LOS ANEGLES.–Governments of Lebanon and Syria have cracked down on Palestinian refugees living in camps in both countries, saying they will no longer tolerate armed resistance inside their borders. Since Israel was founded in 1948 and declared statehood in 1949, Palestinians claimed the right of resistance, resulting in the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of Israeli civilians, causing 1,200 deaths and taking over 250 hostages. Palestinians now living in Lebanon and Syria will no longer have the backing of either government, insisting Palestinian factions like Islamic Jihad or Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine can no longer operate in their countries. Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used Palestinian factions for security to maintain his repressive regime while Lebanon tolerated the presence of Iran-backed Hezbollah inside its borders largely to keep Israel from seizing more territory.
New developments in Syria and Lebanon mirror Syria’s new president Ahmed al-Sharaa who seeks stability in the region, attempting to purge Lebanon from Palestinian factions loyal of former President Bashar al-Assad. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, with close ties to the U.S. and other Gulf Arab states, no longer want Iran’s Hezbollah militia making war periodically with Israel. New developments in with al-Sharaa and Aoun reflect the fact that they will no longer let Palestinian factions wage war from their territory any longer, in fact want closer ties to Israel. Israel’s year-and-a-half war with Hamas in Gaza has been a rude awakening for al-Sharaa and Aoun, wanting none of the destruction to cross into Syria or Lebanon. Gone are the days where Lebanon and Syria felt obligated to buy the Palestinian narrative that they one day sought liberation from Israeli occupation.
For the past 80 years, Palestinians operated with a single-minded belief that one day they would destroy the Jewish state and return to land their ancestors occupied during British rule and the Ottoman Empire, lasting over 500 years. But a factual history of Arabs, largely Bedouin Arab tribes, living in the Holy Land show that that Palestinians never held sovereign territory, much like the Kurds in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, all of which were passed over for statehood in many conventions parceling out land after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire in 1922. Ottomans were on the wrong side of history when they backed Germany in WW I, eventually losing the war in 1918, causing the breakup of Ottoman territory, largely reassigned sovereignty to Britain and France. At no time was it even a consideration that Bedouin Arabs would receive their own sovereign state.
Britain assumed control of the Holy Land under what called the British Mandate of Palestine, roughly a 28-year period from 1920 to 1948 when British Lord Balfour decided after WW II to hand over the British mandate of Palestine to Jews living in Holy Land after the Nazi Holocaust. Once Jews took control of the Holy Land they quickly morphed the desert wasteland into one of the most prosperous, technologically advanced societies in the Middle East. Successive generations of U.S. presidents starting with President Harry Trump backed and armed Israel making it impervious to Arab attacks. When al-Saraa and Aoun looked at the total destruction of the Gaza Strip, they wanted no part of Palestine liberation movements looking to destroy the Israeli state. So, Palestinians no longer have state backing, other than through Iran’s state-sponsored terrorism.
Since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, no Arab State wants anything to do with Palestine liberation or what it calls resistance. Whatever rubble is left in Gaza, no other Muslim state wants a similar fate by fighting Palestinian battles. Syria and Lebanon are the last of the Arab states to back Palestine liberation over Israel, leaving future Palestinians only one choice: To make peace with Israel. Hardcore Palestinian terrorists still operate under the delusion that one day they’ll conquer Israel, something so preposterous it defies all reason. Yet Hamas in Gaza was known to brainwash beleaguered Gaza residents into believing they’re close to returning to Israel. When the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre took place, the late Gaza Leader Yahya Sinwar boasted how easy it was to breach Israeli security and invade Israel.
Syria and Lebanon have put Palestinian refugees on notice that they’ll no longer tolerate armed resistance against Israel from their borders. While not admitting it openly, Syria and Lebanon want normal diplomatic ties with Israel, including whatever they can learn or benefit from Israeli technology in terms of creating a modern industrialized state. Palestinian factions like Islamic Jihad or Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have been left behind much like Hamas in the Gaza Strip. When it comes to Palestinians living in the West Bank led by 89-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, he knows how to get along with Israel despite complaining about Israeli settlements. Abbas learned that putting down arms and collaborating with Israel is the best way to assure prosperity for his people. Radical Palestine no longer has any real support in legitimate Arab states.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
