Bethlehem, Palestine - Church of the Nativity

Source: Bigstock

This is my last week in the Bagel and things are looking up. For some of us, that is; for others it’s despair time. No use beating around the bush: Israel has won big-time, Iran has lost big, and the Palestinians are back to ground zero, with nothing to look forward to except more deaths, more land grabs by Israeli settlers, and more crushing and brutal retaliation by Israel at the slightest indication of civil disobedience. A two-state solution is now a mirage of a Thousand and One Nights.

Let’s take it one at a time: Tehran gambled and lost. Its proxy armies of Hamas and Hezbollah have been downgraded to zero, while its ally Syria is now a country about to disappear as the ancient nation it once was. It will most likely break up into three parts, the Kurds hopefully holding their own against the powerful Turks who control the northern part.

Israel now owns Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. It has totally downgraded any Syrian weapons the rebel groups that overthrew Assad might have inherited and used against the state of Israel. The only danger to Israel now is the vacuum created by the Assad fall, one that Netanyahu will play to the hilt. Over 350 air attacks on Syrian sites by the Israelis have taken place since the departure of Assad.

Iran is now the next Israeli enemy to probably go down the so-called Swanee. As a friendly to Israel, Trump is not getting involved. Turkey is poised to see its influence expand, and Tehran is Netanyahu’s next natural target. The Gulf monarchies will turn a blind eye if Israel decides to turn Syria into another Gaza, making Alawite and Christian minorities in Syria an endangered species. Wealthy Gulf monarchies stand to gain a lot as Sunni power is on the rise, while Shiite strength is at an all-time low. Israel is now all-conquering. If Israel had the man power, it would take over Syria, but it does not. The Golan Heights will suffice.

Who would have thought that while the genocide—there is no other word to describe the 50,000 deaths of innocent Palestinian women, children, and old people (not including 17,000 or so Hamas fighters)—was going on that Iran would be turned into a pathetic third-rate mini-power overnight by Israeli bombs? Tehran’s missiles and offensive capabilities no longer exist, and the mullahs could be next. This is the $64,000 question. Where and when will it stop?

Since I began my journalistic career in the Middle East, mainly reporting from Jordan and Israel, I have fervently believed that one of the 20th century’s greatest tragedies, which continues well into the 21st century, is that of the Palestinian people. Unfortunately, I cannot put all the blame on Israeli hard-liners. In the late ’90s Prime Minister and General Rabin had offered Palestinian leader Arafat—this you won’t believe, but it is 100 percent true—a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem, 96 percent of the West Bank, and 4 percent of Israel, to make up for the 4 percent that the settlers had occupied beyond the borders in the ’67 war. And guess what? Arafat turned it down, confirming what ex–Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban had said long ago, that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Just think where the Palestinians would be today—they are the smartest and most secular of Arabs—if Rabin had not been assassinated by an Israeli right-wing settler, and if Arafat had not been so mind-bogglingly obtuse. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to solve the great tragedy of Palestine, and the Palestinian leader walked away. Twenty-five years later the Palestinian cause is lost. Netanyahu is a brutal Zionist who sees the Palestinians not unlike the way Hitler viewed the Jews. Anyone who doesn’t agree with him is an anti-Semite, and his Jewish followers in America have made that clear: You’re either on Israel’s side or you’re Hitler. I should know. Ever since my youth, and because of my pro-Palestinian stance, I’ve been slandered as an anti-Semite. I have always refused to explain or complain about this lie, in fact my standard answer to the vile accusation is that some of my richest friends are Jews. So you can imagine what the haters do with that response. Ironically, my closest friend is half-Jewish and he’s poor. This week a pro-Palestine demonstration by students in the Bagel was headlined as a “Festival of Jew Hatred.” It was nothing of the sort, but Bagel Jews have been known to cry wolf at times.

The coming Trump administration will now try to bring Saudi Arabia around to adopting Bibi as a close ally and friend. Words uttered by Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi ruler, about the kingdom never ceasing its tireless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state should be taken at face value—the last time a Saudi told the truth was when Faisal as king admitted parts of his kingdom were sandy. I say good luck to those that believe the Saudis will stand tall for the Palestinians. The Saudi-Gulf-Israel alliance is only a matter of time. What is not a matter of time is the permanence of land theft, the mass expulsions, the imprisonments, and the occupation of Palestine by brutal Jewish settlers.

Having said all that, the only thing left to do is wish all Takimag readers the happiest of Christmases, and a very long and happy life. And thank you for reading us.