PA daily op-ed: Turmoil in region part of long-term Israeli and Western plan to re-divide the region
Op-ed by Yahya Rabah, columnist for the official PA daily and member of the Fatah Leadership Committee in Gaza
Headline: “The genius of remaining and being present”
“It is now known to many that this extremely sensitive region, the Middle East, and at its heart the Arab region, stands before repartition based on ethnic, sectarian and religious background. Moreover, the events of the Arab Spring, whether you call it spring or winter - thoughts and arguments arose among the international powers years before the beginning of the events. The thoughts and partition plans even reached the stage of drawing on maps found in the hands of many research centers in the region. Likewise, in the Sykes-Picot documents there is an indication for reexamining the maps drawn during World War I after 100 years. We are now at the heart of the ongoing reexamination, inside its blazing furnace, and facing its progress which is beyond imagination. All that we hear, know, and see with our own eyes concerning the groups of political Islam, from ISIS to the smallest faction, they are nothing but tools created by the international forces in order to force the new partition maps [on us]. This began with the Palestinian partition, for which Israeli research centers have paved the way since 1985, and which General Sharon began to implement in 2005, with which Hamas movement - as a faction of political Islam - acted in coordination (i.e., with Sharon’s plan), carrying out the 2007 revolution, and continuing with what happened and is still happening – from Tunisia, which returned to itself thanks to the flexibility and moderation of the Maliki school [of Islam] and because of the strength and cohesion of the country and the Tunisian people's zeal for social and national achievements, to other efforts still interacting with each other at different levels. From the Palestinian perspective, we are part of the region, and we are an organic part of the attack (by Israel and the West, against the Middle East –Ed). However, it is possible that we are in greater danger because of Israel, which is occupying our land and wants to destroy our identity.”
Note: Sykes-Picot agreement – a secret agreement between Britain and France negotiated by French diplomat François Georges-Picot and Briton Sir Mark Sykes and concluded in May 1916. The agreement had Russia’s approval and specified Britain’s and France’s proposed spheres of influence and control in the Middle East if the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I. The plan was revealed in 1917 in the Russian press, and subsequently in the British press, angering the Arabs as it contradicted promises of independence made to them - on the condition they helped fight against and bring down the Ottoman empire. The plan caused lasting distrust on the part of the Arabs in relation to Western countries.
Headline: “The genius of remaining and being present”
“It is now known to many that this extremely sensitive region, the Middle East, and at its heart the Arab region, stands before repartition based on ethnic, sectarian and religious background. Moreover, the events of the Arab Spring, whether you call it spring or winter - thoughts and arguments arose among the international powers years before the beginning of the events. The thoughts and partition plans even reached the stage of drawing on maps found in the hands of many research centers in the region. Likewise, in the Sykes-Picot documents there is an indication for reexamining the maps drawn during World War I after 100 years. We are now at the heart of the ongoing reexamination, inside its blazing furnace, and facing its progress which is beyond imagination. All that we hear, know, and see with our own eyes concerning the groups of political Islam, from ISIS to the smallest faction, they are nothing but tools created by the international forces in order to force the new partition maps [on us]. This began with the Palestinian partition, for which Israeli research centers have paved the way since 1985, and which General Sharon began to implement in 2005, with which Hamas movement - as a faction of political Islam - acted in coordination (i.e., with Sharon’s plan), carrying out the 2007 revolution, and continuing with what happened and is still happening – from Tunisia, which returned to itself thanks to the flexibility and moderation of the Maliki school [of Islam] and because of the strength and cohesion of the country and the Tunisian people's zeal for social and national achievements, to other efforts still interacting with each other at different levels. From the Palestinian perspective, we are part of the region, and we are an organic part of the attack (by Israel and the West, against the Middle East –Ed). However, it is possible that we are in greater danger because of Israel, which is occupying our land and wants to destroy our identity.”
Note: Sykes-Picot agreement – a secret agreement between Britain and France negotiated by French diplomat François Georges-Picot and Briton Sir Mark Sykes and concluded in May 1916. The agreement had Russia’s approval and specified Britain’s and France’s proposed spheres of influence and control in the Middle East if the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I. The plan was revealed in 1917 in the Russian press, and subsequently in the British press, angering the Arabs as it contradicted promises of independence made to them - on the condition they helped fight against and bring down the Ottoman empire. The plan caused lasting distrust on the part of the Arabs in relation to Western countries.