Last month, Norway asked Israel to arrange for a visit by its foreign minister to Tel Aviv. Perhaps the purpose was to make up for the effects of Oslo’s recognition of Palestine, along with that of Spain and Ireland, after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution, in May, admitting Palestine as a full member state. Israel recalled its ambassadors from the three countries to protest their recognition of Palestine. It also refused to respond to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry’s request to arrange a visit. Then, when Norwegian Foreign Minister Espin Barth Eide put the request to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, in person, Katz officially told Eide he would not be welcomed in Israel.

In the past 10 months since Israel unleashed its brutal war on Gaza, some countries rushed to support Israel while others declared their support for the Palestinians and their right to freedom and self-determination. International organisations issued resolutions in defence of the Palestinians and members of the international community filed cases with international courts charging Israel with war crimes and crimes against humanity. But where have the Arabs been all this time?

Apart from Egypt’s staunch opposition to Israel’s plans to forcefully expel Palestinians into the Sinai and its decision to join South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, barely a peep has been heard from Arab countries. When they gathered in a summit that was expected to yield something consequential, they only managed to commit to a bare minimum. It was as though they were unaware that Israel’s hatred of the Arabs had reached such an extreme that it has unleashed an ongoing campaign of extermination against all Palestinians – men, women, children, the elderly – on the pretext of eliminating Hamas.

Throughout all this time, Israel has not forgotten who its friends and enemies are. Only the Arabs, unfortunately, remain in the dark about the secrets of reward and punishment.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 15 August, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly