The Israeli ‘ally’ and the paranoia of the Gulf

In Wall and Piece, the 2006 book published by British graffiti artist Banksy, there are images of stencils and drawings that he spread across the walls of cities across Palestine, as well as on the Wall of Separation itself. These images express both pain and hope: a little girl playing on the wall; a swing hanging on an Israeli watchtower, and a cat the size of a house occupying the space where a Palestinian house used to stand.

In the book, Banksy also presents a conversation between himself and an old Palestinian man who tells him: “You draw on the walls and make them beautiful.” Thinking it was a compliment Banksy thanked the man, only to have him reply: “We do not want the wall to be beautiful; we hate the wall. Leave.”

“We hate the wall… leave”. There can be no normalisation while the wall continues to exist. Beautifying the wall makes the occupation beautiful; it makes punishment a gift and crime a reward. No, the wall must remain ugly. The occupation’s image on the wall must remain plain and “without frills”.

Banksy believed he was planting hope. This may be an ideal to aspire to, but, as the old man rightly points out, when it comes to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian homes and lives, any such attempt at hope only serves to make more palatable the reality of life in Palestine.

For decades now, Arab governments have sought to do the same thing. Israel is no longer a colonial occupying force; it has become a recognised state and is thus treated with the same respect and fear as other countries in the region. Israel’s image as a successful and advanced scoeity (the “only democracy in the Middle East”) is a sophisticated subterfuge to hide its mistakes and sins. The media and international community have forgotten the original sin of occupation, and the impact this has had on Palestine and the Palestinian people, instead papering over the cracks in Israel’s image through beautification projects such as those of Banksy himself.

Objectivity, realism and necessity know no laws, and the portrayal of Israel as a useful neighbour that can be depended on for security matters or secret alliances against existential dangers has been established and fuelled by the doctrine of fear and intimidation from Arab neighbours and the wider international community. This is how Israel’s image as an occupying state has been erased from history and how the Apartheid Wall, which has made Palestine into a maze daily ventured into by the Palestinians, has been rendered naturalised and legitimate. Israel’s wars on the Gaza Strip are no longer mentioned; its expanding settlements continue amid stony silence; and the Muslim history of Jerusalem is being quietly and efficiently erased. We have also forgotten the issue of the Palestinian refugees, who have suffered for over 60 years; the West Bank, which is slowly shrinking, hemmed in on all sides by illegal settlements, has been almost entirely forgotten; those who are fighting the soldiers with their bare chests and stone-throwing children are neglected, and the thousands imprisoned are simply ignored.

No, the wall and its ugliness must remain as proof of the injustice of the occupation and the shame of the world. If the wall becomes beautiful and if Israel becomes a normal state, then Palestine would cease to exist altogether on this earth.

The Arab Gulf countries have no need to counter Israel; wealth exempts one from morals, justifies the disregard of issues, buys no shame, and sells no disgrace. Wealth makes sure to act with due justification and replaces friends with enemies. Palestine is being rented to its occupier and the Palestinians are being treated as scrap. Wealth pays for protection and does not care about the astronomical cost. The Gulf countries have enough wealth to last them eternities of oil and gas, and they address their fear with borrowed security from Israel, the state they claim to oppose.

The latest information leaked regarding these Gulf countries is their belief in the Iranian threat that they believe they can buttress using Israeli security. There is no assurance that the security offered by this new “ally” is superior or guaranteed. However, monarchies and sheikhdoms have discovered that their best means of protection is to hand over security to the Israeli capabilities and technologies. As it stands, Israel is a key pillar of the Gulf’s national security.

This is not surprising. If you want to justify protection, all you need to do is announce your fear and exaggerate it. Intimidation from an enemy (real or imagined) justifies the formation of new alliances. In choosing Israel over Iran, the Gulf countries are motivated by the pretext of fear: “Iran scares us, not Israel. Look at what happened in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Israel is not a threat to us; it is far from us. It is not wrong to ask for help from an enemy that has not attacked us in order to stand in the face of an enemy that it closing in on us.” This is the image depicted; exaggerating fear as a justification for buying security from an enemy and for turning that enemy into a trusted ally.

Palestine has already been erased from the map by official Arab policies; it was erased before the outbreak of the Arab Spring. America has abandoned Palestine and handed over responsibility to Israel. Voices in the Gulf oppose Iran’s alleged nuclear programme while remaining silent over Israel’s (far superior) nuclear weapons. So what’s next?

The conflict with Iran could be resolved via diplomatic settlements, as these issues will not be solved by means of war, interference or covert security operations. The fate of a conflict of differences is dialogue, either tomorrow or after several years. Waking the demons of fear and intimidation requires making deals with those you previously considered enemies. This has happened before in Lebanon, in Iraqi Kurdistan and now in Syria as groups and actors who used to be pitted against one another join forces and attempt to reach a diplomatic solution.

The façade of the problem is hiding the truth. The security of the Gulf has not been jeopardised by Iran, but by the Gulf’s regional ambitions. The GCC countries took a risk with Saddam Hussain and paid the price of via his occupation of Kuwait. Today these states are scared because of the ongoing war in Yemen. The deeper problem is the fact that many of these governments have problems with their people, either because of tyranny, doctrinal differences, vocal minorities, or the growing fear of the majority.

The Gulf states are not alone in this chaos. The tactic of demonising Palestinians has been a chronic one. The Palestinians carry on their backs the problems of the entire Arab nation, its various countries, entities and people. They are even held responsible for the loss of Palestine and the failure to regain it. Many say the same thing: “They should accept the division”; “They should have stood their ground and held on to their land”; “Plan Dalet does not concern the Arab governments and they have never even heard of it”; “The Palestinians are the reason behind the Nakba and the Naksa, they caused tragedies when they took up arms”; “They deserved the massacres in Jordan and the wars in Lebanon”; “They should have been with America”; “99 per cent of the solution is in their hands”; “They should not interfere in Arab matters”; “They should have done this, that, the other…”

While Israel’s image is being improved, a distorted image of the Palestinians is being depicted. This is the new equation. As for extremists, jihadists and terrorists, their matters are left to their sponsors and funders in Turkey and the Gulf.

Damn this era. The Arab nation has no energy for such oppression.

Translated from Assafir.com, 3 December 2015.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.