Arab governments stand by as Israel carries out genocide

Close to two years of savage Israeli war on Gaza have created a humanitarian catastrophe. But while Israel and the US are responsible for the butchery, another force also shares the blame: the Arab leaders who have stood by and let Israel run amok.

The problem is not that the Arab governments lack the power to hurt the US and Israel. After all, they sit atop the world’s biggest oil reserves and, in Egypt’s case, control the Suez Canal, one of the busiest maritime corridors. The Arab regimes don’t lack the power; they choose not to use it.

It hasn’t always been this way. For several decades, many Arab governments positioned themselves as anti-colonial forces. At the end of World War One, European powers controlled the entire Arab world from the Atlantic to the Arabian Gulf. The colonialists were motivated by greed for oil, territory and other resources. In some cases, they ruled directly. In others, as in Egypt, they installed puppet monarchs to do their bidding.

The oppressed grew angry at their servitude and the theft of their land. Inspired in part by the Russian Revolution, anti-colonial revolts broke out in Egypt and Iraq after the war and, later, in Syria and Palestine, but these were savagely put down.

A fresh nationalist tide surged after World War Two. A new generation of fighters emerged to drive out the occupiers and their accomplices. They were led in many cases by middle-class intellectuals, professionals and army officers eager to take over from the colonial powers.

Arab nationalism dominated these struggles. Its leading figures wanted to eliminate the shame of national subjugation and to modernise their countries, seize the oil wealth then in the hands of Western companies and diversify their economies. They tapped into popular grievances—anger over poverty, unemployment and landlessness—but their project was to leverage this anger in their bid for power.

Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser’s seizure of power in Egypt in 1952 at the head of the Free Officers Movement announced to the world Arab nationalism as a force. Nasser transformed Egypt and the broader Middle East and enraged the former colonial powers.

In 1956, Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, which had been controlled by the British and French since its opening in 1869. In a secret alliance with Israel, the two European powers attacked Egypt. Determined not to allow the restoration of colonial power, the population rose against them, fighting alongside the Egyptian army. Fearing that revived British and French colonialism in the Middle East might scotch its own imperialist ambitions, the US ordered them out, ensuring Nasser’s victory.

Nasser’s victory over Suez made the president a hero in the Arab world. Enormous crowds would turn out to hear him speak. They saw in him someone who had led Egypt out of colonial slavery and into a new world of Arab pride and independence.

Nasser joined independence leaders from across Asia, Africa and the Middle East at the 1955 Bandung conference to promote the anti-colonial movement. He was one of the most important figures in the Non-Aligned Movement of former colonies seeking a path independent of the big imperialists.

Nasser ran a pragmatic foreign policy in a world of Cold War competition, initially seeking support from both the US and the Soviet Union. But when the US would not supply arms, the USSR stepped in and provided Nasser with weapons, aid and technicians. The tilt towards the USSR was matched by a shift in economic policy. Nasser sought to emulate Joseph Stalin’s program of economic reconstruction, setting up dozens of state enterprises to encourage industrialisation.

Nasser described his project as “Arab socialism”, as did the other nationalist regimes, but there was nothing socialist about them. They presided over authoritarian one-party states that imprisoned, tortured and killed thousands of working-class activists. Standing in opposition to the Arab nationalist governments were the US-aligned governments, chiefly Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran and Morocco.

Regardless of their differing political alignment, all the Arab governments proclaimed their support for Palestine. In 1964, Nasser set up the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and in the following years, other governments sponsored and armed factions of the liberation movement. Partly, they were motivated by domestic political considerations, given the popularity of the Palestinian cause at home. But more important was their calculation about how best to control the Palestinian movement, which in some countries threatened internal stability.

What happened to Arab nationalism?

Several things put paid to Arab nationalism, paving the way for the region’s embrace of the West.

The first and most dramatic event was the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel routed the Arab armies and seized Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. The mighty Arab nation had been humbled. Nasser’s prestige tumbled, and the Arab nationalist project was irrevocably weakened. The US now fully embraced Israel as its main ally in the region, opening the spigot on billions of dollars in economic and military aid.

In 1970, Jordan’s King Hussein attacked the PLO following a challenge for power by Palestinian nationalists and leftists, demonstrating again the illusion of Arab unity. Following his victory, Hussein drove the PLO into exile in Lebanon.

Then in 1978, Egypt, now ruled by Nasser’s successor President Anwar Sadat, signed a peace deal with Israel and normalised diplomatic relations. This was a breakthrough for Israel, ending its isolation in the region and removing its main military threat. It also signalled Egypt’s abandonment of Arab nationalism, its betrayal of the Palestinian cause and its embrace of the United States, which it has adhered to since that day.

The Arab League registered its displeasure at Sadat’s agreement with Israel by suspending Egypt’s membership. But Egypt was simply ahead of the pack. Informal links between Arab nations and Israel were growing, and in 1989, the Arab League readmitted Egypt. In 1993, the PLO itself signed a peace treaty with Israel and, in 1994, Jordan followed.

Other nations—Syria, Iraq, South Yemen, Sudan and Libya—opposed normalisation with Israel. But they were no friends of the Palestinians. In 1970, they stood by and watched as King Hussein smashed the PLO, and in 1976, Syria’s President Hafez al-Assad invaded Lebanon to crush an insurgency by Palestinians and Lebanese leftists, killing thousands.

The economic promise of Arab nationalism—state-led industrial development and self-reliance—also fractured in this period as economic growth stalled. In 1974, the Egyptian government opened up to Western capital, selling state enterprises, winding back price controls and reducing social programs. Soon, most governments in the region followed suit, seeking closer integration into the world economy.

Arab nationalism also fell victim to national rivalries as the post-colonial states promoted their national interests in a world where the struggle against colonialism no longer united them. This was evident early on: Nasser spoke of pan-Arab solidarity, but his main goal was to project Egyptian power in the Middle East. The same was true of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in the 1980s.

The collapse of the Soviet Union, which had provided Arab governments with weapons and finance, was another nail in the coffin of Arab nationalism. Many who had looked to Moscow now embraced US imperialism, taking loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, imposing savage austerity on the working class and poor and enriching themselves.

Arab governments also became increasingly complicit in US wars in the Middle East. In 1990, the Arab League backed the US in the Gulf War against Iraq, with Egypt, Syria and Morocco all sending troops to support the Americans. Several Arab governments also supported the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan, allowing the US to use their airspace and facilities. When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, the Arab League opposed it, but this did not stop many Arab governments from helping the US. Egypt gave free passage to the US navy through the Suez Canal; Saudi Arabia invited the US to fly cruise missiles over its territory; and Jordan provided the US with bases from which to mount special forces operations across the border into Iraq.

Years of austerity and political repression, along with the betrayal of the Palestinian cause, created a pressure cooker in the Arab world. The pressure cooker blew in 2011, as popular uprisings from Tunisia to Bahrain challenged and, in some cases, overthrew, repressive governments. The US and Israel looked on aghast as the Arab leaders they had supported for decades fell or tottered under the impact of mass protest. They were alarmed as hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Cairo and Alexandria to demand liberation for Palestine.

The revolution opened the door to freedom in the Arab world. But the counter-revolution that followed, fully backed by the US and Israel, slammed the door firmly shut. Political repression returned, even more ferocious than before. The US and Israel breathed a sigh of relief that the genie of revolution had been put back into the bottle.

Where are things today?

Most Arab countries have embraced the US-led world order, while others have oriented toward Russia. None can be described as anti-imperialist or anti-colonial. US bases can be found across the Middle East, the Gulf region in particular. Qatar hosts the US Central Command along with 10,000 US troops and 100 US aircraft.

The Arab regimes are deeply embedded in Western markets. The Gulf states, responsible for much of the world’s oil trade, work with the US to stabilise world oil prices. They trade in US dollars, which helps maintain the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE committed hundreds of billions of dollars in orders for US military supplies, energy equipment, commercial aircraft, critical minerals and infrastructure investments during President Trump’s recent visit.

Arab states aligned with Washington have close relations with Israel. Four more countries—the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco—established diplomatic relations with Israel as part of the US-led Abraham Accords in 2020. The Arab League did nothing to censure them. Only mass domestic sentiment for Palestine holds back Saudi Arabia from joining their ranks.

Egypt’s collaboration with Israel stands out. The Egyptian government reinforces the Israeli blockade of Gaza, tightly controlling supplies to the beleaguered strip. The regime refuses to allow international solidarity missions to cross the Sinai to reach the Rafah crossing to Gaza.

The motivations of these governments are several. Because Israel is central to US power in the Middle East, these regimes will not help Palestine win its freedom because such a struggle must challenge the US, which is an important prop of their own power.

Economic factors play a part. Israel is the region’s most advanced economy. For many years, Egypt supplied Israel with vital gas supplies and, now that Israel has gas supplies of its own, Egypt imports Israeli gas. As long as there is money to be made from collaboration with Israel, the Palestinians are discarded.

Part of the explanation lies in understanding the military balance of forces. For a period, some of the Arab governments believed a united Arab offensive could defeat Israel. The 1967 disaster, followed by a stalemate in 1973, made clear that this was not on the cards. As national governments seeking their place in the region, they now recognise the reality of Israeli military supremacy, reinforced by Israel’s bloody victories since 7 October.

Other Arab governments collaborate with Israel in their joint opposition to Iran, which rose as a regional power following US defeats in Iraq and Afghanistan. In April last year, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan all worked with Israel to shoot down Iranian missiles. Two months later, Saudi generals, along with those from Jordan, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt, met the Israeli military’s chief of staff and the chief of the US Central Command in Bahrain to discuss “security cooperation”.

It is not just those states closely aligned with the US that betray the Palestinian cause. Other countries in the region, Iran and Syria (until recently) most notably, have cleaved more closely to Russia. Syria hosts Russia’s only naval base in the Mediterranean. Iran and Russia worked closely with the former Assad regime to wreak terror in Syria. Russia supplies both with most of their military arsenals. The Hussein and Gaddafi regimes in Iraq and Libya were close to Russia at times. But close relations with Russia mean nothing for their attitude to Palestine. Russia, like the US, wants a strong Israel. Israel supplies Russia with drones for its war in Ukraine and backs it diplomatically in the UN. Israel and Russia work together in Syria. Whichever camp they back, none of the region’s governments will put itself out for Palestinian freedom.

Like any other part of the global ruling classes, Arab leaders do not believe in ethnic or national solidarity. They are committed only to profit and power—especially their own. They mouth support for Palestine and condemn Israeli war crimes to maintain their credibility with their populations. But when activists mobilise in solidarity with Palestine, the regimes batter them off the streets. The Arab regimes understand that the demand for Palestinian freedom can easily bleed into demands for freedom at home.

As far as the Egyptian leaders are concerned, the sooner Israel wipes out Hamas, the better. Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which forms the main opposition to the Sisi regime in Egypt. The president’s predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, fought to prevent Hamas from taking power in Gaza following its win in Palestinian Authority elections in 2006, and Sisi is now working with the Arab League to exclude Hamas from any role in governing postwar Gaza. Israel has reciprocated by helping the Sisi regime entrench the Egyptian counter-revolution.

Why would these leaders put themselves out to support an oppressed people when they deny their own people their basic rights?

The connections between the Arab ruling classes, the US, Russia and Israel tell us that the fight for a free Palestine cannot be separated from the fight for a free Arab world. Revolts against the regimes by Arab workers, students and the poor for their own demands for bread and justice strengthen the fight for democracy at home but also loosen Israel and America’s choke hold on Palestine. If Israel gets away with its atrocities only because the Arab regimes let it, the fall of these regimes in popular revolutions is a precondition for the liberation of Palestine.