The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post recently praised a column written by a Saudi journalist attacking the motives of Hasan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.
Writing in the London-based daily Al-Hayat, journalist Musaid Al-Khamis questioned the political tactics of the Hezbollah chief.
He wondered whether Nasrallah “wishes to be the Al Capone of Lebanon and the Arabs, to sit in his lair and receive orders from the Great Satan (Iran), and carry them out in exchange for a fistful of dollars.”
Criticizing Nasrallah’s charge that Israelis were behind the murder of Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah’s No. 2 in command, Al-Khamis tries to justify his reasoning by stating that even Syria had not yet blamed anyone. Damascus is waiting for all investigations to be completed.
While not trying to figure out the reasoning behind Al-Khamis’ views or questioning his political acumen, I venture to burst Israel’s bubble that Saudis have suddenly found a new bosom buddy in the person of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and company, and would like nothing better than to team up and get rid of Lebanon’s “Al Capone”.
The crisis in Lebanon is an issue that is best left to the Lebanese to solve to their best interests. Hasan Nasrallah is Lebanese as are his supporters.
They have a right to preach what they choose in defense of their country. Not long ago, they defended Lebanon against these same Israelis who indiscriminately bombed, maimed and murdered thousands of civilians in major cities of Lebanon.
And what have the Israelis been up to since? All political initiatives taken by interested parties in the region are now at a dead end due to Israel’s intransigence.
A couple of months ago at the Annapolis conference in the US, both Palestinians and Israel vowed to implement the US-brokered road map plan, which demanded the Palestinians crack down on militants and Israel halt Jewish settlement activity. But nothing significant had been achieved since.
Israel continued its settlement activities and the Palestinians responded in kind. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal stated that Arab countries had taken active steps to support the Middle East peace process in a bid to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement with Israel.
In a speech during the South America-Arab foreign ministers meeting in the Argentine capital, the Saudi foreign minister made it clear that the Arab world would scale back its support for the Annapolis deal if Israel continued its settlement expansion in the West Bank in defiance of previous agreements.
The Saudi minister also urged the international community to adopt a just and impartial approach toward the parties in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, saying it was unfair if the international community allowed Israeli expansion while slapping sanctions on the Palestinians.
Simply translated, it means that if Israel is to stop annexing more land under one pretext or the other in violation of all international conventions, then perhaps the rocket attacks from those deposed off their lands would cease.
Elsewhere, the European Union, in a bid to prevent a humanitarian crisis, is mounting pressure on Israel to end its nine-month-old blockade of the Gaza Strip. “EU ministers are expressing growing concern over the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the lack of progress in the peace talks” with the Palestinians, an official told AFP.
It may be expedient for an Israeli newspaper to insinuate that the Saudis are leaning with them against parties in Lebanon or elsewhere on the basis of a column or two questioning the wisdom of some of our Arab political figures. But the truth is far from it. One only has to walk down any Arab street and ask this question: Whom do you trust — Olmert or Nasrallah? Most, if not all, would opt for the latter.
