Saudi Columnist Calls on Arabs to Learn from Israel’s Handling of Protests
“The strange political commentaries that came out of Gaza… according to which the latest Israeli strikes on Rafah, which caused the deaths of six Palestinians, were intended by Netanyahu’s government to distract attention from the revolution [within Israel] and to distract the Israelis from their demands, came as no surprise – even though these strikes came against the backdrop of attacks on two Israeli buses in Eilat.
“The truth is that Netanyahu is a man who honors his people whether he wants to or not, and he dares not cheat them with such machinations… hoping to dodge responsibility. The Israeli people do not fall for the politicians’ ruses. They are not like some South Lebanon residents used by [Hizbullah leader Hassan] Nasrallah as a human shield in the 2006 war; [he] destroyed their homes and towns while they clapped along to his hymns of resistance.
“It is true that Israel’s strikes in Gaza came by way of distracting the people of the revolution, but which revolution? Not the revolution in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Acre, and Haifa – but the revolution in Homs, Der’a, Hama, and Deir Al-Zour. At an inopportune time, unknown gunmen attacked two Israeli buses near Eilat, killing six Israelis. Then, the expected occurred – Israel retaliated twofold. Naturally, Netanyahu did not reward Gaza with Turkish Delight and Iranian pistachios, and when he acted, and Gaza was blown up by missiles and the innocent Palestinians torn to shreds, the Arabs rushed to condemn [Israel], the Arab League woke from its slumber to condemn and censure, and the Palestinian presidency even complained to the Security Council about the oppressive strike.
“We heard no such loud voice when the Syrian forces crushed the Al-Ramal refugee camp in Latakia. What is more, Fatah Central Committee member ‘Azzam Al-Ahmad dared to offer explanations for this crime that had no grounding [in fact] – [for instance,] that the Syrian army could not avoid the camp because it was in its way, and that for this reason it was forced to include it in its military activity!
Ms. al-Hazzani’s point can be condensed as follows: Arab leaders view their own people as enemies, and any extension of rights to these citizens as a threat to the regime. Israel, as a democracy, has a government which has no choice but to be responsive to the demands of citizens, and behaves accordingly. What is particularly amazing is the observation that many Arab observers are incapable of understanding the responsiveness of a democratic government; in fact regarding the response of Assad as expected and somehow ‘normal’.