by Amil Imani (September 2024)
As the dust settles from the deceased top leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, the world’s political stage has transformed into a theatre of varied reactions that a master of satire might well script. From fiery condemnation to ice-cold neutrality and occasional cheer, it’s as if the global community was playing an intricate game of diplomatic charades, each actor vying for the best performance.
The Islamic Republic (IR), Middle Eastern indignation’s grand maestro, has outdone itself this time. In a performance that could give Shakespeare’s tragedies a run for their money, Tehran has vowed revenge with a dramatic flair that’s practically Shakespearean in its intensity. One can almost hear the thunderous condemnation from Tehran echoing across the region. It’s as though the Islamic Republic’s scriptwriters are busy penning the next act of a high-stakes drama where revenge is not just a plot point but the entire storyline. One might think IR was in the middle of hosting a grand gala when Haniyeh’s death interrupted their program.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the diplomatic universe, the neutral actors have decided to play their roles with a remarkable lack of enthusiasm. Saudi Arabia and Egypt, who traditionally prefer to keep their public statements as lukewarm as a tepid cup of coffee, have mastered the art of non-reaction. It’s almost as if their reaction was pre-approved by a committee, ensuring that no one gets too excited about anything.
Ah, Saudi Arabia! —you’d think they’d have something to say about Haniyeh’s demise, but no, they chose silence. Their silence is deafening, a political art form showcasing how expertly one can sidestep controversy while maintaining a perfectly unruffled demeanor. Perhaps they figured it was better to keep the peace (or whatever passes for it) and avoid adding more fuel to the fire. Who needs drama when you can maintain your carefully balanced relationships? As for the Egyptians, they didn’t make any peep regarding Haniyeh’s death. Maybe they were too busy trying to untangle their complex regional relationships.
Coming to Turkey, the vocal critics of Israeli policies have often played the Hamas card. But this time, they took a surprisingly restrained approach. Perhaps they were preoccupied with their domestic dramas or budding relationship with the U.S. and the EU. Who knew they had more pressing matters than reacting to a high-profile assassination?
Their responses could be summed up as: “Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.”
And then, in the most minor expected twist, we have the applause from those who usually wouldn’t be caught dead on this side of the fence. Some factions and individuals within the broader Arab world, often wary of Hamas and its influence, have unexpectedly clapped for the action. It’s as if they were handed a script in which Haniyeh’s exit is a welcome plot development.
Hezbollah, the loyal ally of the Islamic Republic and self-proclaimed defender of Palestine, also kept mum after Haniyeh’s killing. Maybe they decided that with their own domestic issues, it was best to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Escalating tensions is so last season, after all.
With its own regional and internal concerns, Jordan also opted for a low profile. Their response—or lack thereof—was likely motivated by a desire to keep things stable (or as stable as they can be in that neck of the woods). Why take a stand when you can blend into the background?
While the above players played the silent game, a different narrative unfolded among certain groups within the broader Islamic and Arab world. Surprisingly, some factions couldn’t contain their approval for Haniyeh’s untimely exit.
Some individuals within the Persian Gulf States, particularly those with a grudge against Hamas, may have quietly cheered the news. Sure, they might publicly express caution, but deep down, they’ve always been skeptical of Hamas due to its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. There’s nothing like a little private enthusiasm to spice up the day!
Then we have the secular Arab leaders, who—surprise, surprise—viewed Haniyeh’s killing as a potential boon for regional stability. Who wouldn’t want to eliminate a perceived threat to peace? It’s all about keeping the status quo intact.
Let’s not forget the rival Palestinian factions, particularly Fatah, who might have seen Haniyeh’s exit as an opportunity to boost their political standing. After all, it’s a long-standing power struggle, and what better way to gain the upper hand than by eliminating a key player?
Some moderate voices in the Arab world probably nodded approvingly, welcoming the action toward combating extremism. Who doesn’t want a little pragmatism in the mess of Middle Eastern politics?
And finally, we have Israel’s supporters, who, unsurprisingly, were likely thrilled about the whole affair. For them, Haniyeh’s death was just another tick on the scoreboard in their ongoing battle against Hamas. There’s nothing like a little state-sponsored cheerleading to keep morale high!
One can almost imagine these characters holding up “thumbs up” signs while simultaneously checking their watches, eagerly anticipating the next chapter in what they hope will be a more stable and less chaotic narrative.
In the end, the muted responses from critical players reflect the intricate balancing act they perform within the region. While some groups silently approved, others chose silence as their best course of action.
The global reaction to Haniyeh’s death is like a high-stakes drama where every player vies for the limelight. From Iran’s operatic rage to the calm silence of the neutral parties and the unexpected applause from unexpected quarters, it’s a reminder of how theater and reality often blur in international politics. As the curtain falls on this particular act, one thing is clear: in the grand play of Middle Eastern geopolitics, everyone has their role, and the show must go on.
After all, in the chaotic world of Middle Eastern politics, sometimes the best reaction is no reaction at all.
Table of Contents
Amil Imani is an Iranian-American writer, satirist, novelist, public speaker, political analyst, foreign policy, National and Homeland Security, Intelligence and counterterrorism who has been writing and speaking out about the danger of radical Islam both in America and internationally. He has become a formidable voice in the United States against the danger of global jihad and Islamization of America. Imani is the author of Obama Meets Ahmadinejad, Operation Persian Gulf, and US Constitution for Kids. He is currently working on his fourth and fifth books. He is the 2010 honoree of EMET: “The Speaker of the Truth Award” at Capitol Hill. His website is https://amilimani.us/
Follow NER on Twitter @NERIconoclast
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One Response
May 1933: “Arab ‘anti-Semitism” As Arab Palestine supports Hitler – exposes the lie: “we are only against Zionists”
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Davar, May 23, 1933.
https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/dav/1933/05/24/01/article/8/
Arab ‘anti-Semitism.’
We knew quite well, that the official leaders of the Arabs of the country and their journalists hate “Zion” and the Jewish settlement in Israel in general. The causes and reasons are known. They are not in any case showing hostility towards the Zionists and the Jews in Israel, they would repeat and emphasize that they are free from hatred of the Jewish-people, from anti-Semitism. On the contrary, they would boast at every opportunity of their rights, related to the love of the Jewish-people in the past, and as if their hatred in the present did not apply to the Jewish community. The events in Germany came and revealed the true face of these Semites.
Three daily newspapers in [Eretz-Yisrael] Palestine, which reflect the opinions of Arab leaders and the active political class: ‘Falastin’ – فلسطين, ‘Al-Jami’a al-Arabiyya’ – الجامعة العربية and ‘Al-jamā’ah al-islāmīyah’ – الجماعة الإسلامية. To begin with, there was a difference in the attitude of these newspapers towards the persecution of the Jews in Germany. Falastin wrote several times against the persecutions, although in a very lukewarm tone, the two Muslim newspapers drowned from the first moment any small comment about opposition to the persecution of a people — in case they did not forget to attach such a comment — in a flood of harsh words, slander and justification of the persecution of the Jews. And the next day, ‘Falastin’ also followed them.
The crown of Arab anti-Semitism in the events of Germany goes without a doubt to the Mufti newspaper: ‘Al-Jami’a al-Arabiyya.’ This newspaper supported Hitlerism in the past, because fascist nationalism is its ideal. It always repeated the slogan: we support Hitler and only one thing will violate our joy. With his victory, his rule will increase the flow of Jewish immigration to Israel. And here Hitler came to power, terrible persecutions took place against the Jews of Germany, and ‘Al-Jami’a’ immediately sided with the Nazis to protect them from the “false [sic] Jewish” propaganda.
Almost every day, original and translated articles appear in this newspaper fighting the news about “so-called persecutions”, (الاضطهاد .) All the world’s newspapers and German government laws are (supposedly) “false”, and only a denial of the Nazis’ are “credible” to the editor of ‘Al Jamiah’. Several times he claimed in main articles from the government on the “insult” of the German consuls in Jerusalem and Jaffa at the hands of the Jews, and “establishes” in connection with this the inferiority of the Jewish race in comparison to the Germans. And it was not enough to pit the Arabs against the Jews, but he began to pit the Jews against the Germans in Palestine.
In the issue of May 16, he writes in this vein: There has been a German diaspora in Palestine for decades…. And in his speech about the Jews in Germany he writes (ibid.) “The Nazis rose up against the German Jews, who spread…” And the editor of ‘Islamiya’ writes simply (on May 22): “When Hitlerism appeared, the Arabs cheered and rejoiced, saying: A blow from heaven in the hands of others.” …
But between ‘Al-Jami’a’ and ‘Islamiyah’ there is a difference of opinion on one point: according to the former, Hitler caused a loss to Palestine by increasing the aspiration and immigration to the land, whereas the latter account of the owner of ‘Islamia’ is of great win to all “seekers of justice: “First of all, the strongest Jewish community in Europe must be torn to pieces, and in any case, Jewry in general is weakened. Second, there is no doubt that Hitler’s ideas will also spread to other countries, according to the “Law of the Spread of Contagious Diseases[sic],” and Jewry will be destroyed there as well. And third, now the end will come to the rule of England and France in the world. Italy has already risen and Germany is now standing beside it. Well, looting of systems, a new equilibrium, and here is a convenient opportunity for “those seeking justice.” The main “demander of justice” of “Islamia” removed all veils here: his ambition – the destruction of Jewry. Of course, ‘Falastin’ needs no lesson in anti-Semitism and hatred of the Jews from its Muslim friends. It stands on the ‘height’ of place and time.
All the conspiracies and lies that the anti-Semites in the world have concocted from time to time in relation to the Jews are chewed up every day in this newspaper and are presented to the reader with the addition of a well-known “Palestinian spice”.
The newspaper seeks to publish any news that contains any ‘denouncing’ of Hitler’s opponents, and concludes (May 4): “We did not doubt it at all, since the Jewish newspapers began to widely spread their abundant lies [sic] about the persecution of Jews in Germany, because they are false [sic] in their information, and criminals in their signature on the German people, who gave modern culture so much philosophical science and art.”
Of the small Arab newspapers, ‘Mir’at Al-Sharq مرﺁة الشرق – ‘ was the only one, which expressed human sorrow for the persecution of the Jews in Germany, but demanded a price for this expression: renouncing the Balfour Declaration!
For anyone who knows the heads of the strata in the Arab camp, there is no surprise in the ‘anti-Semitic’ revelation of the Arab newspapers. We knew it..!
However, what is interesting about this whole phenomenon is that in the same pages where these Muslim Arabs are standing alongside Hitler, who declares to the world that his plan is to place the Jewish community, which has lived in Germany no less than during the days of Islam on earth, outside of any civil law — in those pages, the Arabs of the country are literally “screaming bloody murder” on persecution of their brothers in North Africa! And those Muslim Arabs, who see themselves as being persecuted in several places, have no desire to listen to the moans of other persecuted people….
And from here there is only one and only conclusion regarding Eretz Yisrael (“palestine”): the Arab leaders are already today Hitlerites in idea, and woe betide the Jewish community in Israel if power is given to them. The ‘anti-Semitic revelation’ regarding the events in Germany should serve as a political document for us in any negotiation about the guarding (Mishmar) in Israel…