Neither Iran's threats nor the indignation expressed by the so-called "Arab street" in demonstrations in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen... had more effect on the governments of the Middle East than what they had done on other occasions, except that the condemnation of Israel was unanimous and immediate, and reflected the possible end of the attempt at normalization between the Arab world and the US-sponsored Israel and, in some ways, the return of the Palestinian cause to official discourse before the "street" in question becomes a bigger issue.
Thus, on Tuesday, the Saudi Council of Ministers decided to "renew our demand to move forward in the peace process in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations and the Arab Peace Initiative". This meant shelving to a certain extent the rapprochement process with Israel and returning to the principle formulated two decades ago: recognition of the State of Israel in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the borders of 1967 and recognition of the Palestinian refugees' right of return.
Shortly after, when the explosion in the Christian hospital in the city of Gaza was still shocking the world, Saudi Arabia accused Israel without nuance. In New York, Arab ambassadors scrambled to demand that the United Nations Security Council stop wasting time, only to be met in the end with the United States vetoing a soft resolution proposal from Brazil.
Even the United Arab Emirates, a signatory country of the so-called Abraham Accords (along with Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan), which made peace with Israel, condemned "strongly the Israeli attack directed at the Al Baptist Hospital "Ahli". The Emirates, incidentally, supported Russia's proposed Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire on Monday.
Equally significant was the fact that the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hussein Amir Abdul·lahian, went yesterday to the extraordinary meeting in Jidda (Saudi Arabia) of the council of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which brings together 57 countries . Saudis and Iranians resumed relations in March, thanks to the mediation of China, and the minister sent by Tehran proclaimed yesterday that "time is up", almost echoing the words of the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, who said that "the end of the Zionist regime begins with the attack on the hospital". According to Raisi, Israel "will face a harsh revenge at the hands of Muslim countries". He said so in a speech during a large demonstration in the country's capital, Tehran.
Despite the forcefulness of the words, the reality yesterday had many nuances. The one that took place in Tehran was a promoted demonstration, while the protests that took place in the Egyptian universities of Cairo and Alexandria did not reach the official media and became known through social networks. And, according to the Middle East Monitor, in Saudi Arabia last Friday the demand of a parishioner who asked the imam to talk about the Gaza Strip in his sermon was kindly answered by three security agents who they accompanied to the door of the mosque.
Overall, the Islamic condemnation of Israel regarding the Gaza hospital explosion was general. However, the conclusion of the council of the Islamic Cooperation at its meeting yesterday in Jidda did not go beyond, as the organization said in the final statement, "to force Israel to put an end to all its violations, attacks and crimes" against the Palestinian people, referring it to the UN Security Council, the Secretary General, the Arab League...
Iran's foreign minister was the only one to go further, calling for an immediate and complete embargo on Israel by Islamic countries, including oil sanctions, as well as the expulsion of Israeli envoys if they have established relations with the "Zionist regime". Amir Abdolahain also asked to form a team of Islamic lawyers to document possible war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.
