Saudi Arabia, Egypt keep mum on Israeli crimes, abandon al-Aqsa: Author

Saudi Arabia and Egypt have shown "cold indifference" toward crimes committed by the Israeli regime against Palestinian Muslims at al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds, says an author.

Daud Abdullah, in an opinion piece published by palestinechronicle.com on Wednesday, wrote that the restrictive measures imposed by Israel at the compound had failed to stir the moral fiber of the religious establishments in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

“The religious institutions in Makkah, Madinah and Cairo have gone absent without leave despite the dangerous and ever-worsening situation at the Noble Sanctuary in occupied Jerusalem-al-Quds,” wrote Abdullah.

“Their cold indifference to the plight of Islam’s third holiest site is unworthy of institutions that profess to be the preeminent leaders of Muslims around the world.”

Religious institutions sponsored by Riyadh and Cairo, he said, have a bad record of always working in concert with their political leaders, who are in cahoots with the United States and Israel.

“Seldom have they spoken out without the consent of their political masters who, in turn, never act without the approval of the United States,” Abdullah said.

“Washington’s support, they believe, is essential not only for their security but their very survival.”

Saudi Arabia and Egypt have accelerated efforts to close the space in which the entirely legitimate resistance to Israel’s occupation can function, he said. “Whether through the closure of borders, detention of activists or the prohibition of websites, the intent and impact have been the same; they have created the conditions favorable for Israel to pursue its objective of Judaising Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque with minimal opposition.”

This, however, is only half of the explanation for their disturbing silence on events across the occupied Palestinian lands, he stated. 

According to the author, the other half stems from the fact that both states are now spearheading a regional drive for full normalization of relations with Israel. “Their belief and reasoning is that friendship with Israel is the best guarantee of US support for themselves.”

Pointing to the so-called Arab Islamic American Summit, which was held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the author said the gathering had furthered the Israeli agenda in the region.

“Against this background, the Riyadh summit of Muslim countries in May provided Saudi Arabia with what the Americans viewed as a final opportunity to chart a new direction of travel. That Donald Trump chose Saudi Arabia as the first country to visit as President emphasized the importance he attached to reining-in the Kingdom.”

“Though not represented officially at the summit, Israel emerged as its real beneficiary. To its delight and satisfaction the Zionist state saw the US president stand up in an Arab capital and link the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, with ISIS (Daesh) and Al-Qaeda.”

The prominent author also said there was no end for Washington's demands from some Arab states. “Everything comes with a price to pay, and the US list of conditions seems to be endless.”

As the Americans often say, though, “there is no such thing as a free lunch,” Abdullah said.

Elsewhere in the article, the author makes a mockery of cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia to counter terrorism, saying the regime in Riyadh has long been spreading extremist ideology and sponsoring terror groups.

“Saudi Arabia has been long seen in the West as the main exporter and sponsor of Salafism around the globe,” Abdullah said. “Indeed, the regime in Riyadh is currently embroiled in a legal battle to avoid paying compensation to the victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA).”

Saudi Arabia, he said, has a long history of assisting Washington's agenda through creating militants and terrorist groups that in the 1980s these ignominious establishments were prompted by Washington to mobilise Muslim youth to tackle the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and "we all know what came out of that, not least a certain organization called al-Qaeda."

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