Arab suggests helping Palestinians; other Arabs attack him

There was an educational exchange on Twitter recently that encapsulates the real problem in the Middle East.

Ed Husain, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), tweeted:

Arab govts can help Palestinians in their midst by granting citizenship. How much longer will this great people languish in refugee camps?
— Ed Husain (@Ed_Husain) May 15, 2013

Lebanese journalist Alex Rowell responded:

.@ed_husain This ignores fact that many if not most refugees would refuse the offer if it meant giving up right of return
— Alex Rowell (@disgraceofgod) May 15, 2013

Besides the fact that experience in Lebanon itself shows this to be false, Husain answers:

1. Ed Husain ‏@Ed_Husain15 May

   @disgraceofgod So don't make it conditional. Give them hope of eventual "dual citizenship" -- in the meantime, build up their lives again.

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2. Alex Rowell ‏@disgraceofgod15 May

   .@Ed_Husain Possible. But in any case they oughtn't have to jump through such hoops when Israel is obliged by law to let them return

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Again, Rowell is wrong; there is no international law obliging Israel to allow Palestinian Arabs who fled in 1948 and their descendants to return.

One person responded to Rowell's earlier false claim that Palestinian Arabs would refuse citizenship:

1. TheNatSecRoundtable ‏@nsroundtable15 May

   @ziadachkar @disgraceofgod @Ed_Husain Once agn, Pals missing oppty 2 achieve somthg: Rejecting ctiznshp for somethg they'll never get.

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2. Alex Rowell ‏@disgraceofgod15 May

   @nsroundtable @ziadachkar @Ed_Husain It's a question of principle. You might see things their way yourself if you were a refugee.

Given how eager Palestinian Arabs have been to embrace citizenship in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, Rowell is justifying his own desire to discriminate against them. Palestinian Arabs may tell journalists how steadfast they are in these "principles" but their actions tell a very different story.

Another subthread that is revealing, as an Egyptian responds to Husain:

.@ed_husain I completely disagree. This renders right of return null and void.
— مو Mo (@MohHKamel) May 15, 2013

1. Ed Husain ‏@Ed_Husain15 May

   @MohHKamel We agree to disagree, my friend. This helps give Palestinians a life today, not jam tomorrow. Dual citizenship also an option.

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Banakee ‏@Banakee15 May

@Ed_Husain @mohhkamel no pah-lease. We can barely stand them now.

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مو Mo ‏@MohHKamel15 May

.@Ed_Husain The Palestenian can have a life without citizenship. Here in Egypt they do. If they have citizenship, what's their plight?

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murat s. erguvan ‏@muratserguvan15 May

@MohHKamel @Ed_Husain why should they be lower than Egyptians? Why can't they have the right to vote and take part in social life?

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مو Mo ‏@MohHKamel16 May

@muratserguvan @Ed_Husain Egyptians themselves r not that eager abt their right 2 vote. Again, if they have citizenship,what's their plight?

You see? Their plight is what must be kept alive at all costs! Alleviating their plight by treating them as human beings is considered self-evidently undesirable!

This isn't the first time we've seen this depraved Arab logic to keep Palestinian Arabs in misery, but it shows that little has changed over the decades.


(h/t Elias)