Over the past two weeks, two important events have taken place, but they have not been sufficiently discussed in the media. Instead, they were muffled by the sound of cannons and the smoke and mirrors of diplomats. Yet they both lead to the same place and show that despite the years, conflicts, poverty and huge efforts to throw the Palestinian cause into oblivion, it lives on in the minds of Arabs.

The first event is the Israeli strike on sites within Syria. Certainly, this strike has been widely criticized in terms of strategy and balance of power. However, what has not been said is that despite the lack of Arab sympathy for the Syrian regime, direct Israeli intervention in the conflict in Syria was not well received among the people of the region. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has been forced to react by sending its defense minister to Turkey to discuss this issue while Saudi Arabia, despite being the archenemy of the Syrian regime, was forced to condemn the attack.

Meanwhile, the Saudi press, notably the daily Asharq al Awsat, highlighted the Saudi condemnation. The same goes for Jordan, Iraq and other Arab countries. Even the Syrian opposition was forced to repudiate one of its spokesmen, Hassan Rastouni, because he expressed his delight at the Israeli intervention on Israeli TV. The attack was not spared in Lebanon, either. Certain parties, such as the Future Movement and its leader Saad Hariri, linked their fate to the fall of the Syrian regime and, in a series of news releases, condemned the Israeli strike on the outskirts of Damascus.

Some might jump to the conclusion that these convictions are only irrational gesticulations, ineffective on the ground and at the political level. This is perhaps a wise point, but that all these Arab and even Turkish leaders were forced to issue statements of condemnation shows that Israel is still publicly perceived as an enemy. Therefore, it was important for the leaders to condemn this attack, even if unwillingly, so as not to contradict their principles.