BY ARMSTRONG IBRAHIM
Dictatorships in the Arab region have historically worked to eliminate their internal crises and shrinking international legitimacy at the expense of the Palestinian cause.
Saudi Arabia is no different from countries such as the UAE, Bahrain and many other Arab countries who are either in partial or full complaint with the US and Europe.
Riyadh, released a 40-member-list, enlisting Palestinian martyrs as terrorists. The move provoked a chorus criticism in social media.
Muslims around the world can see the double standard game Riyadh is playing in complaint with there master.
Among the enlisted names stand those of the founder of Hamas Sheikh Ahmad Yasin, Former Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian political leader and the head of the Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas Khaled Mashal, and the co-founder of the Palestinian movement Hamas Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.
In doing this, Riyadh is branding Hamas as a terrorist group rather than a resistance movement fighting to free its occupied territory.
Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel Al-Jubeir told the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels on 22 February that the suspension of Qatar’s funding for Hamas allowed the Palestinian government to control the Gaza Strip; he described the Islamic Resistance Movement as “extremist”, after having recently described it as a “terrorist” group.
Such a designation is not only surprising but also fairly nonsensical, as Hamas have never taken their struggle outside the boundaries of occupied Palestine.
The other names included in the list are those of the Spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Sayyid Qutb, the fifth President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi, and that of the head of the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood political movement Abdul Majeed al-Zindani.
The news piece was criticized widely in the social media. Here are some of the reactions:
“It is interesting that Abdul Majeed al-Zindani lives in Saudi Arabia, now,” an Arab activist wrote.
“You have the name of Sheikh Yasin (PBUH) on the list, the one praised by King Fahd. You call him a terrorist? Woe onto you,” Muhmmad said.
“As long as there is resistance against the terrorist Zionist regime, there is no terrorism in the world. You are terrorism,” another one wrote.
“There are some ones like those who murdered Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and dismembered him and the one who ordered this murder (bin Salman) besides his advisors Ahmad Asiri and Saoud Al Qahtani. Why didn’t you put their names on the terrorist list? Those who are influenced by Sahwa movement and etc. You are the biggest hypocrites,” a critic wrote.
In conclusion, successive statements by Adel Al-Jubeir about the terrorist nature of Hamas reflect the changes of the Saudi position on the Palestinian issue and the arrangements of Trump’s Deal of the Century. The deal that goes beyond the liquidation of the Palestinian issue but integrating Israel within the region through the gates of the “war on terrorism”.