Arab Demand: Close Ties Among Palestinian

By Essa Bin Mohammed al-Zedjali
This commentary was published in The Arab News on 09/04/2011

Without doubt, camaraderie and close ties among the Palestinians will have a magical effect on their long-cherished goal, the cause of the century, if I may say so.

Solidarity in the ranks, ardent aspiration, close relations and deep sincerity for the cause will eventually lead to the dizzy days when the Palestinian flag will fly high in the skies. Palestine is indeed a dream state for innumerable youths, women, children and the elderly who have made great sacrifices for decades for its realization.

Decidedly, the recent revolutions across the Arab world have given a fillip to the Palestinian cause. Signs of a new dawn are visible on the Palestinian horizon, a dawn of fellowship and bonhomie among the Palestinian leaders which will certainly help further the Palestinian cause.

The winds of revolution sweeping across the Arab countries will serve as a catalyst for a solution to the Palestinian issue. The political scenario in the brotherly country of Egypt has come full circle, ushering in radical changes. Egypt is back on the right track thanks to the corrective measures initiated by the revolutionaries and symbolized by the "Blazing Square". It may be recalled that Egypt had contributed precious little to the Palestinian cause during the last regime.

The Palestinian cause has, as it were, snapped out of the hypnotic stranglehold with the ouster of the "guardian" of the American-Israeli policy in the Middle East. The "no action policy" aimed at keeping the status quo on the Palestinian issue and the political scene has been obliterated with one fell swoop of revolution.

The recent visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Gaza Strip was widely reported and rightly so. The visit was, no doubt, aimed at mending political fences with the Hamas leaders, something that augurs well for the Palestinian cause.

Close relationship between the Palestinian factions is the need of the hour and demand of all Arabs as it is bound to spoil the Israeli plot to create fissures among the Palestinian ranks and thus derail the Palestinian cause.

The statements of the Palestinian president have been supportive to the Palestinian reconciliation and national unity. His recent meeting in Ramallah with the kith and kin of the Palestinian captives who had gone on a hunger strike in the Israeli prisons has, no doubt, gone a long way toward reconciliation and national unity. Abbas said in a recent statement, published in Arabic papers, that without national reconciliation and unity there would be no real peace for the Palestinian people, no end to the occupation and no sovereign Palestinian state.

We are quite confident that the Hamas leaders too have a keen desire for reconciliation, especially in the wake of the recent changes in the Arab world. National unity is a key weapon for torpedoing the Israeli plans and a vital instrument for achieving freedom.

Whether it is the reign of President Obama or any other president, the US will not help find a solution to the Palestinian issue because it cares only for its own interests. The US, it may be noted, has adopted a totally different approach with regard to the popular movement in Libya in furtherance of its vested interests.

On the Palestinian issue, the US is clearly on the Israeli side, something which should be understood by all Arab countries. In the light of this total Israeli bias of the US and the drastic changes witnessed in the Arab world, it is imperative that the Arab countries rally behind the Palestinians fairly and squarely. The Palestinian cause needs the support of all the Palestinian people who have to unite and fight for their cause and achieve it, come what may.

The change we have seen in Egypt will, no doubt, pave the way for a more efficient way of dealing with the Palestinian issue. There would be no one in any Arab country who would approve of what had been going on during the regime that was ousted by the Egyptian revolution. History can never erase what the so-called leaders of the erstwhile regime did with regard to the Palestinian cause, and hopefully, they will be brought to the court of justice sooner or later.     

The present Egyptian leaders confirm that they have a new policy for dealing with the issue of Rafah crossing and the Palestinian cause in general. This was disclosed by Hamas leaders Dr. Mahmoud Al Zahar and Khalil Al Hayah after their visit to Egypt recently. Al Zahar said that they were given a number of promises which revealed the Egyptian government's stance on the Palestinian cause and on the issue of reconciliation among the Palestinians. "We have agreed on all points regarding Fatah and the Palestinian Authority", he affirmed.

Once again we stress the necessity of taking advantage of the current changes in the Arab world to further the Palestinian cause by adopting a whole new approach along with a real, sincere reconciliation among the Palestinian factions. We hope the coming days will witness key changes with regard to the Palestinian cause.

We also hope that all Palestinian leaders will come together under the umbrella of national unity and reconciliation and that a new prospect for the Palestinian cause will emerge in the coming days.