JEDDAH, 11 August 2006 — There is outrage in Saudi Arabia over events in Lebanon and Palestine — and it is directed as much toward the US as it is toward Israel. Saudis from all walks of life are angered by United States’ blind support of Israel in a brutal and inhuman aggression against Lebanon and Palestine. Reports about the United States rushing guided missiles to Israel during the course of the current war were given wide coverage in the Arabic media.
Saudis, embittered by the world’s silence and double standard, have rallied behind Hezbollah and Hamas, idolizing the two as resistance groups. Their fighters are hailed as heroes. “Here are real Arabs,” is the cry heard in the Kingdom’s cafes and shopping malls. Newspapers and television stations have reported 24/7 the carnage in Qana, Bint Jbeil and other Lebanese villages and cities.
Many Saudi liberals fear a new wave of angry young men joining the ranks of extremists as a result. “We will not be able to stop them,” they say in evident desperation. Imams in the mosques throughout the Kingdoms are calling for unity and are holding special prayers for the well-being of their brethren in Lebanon and Palestine.
Saudis are particularly angry at the lack of any effective response from the 22-member Arab League and the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference. The mere mention of the OIC and the Arab League invites derision. Nobody believes the organizations can do anything. “Yes they have condemned the Israeli aggression but so has the rest of the world — except of course the US and UK. What difference can the OIC and the Arab League make?” they ask. “If the UN has not been able to do anything what can 57 mostly Third World countries do?”
Samar Fatany, a Jeddah radio broadcaster, speaks for many while pointing to the world’s double standard and the UN’s seeming impotence: “The need of the hour is to force Israel to comply with international humanitarian laws. Israel is terrorizing innocent people and seems to be a law unto itself. The world leaders are just watching. You cannot allow this blind support to Israel. Any resolution in the UN Security Council is vetoed. This is atrocious and has to stop. There will be lawlessness in the world. If we want to have some kind of law and order, then international laws must be respected and they should be for all to comply. Otherwise the whole region will be in flames.”
Arab journalists are expressing fury at Israel’s rampage and Washington’s support of it. There is a surging tide of bitterness and alienation against the United States’ Middle East policies brought to full flood by Washington’s refusal to rein in the Israelis in Lebanon and Gaza. According to Arabic newspapers, the message is clear: “If the US continues its policy of slavish support for Israel it will reap a harvest of hatred that will last for generations.”
The Arab youngsters are likewise bitter at the US. “When will the US rein in Israel? Where are the justice-loving American people?” they ask. “Aggression and kidnappings by Israeli forces are commonplace and when there is a little retaliation, it brings about a brutal and disproportionate response.”
The non-implementation of UN Resolutions 242 and 338 (which call on Israel to quit Arab lands occupied in the 1967 war) has been repeatedly highlighted in the Arabic media as being the main source of conflict in the region. “It (the non-implementation) speaks volumes about Israeli contempt for the international community. Both Israel and the US keep harping about Resolution 1559 (which calls for disarming Hezbollah) while conveniently forgetting 242 and 338,” one Arabic daily pointed out in a recent editorial.
The general view on the Arab street is that the West and Israel refer to the UN resolutions when they suit them. “The West is not bothered when Muslim and Arab blood is spilled. UN resolutions or no resolutions, Muslim blood is cheap — Israeli and Western lives are precious,” wrote one Saudi blogger.
Prayer leaders across the Arab world are questioning the silence of the international community. “Why are people silent at the extermination of whole nations? Where are the people who sing hymns of freedom and human rights and against violations of sovereignty? What happened to those people who shout slogans of democracy and world peace?” asked the imam during his sermon at the Grand Mosque in Makkah recently.
The extent of Saudi emotional commitment to Lebanon can be gauged from the telethon organized recently; it raised millions for Lebanon. The Kingdom has also established medical facilities in Lebanon to treat victims of the Israeli attacks. Saudis have begun sending food, medical supplies, blankets and bottles of water in cooperation with Lebanese and international NGOs such as the World Food Program and UNICEF.
