WHEN the late Libyan freedom fighter Omar Al-Mukhtar was told, “Italy has planes that we do not have,” he replied, “Do their planes fly above or below the throne?”
They replied, “Under it”, and he replied, “He who is above the throne is with us, so let those who are below him not frighten us.”
In this spirit, Al-Mukhtar’s revolution was able to overcome the Italian invasion of Libya years later. Even though the occupation authority executed the man, it was not able to implement the idea of national liberation. This applies to what is happening in Palestine, particularly in Gaza today, especially after the horrific massacre committed by Israel in the National Baptist Hospital the day before yesterday.
The Jews are known to have no covenants; therefore everything they do these days is part of their arrogance.
When Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) migrated to Madinah, he made peace with them, but they broke it, which caused them to be expelled from it. Historically, Arabs and Muslims have always extended their hand to peace, but they are always met with Israeli intransigence. This is due to the fact that their basic idea is based on what Levi Eshkol said in 1967 when he was asked about what might happen to Israel after the war.
He said, “Every ten years we wage war with the Arabs and take some land from them, but they forget what we got and demand new lands. This is how we will remain until we establish the Jewish state over all of the so-called Palestine.”
Also, they do not have any covenants even with the prophets. According to a verse in the Holy Quran, to Allah’s Prophet Moses (Peace Be Upon Him), they said, “O Moses, as long as they are in the land, we shall never go there. Go with your Lord to fight them but we shall stay where we are.” According to what they said, they have tyrannically strengthened people there.
Hence, we ask every Israeli, regardless of his background and whether he is extremist or centrist - Has Israel been able to secure stability for itself since 1948 until today? Did it really extend its hand for peace, or was it exploiting every incident to start a war with the Arabs and Palestinians?
When the Irgun and Stern Gang Zionist militias committed the Deir Yassin massacre, they relied on psychological warfare to intimidate the Palestinians and expel them from their land, and they succeeded in doing so.
The idea was hence entrenched in the military mentality, that the only solution is to carry out massacres to humiliate the Arabs and prevent them from thinking about returning to the occupied territories.
On the other hand, it worked to brainwash the Europeans. In 1967, after the atrocities it committed in Egypt, Syria, and the occupied Palestinian territories, it presented itself as the victim.
On that day, the Frenchman Salvatore Adamo sang his famous song, “God willing,” in which he said, “The Israeli is a bird of peace, and the Arab is chasing him with a rifle to kill him.”
The Israelis rejected all the opportunities they were given for peace. After the Camp David agreement in 1977, the Israeli army launched the first invasion of Lebanon in 1978. That is, after every agreement, Tel Aviv works to abort the treaties, which returns the situation back to square one.
I remember when US President Ronald Reagan met with King Fahad bin Abdulaziz, who was the Crown Prince at that time, he said the Arabs do not want peace, and they did not present an initiative in this regard.
When Israel extended its hand to them for peace, that day Saudi Arabia presented the first peace initiative at the Fez Conference in 1981. So what was the Israeli response? First rejection, and then it went on to invade Lebanon and occupy its capital. In 2002, Saudi Arabia presented the second initiative, but Israel rejected that as well.
The circumstances are now changing. Today, the Arabs are more numerous, more powerful, and have their own wealth. Therefore, Israel has no choice but to be convinced that the blood of innocents does not bring it peace.
Like what President Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi said recently, “Genocide will not be Israel’s path to peace, as today’s overwhelming popular anger cannot be predicted.”
Returning to what Omar Al-Mukhtar said, and how the Italians were expelled from Libya, and in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah - “…Those who thought that they would meet Allah said, ‘How often, with Allah’s permission, have small groups defeated the large ones?’ God is with those who exercise patience.”
Throughout history, the Crusaders occupied Jerusalem for about two centuries, until the Muslims had a great leader Salah-ad-Din Yusuf ibn-Ayyub who, when he was victorious, bid farewell to the defeated Richard the Lionheart by saying, “We hope that you will come to us as a pilgrim and not an invader.”
The government of Israel today must reflect on all of that history if it wants to enjoy peace and accept the establishment of a neighboring Palestinian state, so that the region can live in peace.
The countries of the region look forward to the long-awaited development, and for the Israeli people to be a partner in it.
The Middle East has room for everyone, it has lots of good in it, and its Arab people enjoy a high economic and industrial culture, as well as significant international relations and common interests.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
