Arab apathy

The apathy of some Arab states towards the Israeli aggression on Gaza is one manifestation that the Arabs are no longer the same people that Gamal Abdel Nasser and King Hussein used to lead decades ago. 

It could be justifiable for Damascus and Baghdad, both licking their wounds, not to act in defence of hundreds of Palestinians targeted by Israel’s mighty air force. But no one can find a good rationale for other Arab capitals that abstained from any political action in support of Hamas. 

The M320 missile that hit Ben Gurion airport will not lead to the liberation of any Palestinian land. Moreover, the big arsenal of missiles that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad possess are about to be depleted without ever being resupplied by Damascus, which had earlier sent 79 missiles to Hamas, including some with a medium range of over
100km.

Many Arab capitals resent the sudden political manoeuvres of having a “fait accompli” imposed on them, and then being asked to volunteer assistance.

Gone are the days when the Libyan coffers were open to all Palestinian factions to take what they need to buy weapons. Gone too are the Algerian commitments to champion any request that Yasser Arafat used to submit. The post-Arab Spring capitals are totally different in their political agenda, where the worries of some Hamas leaders do not currently constitute a main priority. Even the three missiles fired from Lebanon by Hizbollah at Metullah in Israel were just a gesture rather than a commitment to start a second front in support of the Palestinians.  

It could be argued that Hamas resorted to this stratagem to win the next parliamentary elections, since it felt the low ebb of its popularity within the West Bank and naturally even worse within Gaza. Leaders of Hamas could bask in the glory of claiming to be the only “hero” who had the courage to challenge the Israelis and force them into underground shelters in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. But the cost to the Palestinians is too exorbitant. The damage to infrastructure in Gaza is in the billions of dollars. The human cost is even more horrific, over 100 so far, even before an Israeli land incursion of 100,000 trained armoured brigades soldiers.

The Egyptians were just as surprised by the Hamas escalation as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Egyptian media put it explicitly: Cairo resents being asked to do the cleaning job following a fait accompli committed by any irresponsible Arab party. It is such resentment that explains why the Rafah border crossing was not opened to wounded Gazans, or others fleeing the heavy F16 bombardment.

It might be Hamas’ bad luck to initiate its show of defiance against Israel while the World Cup football games are going on. European papers carried photos of young people glued to large TV screens in refugee camp cafes, while paying no attention to the appeals of Hamas.