13 reasons why Saudi Arabia cannot establish a relationship with Tel Aviv.
In a note, Seyed Hadi Burhani, a professor at Tehran University, examined the most important obstacles for Saudi Arabia in normalizing relations with the Zionist regime, the text of which is as follows: He clarified to Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, in an interview with Fox News: Every day they get closer to establishing a relationship. The same stance was repeated a few days later by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, in an interview with the same American network. In this situation, Bahrain’s ambassador to America, Abdullah Bin Rashid, considering this event inevitable, called the establishment of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel a matter of time. The visit of the first ministers of Israel, the Minister of Tourism, and the Minister of Communications, to Saudi Arabia in the past few days is considered a strong reason to confirm these speculations. Despite all this, the author of this article believes that the obstacles facing these relationships are more than they can be ignored or underestimated. These obstacles, which can frustrate the normalization process between Saudi Arabia and Israel, are discussed in the following cases:
1. Saudi Arabia is a completely Islamic country: nearly one hundred percent of its people are Muslims. In addition, a large part of this Muslim population has religious and traditional tendencies. This fact has made them sensitive to the Jewish occupation in the Islamic world and the seizure of Islamic holy places in Palestine. Saudi Arabia has a long and historical record of supporting Palestine, and in the war with Israel, it has borne a lot of financial and human costs and has given hundreds of martyrs and wounded. All the polls conducted in Saudi Arabia confirm the widespread opposition of the people of this country to establishing relations with Israel. In a recent survey (the results of which were published in the Economist), only two percent of young Saudis supported such a relationship. While, for example, this figure was close to 75% in the UAE. Therefore, agreeing to normalization has no chance of success in any democratic process and can only be imagined through coercion, force, and imposition of dictatorial processes. This can also cause widespread dissatisfaction at the official and unofficial levels in Saudi Arabia and affect not only the youth and common people, but also scholars and clerics, and even the military and security forces. The mentioned reality, like Egypt’s undemocratic and unpopular peace with Israel, can endanger the peace and security of the country’s leaders and especially the officials of normalization.
2. In addition to public opinion in Saudi Arabia, public opinion in Palestine is also strongly against this development. The cancellation of the visit of the Saudi ambassador (in Palestine), Mr. Nayef Bin Bandar, to the Al-Aqsa Mosque during his recent trip to the occupied territories confirms this claim. This decision was probably made due to the concern of the negative and angry reaction of the Palestinian worshipers. Such a reaction recently came from Mohammed Al Saud, a Saudi blogger who supports normalization. When he visited Al-Aqsa Mosque, people shouted slogans against him and threw him out of the mosque. Opposition to normalization is not limited to Saudi Arabia and Palestine but includes all Islamic countries, possibly except the young generation in the UAE. According to the survey of the prestigious Al-Mosher Al-Arabi Institute, most people in all Arab countries are against normalization. This opposition includes countries that have established relations with Israel, such as Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco. All the normalizations that have taken place in the Islamic world so far have been undemocratic and contrary to the opinion of the people, and in this sense, it is a kind of dictatorship and lacks popular credibility.
3. The opposition of the people of Saudi Arabia, Palestine, and other Islamic countries to the normalization of relations with Israel is not a strange thing, and it has always existed since the beginning of Zionist aggression in the region, but at this particular moment, and due to the extremism and excesses of Netanyahu’s religious cabinet, this time, Exceptionally, there is widespread opposition to this normalization in Western societies and even the Jewish community of Israel. They consider this cabinet lacking the necessary competence and sufficiency for normalization and consider its recognition as a privilege that strengthens this extremist cabinet and its undemocratic and anti-human rights policies. Accordingly, Western governments do not seriously support this normalization. The seriousness of the American government in supporting this process is doubtful despite some comments. At least the current American government does not agree on this.
4. The Palestinians’ opposition to Saudi Arabia’s move towards Israel is not emotional and superficial, as evidenced by history, but it is rooted in certain historical facts, all of which confirm the fact that recognizing Israel and making peace with it not only does not help the Palestinians but also has an effect. It has a very negative impact on their position and struggle for the liberation of Palestine and puts Israel in a better position to usurp their rights and completely Judaize this land. To hide this truth, in every peace the Arab countries always talk about giving concessions to the Palestinians and promises to realize their rights, all of which are empty and deceptive promises that have no function other than to calm the nations of the region or It does not reduce the intensity of their opposition. This has been experienced in all previous cases of Arab peace with Israel, from the first (Egypt) to the last (UAE). Anwar Sadat also claimed that he forced Israel to recognize the rights of the Palestinians, and the UAE made its peace with Israel conditional on stopping the Judaization of the West Bank. Still, all this not only did not help the Palestinians but also proved the historical facts of the amount of aggression. to increase the rights of the Palestinians. This clear history of Israeli deception (and the cooperation of some Arab parties) allows peace with Israel from the first to the last to be nothing less than a betrayal of the cause of Palestinian freedom.
And we don’t know about leaving the oppressed Muslims in the grip of Zionist oppression.
5. Saudi Arabia plays a central role in the Islamic world. This country is the origin of Islam and the holiest Islamic places, Mecca and Medina, are located in this country. The importance of these places is such that the kings of Saudi Arabia consider their most important title to serve these centers (Khadem al-Haramin al-Sharifin). Every year, millions of people from all over the Muslim world go to this country to participate in the Hajj ceremony. Saudi Arabia is the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the most important supporter of this Islamic organization, which was established for the liberation of Jerusalem. In addition, the location, size, and wealth of this country have contributed to its special and central role in the Islamic world. This position is of great value and importance for Saudi Arabia, and the normalization of relations with Israel, while the overwhelming majority of Islamic societies are against it, and the majority of Islamic countries (about thirty countries) do not have a relationship with it, will improve the position of Saudi Arabia in the Islamic world. will face unprecedented challenges. How can the kings of Saudi Arabia call themselves the custodians of the two holy shrines, while they have fallen into the abyss of betrayal of the third holy shrine, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and enter into friendship with a government that has violated the most sacred Islamic places and intends to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Jewish temple building above It is. If this fact was undeniable in the past, it cannot be hidden today, when the painful images of the aggression of extremist Jews and even members of the Israeli cabinet to this mosque are broadcast every day to all parts of the Muslim world.
6. The normalization of relations with Israel is contrary to the Arab peace plan, which was approved by all Arab governments at the Arab League summit in Beirut in 2002. According to this plan, the Arab countries will recognize Israel when this regime withdraws from the occupied territories of 1967 (West Bank, Gaza, and Golan Heights) and allows the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Of course, countries like UAE and Bahrain violated this resolution before, but Saudi Arabia itself was the designer and proposer of this plan. During the reign of King Abdullah, the honorable and wise king of this country, Saudi Arabia put forward the said plan, which was approved by Arab and Islamic countries. This plan also has wide international legitimacy and acceptance due to its compatibility with international law and UN resolutions regarding Palestine.
7. The developments in the closeness of Saudi Arabia and Israel occur at a time when Palestine is in one of the worst conditions in its history due to Israel’s oppressive and aggressive policies. The Gaza Strip has been under complete siege for more than a decade, and its people are in dire straits in every way to meet their needs. The West Bank witnesses the killing of Palestinian citizens every day. Since the beginning of this year, more than 250 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, and at least 41 of them were children or teenagers. Viewing pictures of Palestinian dead, who are killed by Zionist forces, has become a daily and normal thing. The lives of Palestinians are under pressure from all sides in the West Bank. Previously, this pressure was applied by the brutal military and security regime, but today, the hellish attacks of the extremist settlers, who know no bounds in dealing with the Palestinians and their homes, houses, and sanctuaries, have turned the previous and official pressures into a joke. Now, more than 1,300 Palestinians have been caught in Israeli prisons without trial or specific charges. The houses of the Palestinians are rapidly destroyed, and their lands are confiscated. Judaization throughout Palestine continues at full speed. Racist discrimination against Palestinians forced Western human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to officially acknowledge the existence of the inhuman apartheid system in Israel. Israel’s pressure on the Palestinians is so extensive and all-round that the colleagues of the occupation government, the self-governing government, are not spared from these pressures and are breathing hard under the burden of these pressures. Peace with Israel in such circumstances is a reward for the crimes and apartheid of the current extremist cabinet in Israel and will encourage them to put more pressure on the Palestinians.
8. All this while a cabinet has come to work in Israel today, which does not have the slightest merit for relationship and recognition. According to research, this cabinet is the most anti-Arab, anti-Islamic, and the most extreme cabinet in the history of Israel, which officially does not grant any rights to the Palestinians. In the previous cabinets, they considered some rights for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, which is an area of about 20% of the entire Palestinian land. But the current cabinet is not so satisfied. The latest document of this claim is the map that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu recently showed to the world at the recent session of the United Nations General Assembly. In this map (of the Middle East), the entire territory of Palestine (including the West Bank and Gaza) is considered Israel, and Palestine is completely removed from the map of the Middle East. More interestingly, Netanyahu showed this map when he was talking about the positive effects of peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. In recent years, Israel has turned the secret and shy usurpation of Arab rights in Palestine into a legal and official matter, and in the basic law approved in 2018 under the title “Jewish Nation State”, the determination of the country’s destiny has been given exclusively to the Jews. In the same law, by removing the Arabic language, Hebrew was declared as the only official language of Israel. In addition, the development of Jewish settlements (in the West Bank), which is against international law, was approved in this law. The closeness of Arab countries to such a regime, with this amount of aggression and violation of Arab rights, is truly one of the wonders of history. In addition to this, in the current peace agreements, the so-called peace of Ibrahim, there is not the slightest mention of the need to reduce the danger of Israel by reducing the country’s illegal nuclear, chemical, and microbial arsenals, which threaten the entire Middle East. In fact, in the shadow of such a compromise, the Arab countries accept to live forever under the shadow of the threat of these dangerous and destructive weapons (which can destroy the countries of the region in a fraction of a second). It is not only surrendering one generation to a criminal aggressor but also surrendering future generations to this armed aggressor (with deadly weapons).
9. The policies of the current Israeli cabinet are so unacceptable and rejected that they have angered Western governments and even Israeli Jews. It has been nine months since massive public protests against Netanyahu’s cabinet have been going on in Israel. It has reached a point where soldiers, in groups, are withdrawing from the service as a precaution against the policies of this cabinet. Western statesmen are not willing to meet with Netanyahu or his ministers. The acceptance of Netanyahu in every Western country now faces strong opposition from public opinion. In Netanyahu’s recent visit to America, everywhere, Netanyahu’s presence caused a significant number of protestors, including Jews. Negotiating with this hated cabinet and giving it privileges is not acceptable not only in Arab and Islamic countries, but many in Western countries and even Israel are against it and condemn it.
10. Paying attention to the dimensions of this problem shows that Israel is a danger to the whole region. After the complete occupation of Palestine, Israel has occupied parts of the land of all its neighbors, including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and even Saudi Arabia. Tiran and Sanafir islands of Saudi Arabia have been occupied by Israel for many years, but despite withdrawing from it, they are still sensitive to it and exercise power. In this regard, the construction of a bridge over these islands that connects Saudi Arabia to Egypt has been opposed and even threatened by Israel. With religious Zionism gaining strength and religious parties in Israel, the religious idea from the Nile to the Euphrates will gradually gain strength in Israel, and in this way, more lands in the region, including parts of Saudi Arabia, are under the threat of Israel’s expansionism (which has been This regime will be included in its agenda. The geopolitical justification of this Torah expansionism is the small size of Israel compared to the size of its Arab rivals in the region, which Israel will not hesitate to use (as it is now using it in the continuation of the occupation of the West Bank). Israel gaining power in the region (which will be accelerated and facilitated in the light of normalization) will expose the countries of the region to more restrictions. Now the countries of the region, even friends of America like Saudi Arabia, have serious restrictions to enjoy peaceful nuclear energy and purchase advanced weapons, which are rooted in Israel’s power to impose these restrictions on the region. Israel’s greater power and its increased legitimacy will open Israel’s hand to more interference in the region. Now, the main weapon of the countries of the region to put pressure on Israel and its aggressive policies is the political and diplomatic embargo, which puts severe pressure on Israel and has kept Israel as a regime lacking full legitimacy in the international community. Despite its military, economic, and security superiority in the region, Israel is still not a regular member of the international community, as well as the United Nations and its subordinate bodies. This is due to sanctions and the breaking of the relationship between Arab and Islamic countries. Establishing relations with Israel will remove this last important lever from the Arab countries and will give Israel complete freedom to pursue its expansionist, aggressive, and anti-Arab policies.
11. One of the common arguments for promoting peace with Israel, which is heavily promoted in the affiliated media, is to spread the word about the positive effects of this peace in the region. The media shows it in the vegetable garden as if the hell of the region will suddenly turn into an ideal paradise in the shadow of this peace. Fortunately, 40 years have passed since the peace between Egypt and Israel, and many years have passed since the peace between Jordan, PLO, UAE, and Bahrain with Israel, and the result of those peace agreements with Israel is now in front of everyone’s eyes. A cursory look at the press of that period clearly shows that at that time there was also such propaganda, promising the Egyptian people that they would achieve happiness under the shadow of this peace. The current situation of these countries and the level of people’s satisfaction with peace with Israel is the best criterion to judge these empty and deceptive promises. Which Arab or Islamic country achieved prosperity, wealth, prosperity and security through peace with Israel? Egypt, for example, is now caught in such a miserable situation that it longs for the days before Camp David, and any transparent referendum will show that a large majority of the people of this country are against this peace.
12. In addition to the above obstacles, peace with Israel will jeopardize the great legacy of King Faisal, the late and beloved king of Saudi Arabia. Faisal is the most popular Saudi statesman in the entire Muslim world, who brought a lot of prestige and prestige for the Al Saud family with his responsible and authoritative policies in defense of the rights of the Palestinian people and other Muslim nations. His effective leadership in the Islamic and Arab world, in the campaigns against Israel in the 1960s and 1970s, forced this regime to withdraw from a part of the Arab lands. During this period, the power and unity of the Arab countries in the international community reached its peak and had many effects, in favor of the Arabs, on international organizations, including the United Nations. During this period, the voice of the Palestinian people was heard in the United Nations and Western countries through the Palestine Liberation Organization, and important changes were made for the benefit of these people. Since then, the people of the region, including the people of Palestine, have a special respect for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its role in supporting the interests of Muslim nations. Peace with Israel in such inappropriate conditions, which is in conflict with King Faisal’s ideals and policies, can expose this valuable political capital to destruction and ruin.
13. In the past, before the reconciliation between Iran and Arabia, the closeness to Israel had a clear justification. The Saudi statesmen could consider the danger of Iran and its policies as a reason to be close to Israel and an alliance with this country to deal with the common danger, of Iran. This justification could convince a group inside Saudi Arabia (or outside it) that Saudi Arabia, due to heavy pressure from Iran, and despite its inner desire, was forced to give in to such a relationship. But now that this period has passed and Iran and Saudi Arabia have reconciled and are solving their differences and mutual problems, this justification has lost its effectiveness. The dimensions of this important development show that the said reconciliation is not a tactical and temporary move. Iran has not only stopped its propaganda attacks against Saudi Arabia but has adopted a positive propaganda position towards Saudi Arabia, to the extent that this very different position has become a source of sarcasm and humor for some critics. Saudi Arabia’s peace with Israel will put Iran and its propaganda apparatus in a very difficult position,