Hizbullah's moral and ground victory over Israel has instilled a spirit of renewal and justice in the Arab world, writes Curtis Doebbler* It sometimes takes your enemy to show you the way to victory. This would appear to be the case in the Arab world today. The Hizbullah clash with Israel, the perennial enemy of the Arab people and proxy for American ambitions in the Middle East, may have had the effect of awakening Arab sensitivities, the pan-Arab spirit. The shower of Israeli bombs that hastened the previously slow suffering that its long-term threat held for the region, may have been the penultimate challenge to law and justice that has now instilled enough courage in the Arab world to earnestly seek justice. A striking acknowledgment of this potentially momentous change was Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's address to journalists in Damascus 15 August 2006. In this speech, President Assad pointed out the realities that most American, most Western and most Israeli observers know, but which to date Arab leaders have refused to clearly accept, and particularly, to act upon. Sometimes President Assad pointed out the obvious, but he also de-bugged some of the myths that have been sold to Arabs for decades and pointed to the way forward, a distinctively Arab way forward. There may be valuable lessons to be learned from his speech. Beginning with the obvious, President Assad noted that Israel started the armed conflict with Lebanon. The war, he stated, was not started by the capture of two Israeli soldiers who had apparently breached of the territorial integrity of Lebanon, but was rather a pre-planned attack against an Arab country. Recently, Seymour Hersch provided evidence of Israeli and US pre-planning in a New Yorker magazine article. Moreover, even if Hizbullah had captured the Israeli soldiers in Tel Aviv its act would be legal under international law. This is because its action was directed against military personnel, allegedly by recognisable Hizbullah fighters, and was in furtherance of the Palestinian struggle against occupation and oppression. All states are, in fact, instructed to aid this struggle in several UN General Assembly resolutions. Reaffirming that he believes that the enemies of the Arab people are Israel and the United States, President Assad pointed out that Israel's recent heightened aggression against the Lebanese and Palestinian people has not changed this fact, but has merely emphasised it. Indeed, only the intensity of Israel's use of force against the Palestinian and Lebanese people was different during the last few weeks, and it is not the first time these same people have faced such intensification of violence by Israel. Those who fight for freedom from oppression and occupation, Assad declared, are not wrongdoers, but the champions of justice. Indirectly referring to Hizbullah, Assad recognised the legitimacy of struggle against the foreign and oppressive occupier of Palestinian lands, as well as parts of Lebanon, such as the Shebaa Farms. And he also pointed out that Israel's claims to have achieved gains in the conflict were merely propaganda. He illustrated how Israel spread this propaganda, referring to how Israel claimed to have occupied Lebanese territory "before claiming to have shelled the same territory." Was Israel shelling territory it already occupied, he asked, or was the claim of occupation a lie? President Assad's point: the Arab people must not trust its enemies to bring peace to them. It would seem a simple lesson, but one still not learned by opponents of Arab governments who constantly turn to the West for support. President Assad also decried the myth of peace negotiations led by the United States. He instead pointed out how these negotiations had weakened Arab states and assisted Israel in its oppression of the Palestinian people. "America," he said, "had turned these negotiations over to Israel." How could the United States be trusted when it was so strongly influence by Israel? Assad's message was that Arabs must trust each other, and not depend on the external mediation of parties influenced by their enemies. Also further decried the myth of the lofty nature of Security Council pronouncements. The UN Security Council, he pointed out, was controlled by the United States and a few of its allies who did not have the interests of the Arab people at heart. The Security Council, Assad claimed, was merely a political body and "it must," he claimed, "be treated as such." Finally, while stating that, "negotiation is the way to peace," he also declared that "when negotiations fail we must fight for our rights." Assad did not confine himself to talking about what was, but also suggested how this can change. For the most part, the Western press ignored this part of his speech, but for the Arab world it is perhaps the most important aspect. The Syrian President called upon the Arab people to have courage. "The courage," he said, "to stand up for what is right and what is just." The idea of having the courage to fight for justice resonates with the express instructions of the Quran. It also alludes to the courage that Hizbullah showed in coming to the aid of its Palestinian neighbours when they were being attacked by Israel. Assad called for Arab leaders to listen to the Arab street. Today, most Arab leaders expect their people to listen to them, but do not return the honour. Assad's words, if they are met with actions, reflect a significant change in Arab politics. They were warranted by the events of recent weeks when Arabs throughout the Middle East expressed their solidarity with the Lebanese people, their pride in Hizbullah, and their concern in the silence and inaction of their own governments. Whether the message being sent from the Arab street will really resonate in the corridors of established Arab power is still yet to be seen, but Assad's words are an indication that at least some Arab leaders understand that there is much to be gained from enlisting the energy, vitality and power of the Arab people to solve their problems. Also implicitly reflecting on Hizbullah's show of resistance, Assad called upon the Arab people to be willing to resist oppression by all necessary means. These means, Assad pointed out, are not limited to those involving the use of force, but to cultural and religious means. The broad array of activities supporting non-violent resistance has been sparingly used by the Arab people. That is not to say that there are not many examples. The International Solidarity Movement has used non-violent resistance to Israel's occupation of Palestine to such effect that Israel has sometimes retaliated using force. Israeli soldiers have murdered women, the aged and young people óin each case unarmed and unthreateningin cold blood. Finally, Assad called for the need to found resistance on law and commitment. While this call may merely be seen as assimilated into his call to fight for justice, it emphasises a struggle based on common values that transcend the Israeli-Arab conflict. International law reflects the shared common, even minimum, values of the world community of individuals. True, they were agreed in solemn undertakings by political elites, but they nevertheless reflect the most magnanimous acts of these leaders. By referencing action to international law, the broad legitimacy of the action is significantly strengthened. In this case, the Palestinians certainly have law on their side in their struggle against occupation and oppression. Numerous General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, and even International Court of Justice opinions, are behind them. If Assad's speech evidences a greater awakening among Arab leaders and is not merely an isolated statement by an Arab leader fighting against American and Israeli attempts to use aggression against his country, it heralds a new moment. If Arab leaders who had blindly adhered to, or at least did not resist, the "new American plan for the Middle East" are willing to question this plan based on calls for them to do so by their own people, a step forward will be taken. If Arab rejection of oppression and occupation comes from the Arab people and can be unleashed, dignity will be renewed. If this is happening, then American proxies such as Israel and even some Arab governments will find the pressure to ensure justice in the Arab world hard to resist. There will, as Assad predicted, be a new Middle East, not based on George W Bush's vision, but on the vision of the Arab people. * The writer is professor of law at An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
