Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas political bureau (Photo by DPA)
A high-ranking official with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has denounced any form of normalization of ties with the Israeli regime as a crime that cannot be absolved.
Speaking through the video link at an Arab forum on Friday, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas political bureau, warned normalization efforts by some Arab countries will escalate Israeli acts of aggression against the Palestinian nation.
Haniyeh added that the Arab world will remain the stalwart supporter of Palestinians and their struggle against the Tel Aviv regime, irrespective of slightly covert bids to normalize relations with Israel in different fields, including politics, media, economy, sports and more recently culture.
The senior Hamas figure then called for the enforcement of laws that criminalize any form of normalization with the Tel Aviv regime, and initiatives aimed at raising the awareness of Arabs and Muslims about the Palestinian cause.
Haniyeh then paid homage to all Arabs, who lost their lives while fighting the Israeli regime to defend the occupied Palestinian land.
“We are certain that our cause is just and the end of the Occupation is near,” he pointed out.
On Wednesday, Palestinian factions called on Arab societies to combat campaigns aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.
The Islamic Jihad movement denounced the bids as treason and backstabbing.
“Those campaigning for normalization are a small fraction, and do not represent the Arab world. They are affiliated with international powers like the United States,” Hani al-Thawabta of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) told a press conference in Gaza City.
He condemned the two television series being aired during the holy month of Ramadan by the Dubai-based and Saudi-owned MBC network, which critics have criticized for promoting normalization with Israel, describing the programs as a “crime against the Arab mind.”
“The ethical, national and humanitarian responsibility requires all the free and honorable people to reject all forms of normalization,” Thawabta said.
The historical TV drama Um Haroun (Mother of Aaron) chronicles the life of an elderly Jewish midwife of Turkish origin in Kuwait during the 1940s. It purportedly centers around relations between Muslims and Jews at the time.
According to Hebrew-language N12 TV News, many believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is personally involved in the series, as the Saudi de facto ruler is interested in closer relations with the Israeli regime.
Hamas has denounced the TV series as a “political and cultural attempt to introduce the Zionist project to Persian Gulf society.”
“The character of Um Haroun reminds me of [ex-Israeli prime minister] Golda Meir, the head of the Occupation, who was a murderous criminal. This is the goal of normalization: hatred, slow killing and internal destruction,” senior Hamas official Ra’fat Murra commented.
In another show, a comedy called Makhraj 7 (Exit 7) – a Saudi slang term used to avoid unwanted conversation, Saudi actors Nasser al-Qasabi and Rashid al-Shamrani are seen discussing dealing with Israelis for business purposes.
According to the Asia Times, the series seek to promote various Western values alongside breaking taboos regarding Israel.
The program also blatantly disseminates anti-Palestinian themes, such as claiming that Palestinians “attack Saudi Arabia” whenever an opportunity arises.
Earlier this month, London-based prominent Palestinian journalist Abdel Bari Atwan said this year’s Ramadan will be long remembered because “it witnessed the largest normalization campaign, driven by the Saudi media, with help from the government, and coordinated with the Israeli Occupation.”
“Even in my political nightmares, I did not expect an Arab to dare speak so openly and comfortably about normalization with Israel,” also said Ziad Khaddash, a Palestinian writer and journalist in the occupied West Bank.
“It is frightening, shameful and strange that this is happening,” he added.
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