Arab Foreign Ministers' Visit: When Symbolism Collides with the Arrogance of the Occupation

Marwan Emil Toubasi

Amid the ongoing tragedies unfolding in the Palestinian arena, and at a time shrouded in smoke and blood, the Arab initiative emerged through a scheduled visit by the foreign ministers of several Arab countries to Ramallah. This seemingly belated effort, however, carries a political significance that cannot be ignored. This visit aimed to declare that the Palestinian cause remains relevant and that the Palestine Liberation Organization, despite its sagging, continues to enjoy Arab and international recognition as the sole legitimate representative of a people bleeding on the ground and whose authority is being exhausted in the corners.

Although the initiative is Arab and Islamic in nature, its background points to two parallel paths, each with its own logic and objectives:
First, it may be a preemptive move in the context of what is known as the "day after" phase, which major capitals are looming over following the war on Gaza. Saudi Arabia, in particular, is seeking to consolidate its political foothold at this stage, having grown weary of Israel's intransigence and refusal to stop the war. It has begun mobilizing its diplomatic tools, hoping to persuade the West, and the United States in particular, to recognize the Palestinian state during the upcoming conference in New York, in partnership with France.
The second track appears to be an attempt to contain the Palestinian Authority within a evolving regional framework, one that could pave the way for a comprehensive settlement or broader normalization. This visit, or an attempt to do so if it is prevented, may have come in unannounced coordination with Washington, which has long sought to bring the Palestinian Authority back to the forefront of the political scene, albeit on its own terms and conditions. This approach has been met with rejection since the early days of the announcement of the "Deal of the Century."
However, Israel, as usual, didn't need long to thwart the initiative and remove the fig leaf from the reality of the arrogant and barbaric occupation. The response came definitively: No entry, no visits, no consideration. It was as if Israel was telling all Arabs, and above all the Palestinian National Authority, that the final word here can only be spoken in Tel Aviv, that sovereignty in the West Bank belongs only to the occupier, and that any action, whether political or symbolic, can only take place with its permission.
This Israeli response was not merely a passing security measure, but rather a clear political stance, reflecting its post-war vision and enshrining the concept of complete control in accordance with the ideology of "Jewish supremacy" and the "Greater Israel" project, which views the occupied territories as nothing more than a vital area for expanding settlements, annexation, and undermining efforts to establish a Palestinian state on the ground.
If this is the case with the Arab foreign ministers' initiative, the question that must be asked here is: Will we witness an Arab response that amounts to an insult?
Will the Palestinian Authority reconsider its strategy, now that the extent of the marginalization it is facing from both near and far has become clear?
What happened, quite simply, brings us back to square one: there will be no effective Arab or international role as long as the occupation does not pay a real political price for its crimes and practices. Furthermore, any reliance on the US administration, which seeks to market a "political horizon" tailored to Israel's needs and the New Middle East project, will only lead to further confusion, especially if the Arab role becomes merely a complementary tool to the liquidation project, rather than a resistance to it.
At best, the Israeli position may embarrass its allies in Washington, who are working to push Arab states to contribute to arrangements after what they see as the genocide and Holocaust, and are seeking regional partners to revive a faltering political process. However, what is happening on the ground, in terms of clear Israeli deterrence of any Arab move, reveals an implicit harmony in the distribution of roles: Washington is brandishing policy, while Israel is imposing facts by force.
Hence, the urgent Palestinian need for a new strategy emerges, based on liberation from the illusion of settlements with the Zionist movement, breaking away from the logic of dependency and reliance on an "external savior," and embarking on rebuilding the national liberation project, based on independent decision-making, far from attempts at containment, even by regional powers, and on the foundations of unity and political and popular resistance, within a Liberation Organization that represents the broad national front framework and the revitalization it needs, a unified and representative National Council and Central Council to the extent possible until the necessary elections are held, and a vision that combines the constants, the necessities of the stage, and international variables.
When the mask falls off the symbolic initiatives, and Arab dignity is slapped in the face at the gates of Ramallah, the only thing left for our Palestinian people is to return to themselves, to their broad unity with all the components of our people, to resist the attempts to liquidate our existence. We alone are the ones who pay the price, and we alone are the ones who hold the keys to change if the will is present, which must be present.

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Hence, the urgent Palestinian need for a new strategy emerges, one based on liberation from the illusion of settlements with the Zionist movement, breaking away from the logic of dependency and reliance on an "external savior," and embarking on rebuilding the national liberation project.