In the past, I have sometimes chosen the end of the year to give Arab leaders a gift stemming from the political situation in this or that country. This time, I will not give the brave leaders anything, not even symbolically. Instead, I say to each of them that they are partly responsible for the loss of Jerusalem, and perhaps Palestine, during their auspicious rule. The fascist Israeli government has killed the two-state solution and the pace of settlements on the West Bank and in Jerusalem is accelerating, and if Arab countries do not take a clear, open, decisive stance, then say goodbye to Jerusalem. Everyone is responsible, and I hold President Mahmoud Abbas, and the head of the Hamas Politburo, Khaled Meshaal, even more responsible. The Palestinians' political division has made it easier for the fascist government in Israel to increase settlements in the West Bank, and separate Jerusalem from the rest of the Palestinian territories, with new housing units and neighborhoods. I began with Palestine, because it is in the hands of a foreign enemy that justifies occupation with Torah fables that contradict the region's recorded history. However, some of our countries do not need neo-colonialism to oppress people, because the government is sufficient for this and the opposition helps it. I have before me The Guardian's end-of-year review, in which the Arabs' share is represented by photos of destruction and fires in a neighborhood of Aleppo, and another of a sniper in the middle of the city, with sunlight filling the holes which the rockets made in the building that he has chosen to use to target civilians (there was another photo of Palestinian children playing in a graveyard in Gaza). The entire world has been unable to match such achievements. The Syrian regime and the opposition insist on winning in their armed confrontation, and the only result after nearly two years of fighting is the destruction of the historical cradle of world civilization. If there is a victor in the end, he might repeat what King Pyrrhus said after a very costly triumph: "Another such victory and we are lost." Killing and destruction continue in Syria at the hands of its people, and imported terrorists. Egypt has survived killing Syrian-style, although the destruction is wider in scope, as it covers well-known independent state institutions. The president, government, Parliament, Shura Council and false Constitution all belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, and tomorrow it will be the turn of the judiciary and the army leadership. There are 51 million voters in Egypt and ten million of them supported the Constitution, which means only one-fifth. Even though many in the opposition called for boycotting the referendum on the Constitution, it was opposed by six million voters. The numbers show that at least half of Egyptians oppose the Muslim Brotherhood and its rule, and instead of the Brotherhood trying to reach an understanding with the opposition and involve it in the political process, it is trying to impose its political, social and religious attitudes on others, because it is not democratic – it never was, and it never will be. If the new rulers in Egypt succeed in rescuing the economy and providing a dignified life for people, they will achieve something that compensates for all of their other failures and negate the constant criticism of the Brotherhood's performance in power. However, until this happens, the available information, figures and international reports all say that every problem from which the Egyptians suffered under Hosni Mubarak has become magnified under President Mohammad Morsi. It has now gone so far that I believe the regime will succeed if the Egyptian economy's performance improves. I will overlook the other promises made by Morsi, which have not been achieved at all. Lebanon is moving its battles to Syria, as people fight both for and against the regime; Libya is no longer a state but an armed camp, and militias are working against democracy, blocking the transitional period and committing crimes every day. Iraq is no longer ours. Yemen has a government that is covering up the killing of Yemeni civilians by American drones in constant attacks on al-Qaeda fighters. The situation in every Arab country is not this bad, but it is bad enough to see Jerusalem lost before the eyes of the Arab people. I find no reason to justify giving any New Year's present to Arab leaders in the countries whose problems I have chosen to detail in this column. Instead, I ask them to give their people some good news, for example the news that they will resign. But they will not do this; they see the words "we love you" written everywhere and forget they were the ones who wrote them. [email protected]
