Repeated condemnations ‘run out of value’

As expected, the government of Jordan has condemned the Israeli forces’ storming of Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem last Sunday.

As feared, the ultra right-wing Israeli government, which definitely instigates such attacks as part of a carefully designed, hidden, but ominous, agenda may take little notice of such condemnation, just like it did in the case of dozens of similar condemnations regarding this very serious matter, from the Palestinian Authority, from the Arab League, from UN bodies, other sources and also from Jordan.

Neither by the provisions of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty of 1994, nor as a matter of due consideration for the Hashemite custodianship of the Jerusalem holy places, does the Netanyahu government take any action to prevent such serious barbarities against occupied Palestinians.

The atrocities committed Sunday were repeated in a much more appalling form the next day.

It is wrong to blame only extremist Israeli elements for the desecration of the holy site; the bigger culprit in all of this is the Israeli government, which does not only disregard its obligation to protect the place as occupied territory but also encourages such aggression and routinely protects the perpetrators.

Before listing my reasons for the futility of verbal protests, I want to make clear that the responsibility for confronting Israeli recklessness is not, and should not be, solely Jordanian.

This is a collective Arab and Islamic states’ obligation in the first place.

It is also the duty of the UN and the international community to wake up to the fact that Israel displays total disregard for international law and to the devastation this Israeli conduct has been causing world peace and security.

Jordan alone cannot shoulder this responsibility.

One problem with statements of mere condemnation that fail to refer to any consequences if not heeded is that it often produces adverse effects, and this applies specifically to Israel.

Israel is used to, and as a result of repeated condemnations over the decades has become totally inured, to statements that denounce its crimes but do not mention the consequences if such criminal behaviour continues.

That is why Israeli incursions in the Noble Sanctuary are becoming more frequent and more violent.

The other problem with condemnations is that they may assure the violators, rather than deter them.

When no effective action is available for the condemnatory side to threaten with, silence might talk louder than words. A verbal condemnation may assure the aggressor that this is it, all it can expect, so it has no fear to prepare for the next attack.

Silence, on the other hand, may leave the aggressor at least speculating.

A third problem with verbal condemnations is that, with time, and once so massively repeated, they run out of value, much as a devalued currency.

There is no doubt that repeated Arab condemnations of persistent Israeli crimes are treated by the Israeli government as a currency that lost all its value: statements meant more to placate Arab public anger than to warn Israel.

Israel has been getting away without being called to task for its continuous violations of international law, aggression and illegal occupation since its creation. There is no room in this short article to mention even a small fraction of the countless horrifying examples. That is why Israeli aggression continues uninterrupted.

It is obvious that no declaration of war on Israel is required. Wars do not settle conflicts in this time and under the prevailing circumstances. But that does not mean that Arab states are out of options, some even more effective.

The Arab Peace Initiative has remained on the table for more than 13 years despite Israeli dismissal of the most generous offer for peace and conflict settlement. That should be reconsidered.

The crisis, bad as it has always been, is growing bigger and more explosive.

It must be clear that the responsibility of protecting the Muslim holy sites is not Jordanian alone. There should be collective and serious Arab action to deal with it, and urgently, if that is at all possible.