Trump jamboree in Arab sheikdoms – A shameful betrayal of Palestine

By Iqbal Jassat

In stark contrast to the humiliating subservience of unelected Arab despots, who competed with one another to disgracefully bow to American imperialism, Iran and Yemen have emerged as unwavering, resolute allies in Palestine’s struggle for liberation.

The spectacle that unfolded in Riyadh, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, where reactionary autocrats shamelessly opened the vaults of their ill-gotten wealth to hand over trillions of dollars to the world’s most unpredictable leader, Donald Trump—while just down the road in Gaza, millions suffer from a lack of food, water, and medicine due directly to America’s complicity in Israel’s genocide—was both shocking and yet, unsurprisingly predictable.

Whether it is Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) of the Saudi dynasty or Mohamed bin Zayed (MbZ) of the UAE, with the possible exception of Qatar’s Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani—known to be involved in so-called “hostage negotiations” with Hamas’s leadership—they have all demonstrated hostility toward Palestine’s quest for freedom.

At a time when the entire world is acutely aware that the genocide has reached terrifying levels of annihilation—unparalleled in the history of warfare, conflicts, and atrocities, comparable to the Holocaust if not worse—Arab despots smugly entertained Trump and his entourage in the most lavish fashion imaginable.

That this genocide may surpass the Holocaust has been asserted by Alon Mizrahi, who describes himself as an “Anti-Zionist Arab Jew,” in his latest “Mizrahi Perspective”: “The Nazi Holocaust was committed in the dark, and most of humanity did not see it or know about it in real time,” he tweeted, adding that “the Gaza Genocide is broadcast live for the whole world to see.”

Does this not raise deeply disturbing questions about the level of suppression and absence of free speech within Arab regimes—how is it that their populations, fully aware of the blood-soaked slaughter of their kith and kin, remain silent and unmoved?

As client-states of the US empire, these regimes may wear the thin veneer of “independence,” but in truth, they are far from enjoying any semblance of sovereignty without America’s sanction.

The fact that the security of their gold-plated thrones is outsourced to the Pentagon is evidenced by the US maintaining fortified military bases at no fewer than nineteen sites—eight of which are considered permanent by many regional analysts—in countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the UAE, as cited by sources such as the Council on Foreign Relations.

America’s military tentacles are not confined to these regions alone. The US also operates significant bases in Djibouti and Turkey—though part of other regional commands, they contribute immensely to Washington’s operations across the West Asia, according to the American Security Project.

This starkly reveals the conundrum plaguing the Persian Gulf sheikdoms—carved out during the colonial era—that despite their unchecked power, immense wealth, and global prestige, they remain shackled under the yoke of American dominance.

The Trump extravaganza was thus not only a public affirmation of subservience to US power by his hosts, but a blaring signal that they lack the will to challenge him—or the courage to “leverage” their untold trillions to immediately and unconditionally demand an end to Netanyahu’s satanic rampage in Gaza.

Standing as a beacon of hope for Palestine—sharply opposed to the collective betrayal by Arab despots, including Egypt and Jordan—is, of course, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Yemen.

Despite enduring decades of isolation and punishing sanctions, Iran has refused to yield to American pressure to abandon its support for the Palestinian resistance, led by Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements.

This past Friday, Speaker of Iranian parliament Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf issued an urgent appeal to the Muslim world to strengthen unity and raise their voices in defense of oppressed Palestinians.

Speaking during Friday prayers at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Ghalibaf reminded the congregation that it is both a duty and a moral imperative to not allow “global arrogance” to continue perpetrating the most extensive genocide in history.

His message was resounding, and one hopes it reached the inner chambers of Trump’s Persian Gulf allies: “Today, the people of Gaza, including children, women and patients, expect us to be by their side. They want us to be the voice of the oppressed and not leave them alone in these difficult days.”

Today, he observed, Muslims across the globe—and indeed, all freedom-seeking peoples—stand firm in support of a call by the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, to resist the “cancerous tumor” that is Israel.

He further emphasized that Iranians have consistently supported the Palestinian people, and that they will never cease to do so, regardless of threats or pressure.

While Hezbollah in Lebanon has made monumental sacrifices in defense of the Palestinian cause—including the devastating loss of its revered leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah—it rightfully commands admiration for remaining unwavering in its principled position despite such tragedies.

The undisguised glee and satisfaction shared by many Arab despots with Israel during the carpet bombings of Beirut and South Lebanon is a record not of honor, but of ignominy.

Indeed, the dignity displayed by Yemeni Ansarullah’s bravery—especially at great cost given Yemen’s own dire humanitarian crisis—stands in stark contrast to the cowardice on full display during the Trump jamboree.

Iqbal Jassat is an executive member of the Media Review Network, Johannesburg, South Africa.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)

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