DESPITE all the Arab and Palestinian appeals, the Israeli voice is still dominant in the world. Many of the world leaders declared “Israel’s right to defend itself” as a result of the attack of the “Al-Qassam Brigades” on the colonies and military bases adjacent to the Gaza Strip.

It is true that the barbaric Israeli aggression cannot be tolerated. However, what did the leaders of the Palestinian factions and the Arab and Islamic governments do other than condemn and denounce it?

In fact, even aid is still prevented from reaching the residents of the Gaza Strip, and in return, all we do is insult and distrust each other.

It is clear from the reports published in the media and social media, which is immersed in the game of insult and distrust, that what is required of the people of the Gulf Cooperation Council alone is to rise up for martyrdom, while the blood investors are amassing their wealth.

Irrespective of whether they are leaders of factions or countries, or parties that have dominated the media scene for years and portrayed themselves as a regional power, claiming that they are “ready to throw the Israelis into the sea”, when the hour of truth came, they contented themselves with resonant speeches!

This has been the Arab reality for seven decades, as more than one million and one hundred thousand people were killed and about six million Palestinians were displaced in the diaspora.

There are factions and leaders still emerging on a daily basis. Since 1917, the Palestinian arena has witnessed dozens of those who led the resistance to defeat the “Balfour Project” and then liberate the occupied territories.

However, they used to and still continue to exploit the issue for their personal interests. Irrespective of the current situation, it is the result of historical consequences in which the issue was misunderstood, which led to it being wasted on the altars of regional and international interests.

We therefore ask the Palestinians - What do they expect from the Arab people when they see that the leaders of the factions have devoted themselves to serving Iranian interests?

This issue was a Libyan investment, during the days of Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein and before him Abdul Karim Qasim, the Iraqis, Syria and others. They carried out killings, assassinations and bombing in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the Emirates.

Today, they have sided with the Houthi group, the Iraqi militias, and the Lebanese “Party of Satan” in the aggression against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain in response to Iran’s orders.

All of this happened because the leaders of the Palestinian factions abused their cause and put their personal interests ahead of the interests of millions of their people.

Today, they are brazenly asking for more, not to save Gaza, but to exploit the suffering of its people in the hideous bidding market.

Let us say it openly - Israel, and the Western world should not have been silent about what happened on October 7, and what happened 17 years before that.

This reminds us of what the United States did when the Japanese “kamikaze” attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. At that time, Japanese estimates were that Washington, which had not yet entered the war, could pose a threat in the future, so this was a major attack. However, retaliation was postponed until the United States possessed nuclear weapons.The response thus came four years later with the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which forced the emperor to announce defeat via the radio, and occupation of Japan.

The world did not remain silent despite the scenes of destruction and hundreds of thousands of deaths, because it considered what it did as “self-defense.”

I cite this example to indicate that, when you are not in a position to realize the reaction to what you intend, you should not commit a destructive act, as happened in the “Al-Aqsa Flood.” Therefore, there is no benefit now in crying over spilled milk.

What is required is to learn lessons, especially with regard to the Palestinian issue, whose leaders have done more harm than others, and to realize that “vinegar eel is in it and is part of it.”

It remains to say that Palestine must have one capable authority that can make decisions without the interference of blood merchants and paid faction leaders.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times