ANALYSIS
Maulida Balqis | CNN Indonesia
Thursday, 02 Nov 2023 08:10 IWST
1. Arabs ‘Turn Away’ about Palestine, What Can Muslim Countries Do? 2. What can a Muslim country like Indonesia do for Palestine?
Arab League Summit. (AP/Amr Nabil)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Attack Israel Of Gaza Strip, Palestineit got even crazier after the military started to intensify attacks in the air and on the ground last Friday (27/10).
As of Wednesday (1/11), the death toll in Gaza reached 8,525 people, with 21,543 others injured. Most of the victims were children.
Even though the Zionist State has invaded this enclave in such a way, the Arab countries which are expected to be able to be at the forefront of defending Palestine are actually seen as “looking away” and not taking much action. So far, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab countries have only criticized and provided humanitarian assistance.
One of the most prominent things that Arab countries have attempted to do regarding the Gaza conflict is to propose a ceasefire resolution at a special session of the UN General Assembly.
The resolution urges an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, condemning all acts of violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including seeking unimpeded aid delivery and protection for civilians.
Supported by 120 countries, the resolution was successfully adopted on Friday (27/10). However, this resolution is not legally binding. This resolution contains a moral burden which, if violated, could result in Israel facing universal international values and norms.
Why haven’t Arab countries done more to stop Israeli aggression against Palestine?
Middle East studies observer from the University of Indonesia, Sya’roni Rofii, said that Arab countries are currently in a dilemma.
Sya’roni said this was because several Arab countries had recently reconciled with Israel, while others were still exploring this commitment.
“Arab countries are in a dilemma because on the one hand they previously tried to build a normalization commitment with Israel, but with this incident of course they have to recalculate considering the existing dynamics. The international condemnation means Arab countries should also do the criticism is more than that,” said Sya’roni to CNNIndonesia.comWednesday (1/11).
In 1979, Egypt signed a peace agreement with Israel after years of tension due to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Jordan then followed in 1994, followed by Sudan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain in 2020.
This year, Saudi Arabia is also increasingly widely rumored to be normalizing relations with Israel. Riyadh and Tel Aviv are said to be continuing to move forward “a little more” towards reconciliation.
However, after the war between the Hamas militia and Israel broke out on October 7, Saudi Arabia clearly decided to temporarily stop discussions about normalizing diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv. The Saudis emphasized that the Palestinian issue was their top priority.
Meanwhile, according to international relations observer from the University of Indonesia, Yon Machmudi, Arab countries do not dare to be firm because they have recently maintained good relations with the United States.
The US is Israel’s strongest ally. Therefore, the Arabian Peninsula is reluctant to respond frontally to this widespread conflict.
“It is against the background of their very good relations with America. On the one hand, currently America is providing support to Israel, so Arab countries cannot frontally provide significant support assistance to Palestine apart from the humanitarian aspect,” said Yon to CNNIndonesia.com.
Apart from good relations with the US, Yon also believes that Arab countries may not be so vocal about Palestine because they are not very happy with Iran’s involvement in the Hamas-Israel war.
The Gulf countries do not have harmonious relations with Iran. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt are known to often be at odds with Tehran over several issues, such as differences in religious views, differences in political views, rivalries for influence in the region, and the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program.
However, in March this year, a breath of fresh air came in Saudi relations with Iran. The two countries agreed to reconciliation after years of seemingly eternal rivalry.
“Then secondly, the enemy that America then tried to convince these countries in politics was represented by the Muslim Brotherhood (IM). According to them, the Muslim Brotherhood was their enemy, especially in the turmoil of the Arab Spring and that [IM] has strong ties with Hamas,” said Yon.
Since 1997, the US has labeled Hamas a terrorist organization because the ruling militia in Gaza emerged in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising or intifada.
According to the US, Hamas is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine that wants to form a Palestinian Islamic state and replace Israel.
Hamas is also a militia backed by Iran. The US and Iran themselves do not have good relations, especially since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
The two countries continued to fight, even going so far as to open conflict over a number of issues ranging from oil management rights in 1950, US support for Iraq in the Iran-Iraq civil war in 1980, to the attack on the US embassy in Tehran.
“So there are two things: the first is dislike for Iran, the second is also the incessant propaganda from Israel and America to convince that Hamas is dangerous. This makes them [negara-negara Arab] “did not provide strong support to Palestine,” he said.
What can other countries, especially Muslim countries like Indonesia, do to help Palestine? Read on the next page >>>
What can a Muslim country like Indonesia do for Palestine?
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2023-11-02 01:10:50
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