One is rather surprised that no one actually sees the great
potential and important consequences of expanding the GCC. If the issue were taken
seriously, it would be, as a matter of fact, tantamount to a massive tectonic
shift in the future politics of the Middle East.
اضافة اعلان
One is not going to sing praises of the obvious, that being,
mainly, the advantages of the freedom of movement of people, goods and capital,
in addition to the essential passage of gas and oil, but rather wishes to talk
about the impact of the strategic concerns vis-à-vis, Iran as well as finding a
viable and stable solution to the Palestinian problem; both aspects tend to be
interconnected.
Now, one may or may not believe in the existence of the
Shiite Crescent encircling the Gulf Arab states, but if one looks at the map of
the region, one will see Iran to the eastern side of the Arab region and toward
its western side, the dominance of Iran in Syria, via Iraq, in Lebanon through
Hezbollah and at the other end, in Gaza, through the ambivalent Hamas.
This is a geo-strategic fact and not merely material
provided for sectarian squabbles.
If Jordan and Morocco would join an expanded GCC, the Arab
Gulf states would be able to break the Iran-dominated geographical envelope,
and expand their geographical depth all the way to the Atlantic and to the
south, bordering Israel. Therefore, this would actually bring in Israel, by
necessity, as an party interested in protecting Arab oil, by virtue of the fact
that it borders the GCC, and would bring in Morocco’s 32 million people as a
population-balancing factor to Iran’s 70-80 million people.
When it comes to the Palestine-Israel peace issue, the most
thorny factor is the question of the right of return, so if Palestine can
become part of this expanded GCC arrangement, in or without association with
Jordan, it would become a geographical political entity in itself, part of a
larger geographical zone, with various populations, including Palestinians. In
essence, in addition to the Palestinian being a Palestinian, he/she would be a
citizen of the GCC.
But then again, of course, what about the Palestinians in
refugee camps of diaspora?
Well, it would be logical to assume that they would be
carriers of Palestinian nationality identity as the first transnational
citizens of a country, which can provide them with the choice of staying in the
countries that host them, in accordance with the laws and regulations of those
countries, which may mean enjoying ad hoc economic and political rights, go
back to the state of Palestine, associated or otherwise with Jordan, or go to a
GCC country of the their choice, being of course GCC citizens.
In this context, Israel can no longer have the delusional
excuse of its security concerns about the emergence of a Palestinian national
state because, being itself a guarantor of the GCC oil security, being on its
borders, it will be the beneficiary of the market of the block as well.
This writer is a former private adviser to HRH Prince El
Hassan bin Talal.
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