Since the emergence of the Zionist entity, there has been a continuous effort to make it a “natural” and accepted presence in the region. David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of the entity, considered this a fundamental requirement for security and survival. The primary perspective of the normalization efforts carried out by the Zionist occupation is fundamentally security-based. Amid the region's current state of decline and the absence of any concept of joint Arab or Islamic security, which has been replaced by Arab and Islamic divisions, the occupying state believes that normalization processes can develop to a stage of leading regional alliances on military, security, and economic levels.
From this perspective, normalization with the Zionist entity is no longer just political or ideological whims here and there or limited infiltrations by the enemy into the body of the Ummah. It is now a strategic and security threat to the unity of the Arab and Islamic Ummah, endangering its future and identity, and paving the way for the Zionist grip on its resources and the capabilities of its coming generations.
A Divisive Factor
Politically, normalization allows the occupation state to infiltrate the political and social structures of the normalizing countries, quickly seeking to influence the internal political scene of these countries and penetrate the ranks of the political, security, and military elites. This infiltration aims to sway the orientations of these elites regarding domestic issues and the foreign policies of their countries in a manner that serves the interests of the occupation state.
The attempt to frame normalization within strategic and security agreements such as the “Abraham Accords” and to present them in the context of a broader regional formation does not hide the fact that normalization provides the occupation with the infrastructure to dominate regional security. It attaches the normalizing countries to it and utilizes their capabilities to design a regional security system that protects the occupation and its interests. Conversely, it exposes the normalizing countries politically and security-wise to their own populations and to all the opponents of the occupying state.
When examining the motivations of those normalizing countries, it is evident that most of them believe that the key to solving their issues with the international community, especially the United States, lies through the occupying state and its influence on American politics. This belief is supported and encouraged by American administrations, which push for this normalization as it serves their higher interests.
Normalization with the occupying state also exacerbates Arab and Islamic divisions, making relations with the occupation a point of contention and conflict in the region. The political landscape of our region has been shaped over the years by countries' approaches to the occupying state, divided between those who oppose and refuse to recognize its existence and those who seek to align with and normalize relations with it. Thus, the occupation acts as a divisive factor rather than a unifying one.
Plundering the Region's Wealth
Economically, the leaders of the occupation are aware that they lack the components of an independent and stable economy due to their limited human and geographical resources. To bridge this gap, they seek the economic resources available in Arab and Islamic countries. The normalization efforts led by the occupying state aim to establish the infrastructure for cross-regional economic partnerships, encompassing sectors such as energy, electricity, trade, ports, agriculture, and technology. These partnerships pose a severe threat to the vital security of the region, as they aim to integrate the economic resources of Arab and Islamic countries into the Zionist system.
The occupying state strives to include these agreements within international economic groups such as the European Union, seeking the sponsorship and support of the United States. A notable example is the electricity and water exchange agreement with Jordan, sponsored by the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Therefore, economic normalization has evolved beyond mere deals, businesses, or joint ventures at the level of businessmen. The occupation seeks to elevate this to strategic economic partnerships that allow the enemy to deeply penetrate and rely on the region's economies.
The early normalization agreements signed by Egypt in “Camp David” in 1979 then Jordan in “Wadi Araba” in 1994 were promoted as paving the way for political and security stability in these countries, opening economic and trade development opportunities. However, a close examination of the economic and developmental realities in these countries reveals that the promised outcomes of normalized relations with the Zionist enemy have not been met. In fact, the limited financial or developmental surges witnessed in Egypt and Jordan were not linked to the normalization process. On the contrary, the occupation has contributed to encircling Egypt's vital security and water resources.
Cultural Infiltration
Culturally, the occupation aims to penetrate the cultural fabric of the Arab and Islamic Ummah. However, since normalization has been largely limited to a portion of the ruling elites in the normalizing countries, there have been no significant shifts in the popular stance expressed through art, drama, and literature towards the occupation.
The normalizing countries, in collaboration with the occupying state, have funded numerous TV series, films, websites, social media accounts, and channels, and have organized cultural exchanges involving individuals from the occupying state. However, these efforts are just like the limited security operations and fabricated images; there is no widespread or established infrastructure for cultural normalization between the Arab and Islamic countries and the occupying state.
However, we must not underestimate the efforts sponsored by wealthy Arab states with significant media infrastructure aimed at normalizing the Zionist presence, improving its image, and presenting it in cultural and artistic formats that humanize its abhorrent image. Therefore, it is essential to remain vigilant regarding our educational curricula, to guard against attempts to manipulate them, and to propagate the Zionist narrative through them.
Resisting Normalization by Supporting the Resistance
For many years, efforts to resist normalization have been closely linked to the moral and ethical stance on the Palestinian cause, a connection that is both valid and necessary to maintain. However, today there is a growing need to expand the concept of resisting normalization and to strengthen its efforts from a broader perspective that includes Arab and Islamic national security. The goal should be to halt and contain the Zionist expansion and to support all efforts aimed at eradicating this malignant tumor from the body of the Ummah.
In this context, the resistance of the Palestinian people in their land forms the primary and most effective pillar in countering Zionist normalization campaigns that attempt to sweep through the region. The resistance keeps igniting the struggle and challenging the philosophy of normalization, aiming to overlook and forget the Palestinian cause. It exposes the true nature of the occupation, building walls of awareness and resilience in Arab and Muslim minds against attempts by the occupation to improve its image and infiltrate Arab consciousness with a new façade.
The intensification of resistance strikes in the West Bank, Jerusalem, Gaza, and across Palestine dismantles the theory of normalization from a Zionist perspective. An entity unable to secure its own safety cannot provide security for others, contrary to the illusions of those normalizing countries. This truth is demonstrated daily on the sacred land of Palestine—from Jenin, Nablus, Jerusalem, Ramallah, the Negev, and Galilee, to Gaza.
This entity, living under its war machine and the resistance's spears, is incapable of presenting and protecting a regional economic and developmental theory or establishing transnational infrastructure projects. The resistance in Gaza has brought the ports, airports, and railways of this entity within range of its firepower.
Therefore, the Palestinian resistance targets the foundations, justifications, and mechanisms of normalization. Supporting this resistance is the primary and essential requirement for weaving a comprehensive strategy to confront normalization. Just as the evils of normalization originate in the heart of the conflict in Palestine, combating these evils must begin on the same battlefield.
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Read the Article in Arabic
A Palestinian writer and researcher in international relations
