A very small example of how much things have changed in the Middle East

 

The official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported on Saturday:

Member of the Supreme Advisory Council of the Arab Tourism Organization affiliated with the Arab League, Faisal Khazal, said that the UAE’s decision to normalize relations with the Israeli occupation state weakens the Arab position in uniting against one enemy.

In an interview with Voice of Palestine Radio today, Saturday, Khazal called on all Arab countries to take a unified position to defend Palestinian rights, which is the front line for all Arab issues.

Wafa always has stories like this – relatively obscure Arab officials saying things that Palestinians like to hear, highlighted by Palestinian media to give the impression of a groundswell of support.

But this time something else happened.

Faisal Khazal was sent a message by the Arab Tourism Organization saying that he has no right to speak or give statements on behalf of the group.

Khazal is a prominent Kuwaiti businessman but the Wafa article only referred to his position at the Arab Tourism Organization, because they wanted to make it appear that the Arab League was against normalization, when it in fact has not issued a statement.

Khazal was so upset at the message that he resigned from the organization, saying that he will never give up his support for the Palestinian cause.

Even though this is a tiny story, it shows how much things have instantly changed in the Middle East. Mild statements of support for Palestinians and of hate for Israel are no longer automatically assumed to be OK. No one wants to upset the UAE.

It is hard to overstate how big a deal this is.