Israel Matzav

This is rich: The safest Arabs in the world

Guess where the safest Arabs in the world live? You guessed it - the 'West Bank' and Gaza.

But there are other reasons the Palestine issue has lost much of its luster for many Arabs. One reason was cited the other evening by a Jordanian businessman, Abu Furas, at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner in London. “Today, no Arab feels safe in his country,” he said. “Ironically, the sole exceptions are Palestinians in the West Bank because they know Israel will defend them if ISIS attacks. Even in Gaza, most people secretly believe that Israel is their ultimate protection against ISIS fighters trying to strike roots in the Sinai.”

Though the idea of Arabs being saved by Israel from massacre by their own brethren sounds fantastic, events on the ground lend it some weight.

Palestinians living in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria have been massacred both by Bashar al-Assad’s troops and throat-cutting mujahideen from ISIS. The massacre of Christians, Yazidis and Druze minorities by Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq contrasts with the safety those groups enjoy in Israel.

For weeks, Jordan has been bracing itself for an attack by ISIS on Zarqa, a Palestinian-majority city near Syria. Such a move would bring ISIS close to the West Bank and Israel proper, in which case, some Jordanians believe, the Jewish state would stop its spread.

“Today, Arabs see that their own house is on fire,” says a Dubai businessman. “In such a situation one could hardly think of burning someone else’s house.”

There is no one else to save the Arabs. The United States? Couldn't care less. Europe? Will run away faster than you can say 'Yazidi.' The Gulf Countries? Don't know how to operate most of their toys. Only Israel will save its Arab population from ISIS.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Gaza, Gulf states, ISIS, Islamic State, Judea and Samaria, Palestinians

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:15 AM