Key linkage

Whether the perpetuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict destabilises the Middle East or not is an unresolved debate in the West.

There is a school of thought that links instability in the region to the persistence of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Some argue that resolving the conflict can have a mitigating impact on other conflicts in the region. Implicit in this perspective is that Israelis must meet Palestinians half way to strike a deal and end, once and for all, the conflict. 

There are also many who argue that Israel is to blame for the impasse in the peace process, thus jeopardising the Western interests in this part of the world.

Against this school of thought is another that insists on decoupling the two issues. 

Proponents of this perspective argue that there is no link between what has been happening across the Jordan River and other conflicts in the region. 

They refuse to blame Israel for the collapse of the peace process and the outbreak of other conflicts in the region.

Evidence suggest that the overwhelming majority of Arabs believe that were it not for the blind US support for Israel, the Palestinian questions would have been resolved long ago.

All polls in the region show that the vast majority of people dislike the US policy in the region. They cite Washington’s support for Israel as a key reason for the spread of anti-US sentiments in the Arab world.

It is not unnatural in this case that radical groups capitalise on the widespread anti-American sentiments.

That is not to say that American policies alone are behind radicalism in the region. To be sure, there are other reasons that have helped the rise of these movements.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that there is a link between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and extremism in the region.

This comment, though true, was not received well by the Israelis. Economy Minister Naftali Bennett criticised Kerry for articulating this linkage.

“It turns out as well that when a British Muslim decapitates a British Christian, there will always be someone to blame the Jew,” he said.

“There is no justifying terror, only fighting it. To say that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is strengthening the Islamic State is encouraging global terror.”

Kerry’s comment came at a time when many Israelis are beginning to make the case that Arabs and Israelis should unite in the fight against terrorism. 

Israel benefits from creating such a perception, so the Israeli government has been circulating two arguments. 

One is that Iran poses the utmost threat to Arabs and Israelis alike, so they should form an alliance to counter Iran’s schemes in the region.

While Iran’s policies threaten the stability of the region, the majority of Arabs still believe that Israel poses the greatest threat to it.

The other argument is that radical forces threaten both Arabs and Israelis. This fails to gain currency in this part of the world. Indeed, many Arabs wonder why the radicals never targeted Israel.

Israel has been exploiting the unfolding events in the region to distract the world’s public opinion from its daily policies that only chip away at the prospects of a two-state solution.

What Israelis try to ignore is the fact that radical groups, as well as Iran, are also exploiting the impasse in their bid to recruit fighters and supporters.

I argue that the Palestinian problem should be resolved in such a way as to empower Palestinians to establish their own state. Short of doing that, there is the risk of giving radical groups further ammunition to recruit more radicals.

In other words, Kerry is correct in his linkage.

[email protected]