What Is Behind the Opposition to Peace with Israel? by Bassam Tawil  •  April 6, 2019 at 5:00 am          The anti-Israel campaign in the Arab and Islamic world sees peace with Israel -- and not failed leadership, bad economic policies and corruption -- as the biggest threat to Arabs and Muslims. Recognizing Israel's right to exit is also seen by many Arabs and Muslims as a humiliation to their values, their culture, their political power and their economic traditions. They seem concerned that Arabs and Muslims might wake up one morning and start demanding freedom of expression and free and democratic elections like the ones held every few years in Israel. The anti-peace camp seems to want its people to continue living in misery and under dictatorships, so that it is easier to recruit people to jihad against Israel and the West. Also, if people are lifted from poverty and misery and begin to enjoy the fruits of modern civilization, there is a chance that Arabs and Muslims will move away from Islam and even start endorsing the inadmissible values of the West. The Trump administration will soon discover what every child in the Arab and Islamic world already knows: that the Israeli-Arab conflict is not about a settlement or a checkpoint or a security fence, but about Israel's very right to exist in the Middle East. The Trump administration will also learn that peace with Israel is seen by many Arabs and Muslims as nothing but an unacceptable threat that must at all costs be stopped. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is often described by Western media and officials as "moderate" and "pragmatic," last year quoted Egyptian intellectual Abdel-Wahab El-Messiri, saying Israel "constitutes a colonialist enterprise that has nothing to do with Judaism," and adding that Europeans wanted "to transfer the Jews" to the Middle East because "they wanted this region to become an advanced post to protect the interests and the convoys coming from Europe to the East." (Image source: MEMRI video screenshot) Peace with Israel is purportedly a form of surrender and submission that will harm the dignity of Arabs and Muslims. This is the theme of a massive campaign being waged by Palestinians and other Arabs in preparation for the announcement of the US administration's plan for peace in the Middle East, also known as the "deal of the century." The plan, according to US officials, is expected to be announced sometime after the general elections in Israel, slated for April 9. The latest campaign is designed to thwart the "deal of the century" and terrorize Arabs and Muslims who may wish to accept the US administration's peace plan. As part of an effort to raise awareness to the dangers of the "deal of the century," an increasing number of Palestinians and Arabs are now trying to explain to their people why peace and normalization of ties with Israel is totally unacceptable. Continue Reading Article