Al-Qalam 
The claim by Mohammed Bin Ziyaad (MbZ), the unelected UAE despot that carving relations with Israel was a ‘win for diplomacy’ was in fact a shameful display of impotency, cowardice and corruption, writes Iqbal Jassat.
It is neither shocking nor surprising that one of the Arab gulf despots has finally succumbed to Zionist pressure by openly declaring its abandonment of Palestine.
In a carefully choreographed public announcement, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed Al Nahyan, released details of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capitulation to Israel.
In contrast to the misplaced selling point of a “historic breakthrough to advance peace in the Middle East” which is clearly designed to shape public opinion, I believe that it is a betrayal of Palestine’s freedom struggle.
That the UAE and its unelected ruler had cultivated secret ties with the settler colonial regime, particularly in the field of security and intelligence is no secret. What has emerged now is thus a confirmation of the decades old relationship between Dubai’s corrupt family fiefdom and the illegitimate occupiers of Palestine. We denounce Mohammed Bin Ziyaad (MbZ) for his treachery and treason and remind him that his authoritarian conduct does not in any way represent the Arab street.
Dragging the Gulf emirates to “normalize” ties with Israel is in reality an absurd symptom of the extent of abnormality which defines the UAE. We also dispute the notion advanced by the UAE that succumbing to Zionism’s racist ideology is a “win for diplomacy”. It is in fact a shameful display of impotency, cowardice and corruption.
Scapegoat
Trump’s re-election campaign which is on shaky grounds and Netanyahu’s inability to escape domestic anger fuelled by his corrupt policies needed a scapegoat to boost their political fortunes. By concluding this act of treason against Palestine, MbZ served as a useful prop.
We also question the truthfulness of the undertaking that Israel would suspend its plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank, when it’s known that settlement activities are going ahead and Palestinian homes are being demolished.
We anticipate deep-seated anger across Arab streets in solidarity with Palestine but fear too that the tyrannical rulers will wield brutal power to silence and suppress outpourings of dismay and disgust.
Though the Arab League has been called upon to convene an urgent meeting, the tragedy is that most if not all Arab regimes are unprincipled, weak cowards with a horrendous record of betrayal of Palestine.
We remain fully committed to Palestine’s just struggle to free themselves from an oppressive tyranny which has not only occupied them but continues to subject them to relentless persecution.
That the UAE has officially begun the process to normalize ties in defiance of the aspirations of Palestinians, makes them directly complicit in Israel’s war crimes.
We therefore condemn this alliance and deplore UAE’s outrageous choice to partner with Israel’s violations of fundamental human rights and practice of dehumanizing policies.
We call on human rights organizations and freedom loving people to reject this betrayal of Palestine’s freedom struggle.
* Iqbal Jassat is an Executive of the Media Review Network, Johannesburg.
