PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST WITH THE NEW AMERICAN PRESIDENT, Fabio Ghia

Despite Trump’s victory in the USA Canaan will continue to be an Israeli-Palestinian trouble spot

Abstract: Canaan! This “Land” appears in the stories of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, who established their nomadic shepherds’ homes there. This is repeated in the story of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt and their entry into the “Promised Land” (Hebrew Torah), then inhabited by the Canaanites and land assigned to Canaan, son of Ham. This is also mentioned in the Koran, in the detail of the Elevation of the Prophet Muhammad in Surah 18.

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Trump’s re-election to the White House would seem to lead to a rapid resolution of the conflict in the Middle East, in particular through the reaffirmation of the “Abraham Accords”. It should be taken into account, however, that the Agreement was signed by only six nations (Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan) of the 22 members of the “Arab League”, including Palestine.

On the other hand, since his previous mandate, Trump’s interest in the Middle East has been characterized by a primarily economic value, in particular the “oil” business, of which the United States, not to be forgotten, is the world’s leading producer. Therefore, relations in the region will continue to be of vital importance for the US, especially with Saudi Arabia, which Trump himself chose for his first trip abroad as President in 2017. The Saudi economic component must also be taken into account, with the purchase of weapons from the United States (in 2023 the Saudis alone spent about “80 billion dollars”, the fifth country after the US, China, Russia and India) which will continue to be a factor of primary importance. Trump will certainly take into account that Saudi Arabia has the second largest oil production in the world: 11.13 million barrels per day, as well as the investments of billions of dollars made by Arab countries in the infrastructure of the future, many of which made with China. This is what matters to Donald Trump who, on the other hand, has already reaffirmed several times, during the electoral campaign, that the economic and financial priorities for the future of the USA are inevitably directed towards the new scenarios of the Indo-Pacific, where it is urgent to finalize the business led by Saudis and Americans.

Furthermore, from a geopolitical point of view, it should be emphasized that Saudi Arabia is the primary exporter/supplier of oil for China! The latter, in a very “biased” way, in December 2023 made Saudi Arabia and IRAN sit at the same table to put an end to the perverse civil war (Sunnis against Shiites) in Yemen. In this way, on the other hand, it left the field free to the “Houthis”, seriously endangering not only Israel itself, but also the entire merchant traffic for Europe transiting in the Gulf of Aden – Red Sea area!

Israel, for its part, has historically represented a useful counterweight to Saudi Arabia’s regional rivals, indirectly playing a key role in affirming Riyadh’s leadership in the Arab world. Unfortunately, as is known, Israel currently finds itself with IRAN as its main enemy to annihilate: a nation that, moreover, has personally armed and coordinated all of AMAS and Hezbollah’s brutal attacks against Israel! The definitive normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia is, therefore, inextricably linked to two factors: concessions on the security and economic front by the United States to the Saudi monarchy and the much-requested formation of an effective Palestinian State by Saudi Arabia. By virtue of its position as the leading country in the Arab world, Riyadh for the entire MENA (Middle East and North Africa) area cannot, in fact, fully allow itself to normalize relations with the Jewish state without first having obtained the formation of a Palestinian State. In all likelihood, therefore, Trump will ask Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and South Lebanon! The hypothesis is very realistic and President Trump could exert strong pressure on Netanyahu to favor the birth of a Palestinian state. So, here we return to the reality of an article of mine from recent days, on the need for the creation, agreed between Israel and Palestine, of the “CANAANITE CONFEDERATION”, of which I summarize the salient facts below.

More than a year has passed since October 7, 2023 and the mere memory of the news of that “tragic” day leads to considering what happened inhumane and unacceptable that, from the ruthless and fanatical terrorism of AMAS, which was later joined by HEZBOLLAH in Lebanon. Both Muslim components, sponsored and fully supported by Tehran, have been defined as Terrorist Organizations since 2018 by ten Western nations, including the United States and the European Union.

The reason why I defined this type of war as “FRATICIDAL” (the most inhuman and destructive that exists!) is best explained by the historical evolution (or “involution”?) that both populations, Jewish and Palestinian, have had over time. Since this is an area that for the three monotheistic religions is considered the “Holy Land” by definition, one would automatically say: but then it is a “War of Religion”! In fact, it is the misguided interpretation of the Holy Scriptures (Bible, Gospel and Koran) given over time by those who have been or still are at the head of the individual religions: Jewish, Christian and Islamic, is at the head of the common drama that both Israelis and Palestinians are experiencing. A clearly explanatory phrase is by Michel de Certeau: “The Church (Israel for the Jews and the Umma for Islam) is a society. Now, every society is defined by what it excludes. …. Forming a group means creating strangers. There is here a bipolar structure, essential to every society: it places an “outside” so that there is an “among us”, borders so that an internal country can be delineated, “others” so that an “us” can take shape. This law is also a principle of elimination and intolerance. It leads to domination, in the name of a truth defined by the group. To defend oneself from the stranger, one absorbs him or isolates him”. Here, all this represents the reality of what has continued to happen in Palestine for more than THREE THOUSAND years now. And of this “DEFENDING ONESELF FROM THE FOREIGNER” Jerusalem (Holy City for all three Religions) is a “millenary” testimony, to the point that Vincent Lemire (historian of the University of Paris) comparing Jerusalem to other millenary cities such as Rome, Paris, Athens, etc., defines it as a “CITY without HISTORY”! In the sense that from the point of view of archaeological finds, which represent the historical-cultural evolution of individual cities, the archaeological history of Jerusalem can be deduced from reading the sacred texts, but as finds (very important from the historical-social point of view) very little remains, indeed the affirmation of new “different cults and cultures” has led to the almost complete “destruction” of the historical symbols of the previous culture. Yet Jerusalem is sacred to the Jews, as the Jewish homeland where the Holy Temple is located and the capital of the Kingdom of Judah as well as Israel since about 2500 BC. It is sacred to Christians because it is here that Jesus Christ (the Messiah) manifested himself and was resurrected. And it is sacred to Muslims because it is written in the Koran that the ascension to heaven of the prophet Mohammed took place here! The fact is that the land of Palestine at its beginnings saw the coexistence of nomadic populations such as the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, to whom the Jews were added initially in a mutual peaceful coexistence. But the whole of Palestine then saw the invasion of the Greeks (730 BC: Nebuchadnezzar and destruction of the first Jewish TEMPLE), and then the establishment of imperial Rome by Titus Flavius Vespasian. To the cry of Imperial Rome, in 70 AD the architectural gems of Jerusalem and the only Jewish TEMPLE were destroyed and then concluded in 73 with the complete disappearance of the only Jewish stronghold Masada, of which no trace remains! In this regard, the annual Jewish celebration of Tisha BeAv still exists today.

This was then followed by the Christianization of the Empire which, despite everything, led to an almost peaceful coexistence with the Jews, given that Jesus was born a Jew and therefore also a Jew. Then, starting in 670 AD, the Arabs and Ottomans followed who, unfortunately, from the beginning showed a certain aversion towards the Jewish people. And so the Jewish diaspora continued for centuries, causing the estrangement of a good part of the Jewish people from Israel.

Finally, following the Shoah and the massive post-WWII transit to Palestine in 1948, that is, 3,448 years after they had arrived in Israel, the Jews were able to implement what God had indicated to them as their homeland and nation of belonging: the land of Canaan. In fact, it is the first book of the Bible, Genesis, which tells us the story of Abraham and his encounter with God, with the designation of a land (Canaan) attributed to them. In the same biblical terminology, the three traditional ancestors of the Jews, namely Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are designated with the name of patriarchs. Indeed, it is precisely Jacob that God imposed to change his name to Israel. The citation of the Bible is necessary because it is from the knowledge of the Sacred texts that one can better understand the reasons for the (terrible) actions perpetrated against the Jews over time as initially stated by the Greeks, the Romans, then by the Muslims, and again by the Christian “Crusades”.

Specifically regarding the interaction of Islam in the land of Canaan, the Koran and the numerous Hadīth (summary of the Koranic interpretations, sayings and ways of the Prophet Muhammad) in addition to still being the only source from which to extract how much Islam itself cares about Jerusalem. Now, for the purposes of understanding the hostility still emerging between Islam (especially the Shiite one) and Judaism, I will briefly cite only some episodes narrated in the Koran and the corresponding indicated by the Hadīth.

In 622 AD, Muhammad was forced to flee from Mecca, where idolatry was in force, because he was persecuted for his monotheism. (I would like to point out to the reader that the Archangel Gabriel urged Muhammad to flee from Mecca using the term “Lekh Lekh”, that is, “go away” – “run away”! The same word that we find in the Bible when God orders (Genesis 10) Abraham to emigrate to the land of Canaan! Muhammad went to the oasis of Medina, with about twenty of his followers, and asked for local hospitality. Since he was of a different “culture and religion” (the majority were Jews, non-believers, Christians and many pagans), he wrote in his own hand the “MEDINA CHARTER” (the first existing constitutional charter in the world!), with which (being a minority …) he praised complete freedom of worship in mutual respect and in the common interest of joining forces in case of necessity. Persecuted by the Meccans in 626, as also described in Sura n°8 (Al Anfal: the Spoils), having only about twenty friends with him and knowing that the Meccan forces were clearly superior and well armed, he asked to the other communities of Medina, also in relation to what is written in the Charter of Medina, to give him a hand and fight with him the Meccan forces. Initially they all joined, but once they understood the clear superiority of the Meccans, the non-followers of Muhammad hastily returned to Medina. Allah wanted (Surah n°8), on the other hand, that the tenacity and Faith of Muhammad’s men would take over completely destroying the Meccan forces. Obviously, once back in Medina, (to summarize), Muhammad, killing with his own hand a certain number of Jews, imposed an ultimatum on the rest: Either convert to Islam, or leave the oasis immediately. While Christians and others did not create problems for the conversion, the Jews as a whole left Medina and took refuge in that land that today should be on the border between Lebanon and Israel.

From that day, however, what was mentioned by prof. was also born in Islam. Michel de Certeau on what Islam calls “lower Jihad”, that is, compulsory submission to Islam. An action that in the space of a century, led Islam to conquer and subjugate the Arabian Peninsula and the entire south-eastern Mediterranean area, Sicily and Spain!

Incidentally, by higher Jihad we mean what every Muslim must fight with himself to blindly believe in the Islamic Faith (including the acts as reported below!).

Returning to what is unfortunately continuing to manifest itself in the aberrant Israeli-Palestinian “fratricide”, going into a little more detail of the Salafi ideology that is at its head, I must specify that the conflict on the Palestinian side was born and carried forward only by the Shiite terrorism of AMAS and Hezbollah. On the other hand, even if not openly stated (it can’t!!!), it must be kept in mind that on the Palestinian side, President Mahmud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen, (president of Palestine since 2005), as well as president of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian National Authority, while condemning Israel for what is happening, has never mentioned any war or suicidal actions against Israel.

Since the birth of Israel, the Palestinian diaspora, a population that already lived in the land of Canaan!(*) in the West Bank and Gaza, has highlighted that, not only for them but for all the nations of “Islamic religion”, the city of Jerusalem is considered the only point of reference from a religious point of view. Also for this reason the entire Islamic world will resist with all means in recognizing this city as the de facto capital of Israel!

Regardless of the open violent occupation, between 1946-48, of the entire Palestinian territory by hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees who escaped Nazi/fascist persecution and the genocide of the Second World War, regardless of the Six-Day War of 1948 which saw the participation of neighboring nations Egypt, Syria and Jordan on the Arab side, the subsequent wars and “Intifada” uprisings (1967 – 1987 – 2000 – 2002 – 2015 – 2020 and 2023) revolve around the ancient city of Jerusalem.

The justifications for these “rebellions”, today unfortunately confirmed as a “fratricidal war”, are to be found in the false theological-religious interpretation of what the Koran dictates.

There are essentially two episodes that have made Jerusalem a “Holy” land for Muslims: Jerusalem as the center of monotheistic religions and the mystical journey of Muhammad, described in Surat n°17 (the journey) of the Koran. In particular, the night journey that the prophet Muhammad would have undertaken from Mecca towards “the most distant mosque”: precisely the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. There, Muhammad was welcomed by Jesus (in the Koran he is indicated as a prophet and not as the Son of God made man!), Abraham, Noah and Moses, and led them in prayer. Then, he went up (ascended) to heaven, guided by the Archangel Gabriel, to have a direct conversation with God, where he was given the mandate to insert the five prayers a day facing the sacred city of Jerusalem.

History teaches that from Muhammad’s journey, Islam began to judge Jews and Christian “crusaders” as invaders.

Unfortunately, this belief was adopted by the “Muslim Brotherhood”; radical-nationalist Muslim movement founded by Hasan Al Banna in 1928 in Ismailia (Egypt). The Muslim Brotherhood network spread throughout the Arab and Muslim world, up to Malaysia and Algeria. In parallel, a financial as well as political-religious network also became active in Europe from the end of the Seventies. Children of the Muslim Brotherhood are, Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda (of Wahhabi origin), as well as ISIS, ISIL, Al Qaeda Maghreb, Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Hezbollah, etc. etc.. and, obviously, AMAS in Gaza. Al Banna’s revolutionary strategy was also adopted by Ayatollah Khomeini, thus arriving to conquer Persia in 1979, putting an end to the Pahlavi dynasty, but which unfortunately today is more alive than ever. From a financial point of view, all these organizations, while until recently they were supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar (very active in the past decade) and Iran, today only Iran operates in support of the most ruthless Islamic radicalism, of which AMAS, Hezbollah and the Houthis are the most evident examples.

Returning to what is continuing to manifest itself in the Israeli-Palestinian “fratricide”, I must specify that the conflict on the Palestinian side has been carried forward only by the terrorism of AMAS and Hezbollah. On the other hand, it must be kept in mind that President Mahmud Abbas Abu Mazen, (president of Palestine and the PLO since 2005), while harshly condemning Israel, has never mentioned suicidal actions against Israel.

Since the birth of Israel, the Palestinian diaspora, a population that already lived in the land of Canaan!(*) in the West Bank and Gaza, has highlighted that, not only for them but also for all the nations of the “Islamic religion”, thanks also to the third Caliph OMAR who succeeded the Prophet Mohammed, the city of Jerusalem is considered the only point of reference from a religious point of view. Also for this reason, the entire Islamic world will resist by all means in recognizing this city as the de facto capital of Israel!

Regardless of the open occupation, between 1946-48, of the Palestinian territory by thousands of Jewish refugees who escaped the persecution and genocide of the Second World War, regardless of the Six-Day War of 1948 which saw the participation of the Arabs and the neighboring nations of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, Israel, especially Jerusalem, from 1967 to the present day has been the object of wars and “Intifada” (shaking!) uprisings seven times, the majority of which started from the Esplanade. Islamic historiography teaches that from the mystical circle of Mohammed (Surat n°17 of the Koran), Islam began to judge Jews and Christians as invaders. But the Muslim creed is very different, well oriented towards peaceful coexistence in mutual respect of different cultures. Precisely for this last consideration and thinking about the possible availability of Palestinian President Abu Mazen to also include the Palestinians of Gaza, in addition to the “TWO STATES FOR TWO PEOPLES” solution, it would be desirable to open up to what for our Europe was the first form of true democratic integration between 19 cantons: The Swiss Constitutional Charter! One more reason to eliminate the possibility of a centralized power that, due to the particular Palestinian morphology (in general) would resolve by far the problems of absolute power increasingly in use, especially in the countries of Iranian Shiite Islamic religion.

Perhaps a start to be able to think concretely about a “CONFEDERATION” that can worthily satisfy the identity differences in mutual respect of the two peoples: the “CANAAN CONFEDERATION”, which could involve the current territory of Israel and “a new Palestine”. A good start that in the future could include the many other Nations of the M. O. currently still seeking stabilization and thus eliminating any interference from Iran. God-Allah bless Canaan Confederation!