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in category Middle East

Is Israel undefeatable and should Muslims accept its existence in the region?

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In a Nutshell: The Muslim rulers were never keen on liberating Palestine. Their intentions were made visible through their questionable actions: Arab leaders collaborated with Israel, contributed in its formation, and supported Israeli plans both directly and indirectly. The plan of defeating Israel and taking back the Palestinian land was nothing more than an illusion aiming at shifting and controlling Middle Eastern public opinion. The strength of Arab forces united is unquestionable, but it has never been used to serve the Palestinian cause. The myth of Israeli superiority was a product of military power paired with the treachery of Muslim leaders.

Introduction

It is often claimed that Israel is invincible, it has proven this in 4 wars, so the Muslim world should accept its existence. There are several factors behind Israel's position today. I will examine four historical events starting from the early formation of Israel in 1948 to the most recent Middle Eastern war of 1973. Two major arguments are elaborated throughout the four events:

- the first is the power of Israeli military forces, and

- the second is the treachery of Muslim rulers.

One also should bear in mind, what is the purpose of maintaining this myth.

The 1948 war - Israel's Creation

The first historical event traces back to the early formation of Israel in 1948. Despite the considerable demographic differences between Israeli and Arab populations, Israel has managed to remain a superior power. Ironically, the actions of Arab leaders, supposedly a core defender of the Palestinian cause, secured a solid Jewish foothold in Palestine. Three instances prove the treachery of Arab rulers:

- A secret collaboration between King Abdullah of Jordan and Israel's first Prime Minister, Ben Gurion. King Abdullah accepted the formation of Israel in return for Jordanian control over Arab-populated Palestinian lands.

- King Abdullah's refusal to enter Nazi-controlled territories.

- Egyptian Prime Minister Nakrashi Pasha sending amateur volunteers to war instead of skilled, well-trained soldiers.

Additionally, the might of Israel owed much to its well-organized military forces compared to the weak, and almost arbitrary, Arab forces. While Israel managed to create a solid defense strategy that included 30,000 armed personnel, 10,000 men for local defense, 25,000 men for home guards, and nearly 3,000 trained gang terrorists, Arab forces suffered an acute lack of trained soldiers.

The 1956 Suez Canal Crisis

Even though the Suez crisis revolved around the Anglo-American conflict over the Suez Canal, the US found it necessary to have Egypt under its control in order to successfully influence the Middle East. Given Egypt's strategic location, America planned to turn Egypt into a Trojan horse. One of the ways of controlling the Egyptian leadership and, consequently, the Suez Canal, was implementing the CIA into both the Egyptian regime and the Egyptian public opinion. Ultimately, the US managed to achieve four main objectives:

- Backing a coup d'état and overthrowing the British puppet King Farook in 1952.

- Bringing into power the pro-American leader Gamal Abdul-Nasser who maintained an anti-British ideology.

- Managing to tame the anti-American Middle Easterners through the charismatic and influential personality of Gamal Abdul-Nasser.

- Nationalizing the Suez Canal in 1956.

Tensions between America and Britain arose when Britain dragged France and Israel into the conflict. France objected to the American plans due to Egypt's support of Algerian rebels. It also refused to accept America control a French-built canal. As for Israel, it seized control over Egyptian territory and threatened to invade Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula. Facing those direct threats of intervention, America overruled the British, French, and Israeli plans by allying with USSR. Both powers exercised military, diplomatic, and economic pressure over the opposing countries evening threatening to nuke London and Paris.

Eventually, America triumphed and emerged as the dominant power in the Middle East.

The 1967 Six-Day War

Being the bridging country between the West and the Middle East as well as a central subject of Anglo-American interest, Egypt was dragged into a six-day war. As Britain's European ally failed to exercise pressure on America and on Nasser's regime, Britain resorted to its Middle-Eastern agents in Jordan, Syria, and Israel, and lured them into a war against Egypt. Israel attacked Egypt on June 5th 1967 and destroyed 60% of the Egyptian grounded air force as well as 66% of Syrian and Jordanian combat aircraft.

Israel successfully seized the West bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights - even though it was occupied by Syrian troops. The most important Israeli realization during the Six-Day War was capturing Sharm al-Sheikh, for it achieved two goals: weakening the regime of Gamal Abdul-Nasser, and backing British interests within the region. Strongly in control of the most strategic territories in the Middle East, Israel has managed to use its newly acquired territories as a tool for peace negotiations. Further supported by the 1947 Partition plan, Israeli territorial gains have grown to 78% of historic Palestine.

The 1973 War

The 1973 war was a clear proof that the liberation of Palestine has never been taken as seriously as expected.

When Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in 1973, the aim was not even to free Golan Heights, but rather to solidify the position of Anwar Sadat and Hafez-al-Assad who were actively prone to military coups. Being noticeably less charismatic than Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat struggled to hide his underlying intention. In fact, he did not seek a war of liberation against Israel, but rather to secure his own position as a leader. The first 24 hours of the war were triumphant and hopeful: Egypt destroyed Israel's Bar-Lev with minimal casualties, and two Syrian divisions retook some of the Israeli lands captured in 1967. However, despite early victory, Anwar Sadat was ready to negotiate at an early stage.

Conclusion

The Muslim rulers were never keen on liberating Palestine. Their intentions were made visible through their questionable actions: Arab leaders collaborated with Israel, contributed in its formation, and supported Israeli plans both directly and indirectly.

The truth is, the plan of defeating Israel and taking back the Palestinian land was nothing more than an illusion aiming at shifting and controlling Middle Eastern public opinion. The strength of Arab forces united is unquestionable, but it has never been used to serve the Palestinian cause. The myth of Israeli superiority was a product of military power paired with the treachery of Muslim leaders.


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