and it is in fact an extension of previous events, under various protest titles and local leaders, in the countries where extremists were active, Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, as well as Syria, where it was the incubator for jihadist groups in Iraq before that.

The Gaza crisis is one battle in an ongoing war, and today it plays the role of a trigger, as did the crises in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Spring countries, targeting the region. It appears that a few countries control and fortify their internal position in managing emerging risks.

The battles in northern Gaza and their tragedies almost obscure the vision of what is shaping up in Arab societies. The common denominator between past wars and the current war is that some of the opposition uses them to besiege governments and regional powers. These forces do not tire of repeating attempts, and they are returning today for the first time since their failure in Iraq, Syria, and Libya, and their loss of Egypt.

Every country has its own way of dealing with the crisis. Saudi Arabia took a clear official line, with Gaza, and against the Israeli attack. It led diplomatic activity, hosted the Arab and Islamic summit, and an African summit, and opened the door for donations that exceeded half a billion riyals, the highest in the region. However, it is noticeable that schools, mosques, forums, and local media are no longer a breeding ground for extremists who lead public opinion, as was the case in the past. For this reason, calls for jihad and youth recruitment have disappeared.

There are governments that have chosen the opposite path, by outbidding the proponents of inflammatory rhetoric in the belief that in doing so they will release the charges of anger and gain popularity from the movement. In my opinion, this repeats the same mistake. Extremist calls are becoming more extreme than governments can keep up with, demanding the severing of relations with Western countries, preventing imports, challenging them to fight, and urging violence. We know from past events that they are turning against the regimes of their countries, far from the issue of Gaza. Solidarity with the people of Gaza and Hamas does not require promoting extremist rhetoric, unleashing advocacy campaigns, or opening religious, educational, and media platforms for it.

We note that the groups that manage extremist propaganda media have become more organized and skilled. Today it is faster in reaching a greater number of people than we witnessed, even in the chaos of the 2011 revolutions.

In the current Gaza war, extremists are marketing symbols and ideas: Abu Ubaida, Bin Laden, Nasrallah, 7th of October, and others. For these people, Gaza is not their issue. Gaza is theirs just as Fallujah was in Iraq. The fate of Gaza will be the same: it will bring destruction and oblivion, leaving its people to their fate.

What the Israelis are committing in Gaza, in terms of attack, killing, and destruction, is clearly a brutal act of revenge, targeting innocent people, and will fuel the rhetoric of extremist groups and raise their voice among the general public. Israel does not care about the spread of extremism and extremists, but rather has often benefited from it, by misleading its Palestinian opponents.

This is for Israel, while Arab societies that are tolerant of extremist rhetoric, by opening platforms, schools and media, will face greater dangers. This time, its opponents are those who were born in the past two decades, the age of intellectual formation. Individuals within broad, cross-border networks possess more effective tools and a high degree of mastery.