In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's December 6, 2017 announcement of U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and of the planned move of the U.S. embassy there, Jamal Al-Shawahin, a columnist for the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood's daily Al-Sabil who is known for his antisemitic views,[1] wrote that Trump's move cannot go unanswered and must be opposed by every possible means. Al-Shawahin called on the Palestinians, and on the entire Arab and Islamic world, to do whatever it takes to prevent the U.S. and Israel from making another move against them, stressing that "sacrifice operations" are now the only option for the Palestinian people. He urged the Arabs to inform the U.S. that they will refuse the "deal of the century" (as Trump called his envisioned U.S.-brokered Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement), to warn the U.S. that all Western interests will be in danger, and to remind it of the sacrifice operations that have taken place in and out of Israel.
Jamal Al-Shawahin (image: Paltimes.ps)
The following are translated excerpts from Al-Shawahin's article: [2]
"What next? [I do not refer] to the demonstrations, protests, condemnations and resistance to the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the criminal entity and to move its embassy there, but [rather to] the next decision of the U.S. and Israel. It seems that they are waiting for the furious and wide-ranging responses to subside before they take their next step, which will be nothing less than a declaration of the annexation of the West Bank and a revocation of what are known as the June 4 [1967] borders.
"What will force Trump to recant? What does the enemy country [Israel] fear?... Will a continuation of the intifada and its expansion be enough to restore Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinians and all Muslims? Is it possible that an unarmed people living under siege and suffering all kinds of Jewish terror will be victorious and regain its stolen rights? Will the Palestinian unity between Fatah and Hamas, or the restoration of the PLO's role, be enough to contend with the enemy? The answer is that all these are [indeed] likely to revive the glory of the conflict and bring the situation back to the starting line, assuming that the actions of the [Palestinian] national liberation movements continue. This will revitalize the movement for the liberation of Palestine on the basis of armed struggle.
"The main principle is that [this] American move must not go unanswered, and must be confronted by every possible means. As a first [step], the [Palestinian] Authority in Ramallah must disband, announce the cancellation of the Oslo [Accords], with all this entails, and call on the international community to assume responsibility [for the situation]. This is because sacrifice operations have become the only option for the Palestinian people. Furthermore, the conflict must be given a new name – the 'Arab-Israeli conflict' and not just the 'Palestinian[-Israeli conflict],' and this name must be adopted in all Palestinian publications. After all, it is Arabs who lost Palestine in the wars they failed to win, [so] it is only right that they should reclaim their own honor. Likewise, Jerusalem should be declared the Islamic Palestinian capital, so as to involve all the Muslim countries in the struggle, based on this perspective.
"The Arabs must take effective steps that will enable the Palestinians to embark on the harshest intifada, and inform the U.S. of their actual position, namely that they cannot conceivably accept the 'deal of the century' and that they will oppose it, as long as its primary feature is abandoning Jerusalem and granting it as a gift to their historic enemy. [The Arabs must also make clear to the U.S.] that there will never be peace in light of its flagrant bias in favor of the Jewish occupiers, that all the interests of the West will be in danger, and that it should recall the days of the heroic deeds of those who sacrificed [their lives], both in and out [of Israel]."
[1] See MEMRI Reports: Special Dispatch No. 6890, Jordanian Columnist In Muslim Brotherhood Daily: A Million Hitlers From All Over The World Will Appear And Eliminate The Jews, April 23, 2017; Special Dispatch No. 5733, Jordanian Journalist: Hitler Was A Million Times More Merciful Than Israel's Leaders, May 7, 2014; Special Dispatch No. 6580, Jordanian Journalist In Three Antisemitic Articles: The Jews Want To Destroy Other Religions And Peoples And Endanger Europe; Depicting Them In A Positive Light Constitutes Brainwashing, August 18, 2016.
[2] Al-Sabil (Jordan), December 10, 2017.