The upcoming Arab and Islamic summits due to be held in Mecca on 30 May should be an opportunity to deliver a united stand on several pressing crises facing the Middle East region. As the summits will be held in Saudi Arabia, there is no question that the growing fear of a possible confrontation between Iran and the United States will top the agenda. Security in the Arab Gulf region has never been as volatile as it has been in recent weeks, following attacks on four vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, near the strategic UAE port of Fujeira, and the attack on Saudi oil pumping stations that Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia claimed responsibility for. Saudi officials have stated that the attack on Saudi's oil facilities “proved that the Houthi militias were merely a tool that Iran's regime uses to implement its expansionist agenda”. They also warned that such terrorist acts are tightening the noose around ongoing political efforts to avoid a possible escalation with Iran. The attacks in Fujeira and Saudi Arabia took place amid heightened tension between Washington and Tehran over sanctions and US military presence in the Gulf. While both American and Iranian officials have publicly stated that they were not seeking war, many in the region fear that incidents similar to those that took place recently in Fujeira and involving Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline can easily escalate into a widescale military confrontation. For the first time in decades, Saudi newspapers are now openly calling for “surgical strikes” against Iran. An editorial in the Saudi English daily Arab News stated: “Our point of view is that they must be hit hard... We call for a decisive, punitive reaction to what happened so that Iran knows that every single move they make will have consequences.” All analysts agree that if a military escalation took place between Iran and the United States, the Arab Peninsula will not be the only war front. Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, where Iran maintains strong ties, and even a military presence, are likely to go up in flames. That certainly will be a devastating development for the peoples of those countries, who have already been suffering much in recent years, particularly in Syria which has a joint border with Israel. Israel will not lose an opportunity to join any possible military confrontation against Iran, claiming the need to protect its own security. Hopefully Arab and Muslim leaders who will gather in Mecca will deliver a united message to Iran that it should refrain from threatening its Arab neighbours. While Tehran has had disputes with Washington dating back to the early years of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, it should not use wars by proxy on Arab soil to settle those disputes with the United States. No sane Arab leader would seek war with Iran, considering that it will be always be a neighbour and a key player in the region. But Tehran should also refrain from using Arab countries to settle scores and differences with the United States. Another message that needs to come out loud and clear from the Mecca summits is that the current tension between Iran and the United States does not mean that Arab and Muslim countries will forget or ignore the plight of the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation. They will also not accept any expected deal to be proposed by Washington if that deal attempts to negate key legitimate Palestinian rights, and offer instead pledges for financial aid and economic prosperity. Insisting on the right of the Palestinian people to an independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, the removal of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the right of return of Palestinian refugees who were forced to leave their homes in 1948, are not calls from a broken record of the past. These demands are also not attempts by “grandfathers to destroy their children's futures”, as one official working on the US proposal for the “Deal of the Century” stated recently. These are legitimate demands backed by the international community and UN Security Council resolutions over many years, and they must not be ignored. Offering a combination of grant money, low interest loans and private capital will certainly not convince Palestinians, first and foremost, to forget their legitimate political demands. While reaching a united stand on both issues, Iran and Palestinian rights, in the upcoming summits in Mecca is a huge challenge, Arab and Muslim leaders must also exert efforts to bring an end to wars in Syria and Yemen. While the outside world has stood by watching hundreds of thousands of people losing their lives in both countries, it is very sad that Arab and Muslim countries have done very little to help their Arab and Muslim neighbours. The wars in the two countries have been going on for years, and it has indeed ended up a human tragedy first and foremost. We need the Arab and Muslim leaders who will meet in Mecca to come up with a serious, workable action plan, not just the usual final statement made up of wish lists.
