{"id":241824,"date":"2025-05-09T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T05:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=241824"},"modified":"2025-05-22T12:28:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T06:58:46","slug":"palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/","title":{"rendered":"Palestine: Sri Lanka\u2019s Empathy, West\u2019s Hypocrisy & Arabs\u2019 Betrayal\u00a0 \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>By Ameer Ali<\/a> –<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Dr. Ameer Ali<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters<\/em>\u201d ~ Antonio Gramsci<\/p>\n

When the entire Global North led by a sociopath US President whose cognitive capacity is under media scrutiny, has thrown its unreserved support behind Netanyahu\u2019s IDF to cleanse Palestine<\/a><\/span> of its native Arabs and wipe out Palestine itself from the world map while haranguing about a two-state solution for decades; when the UN and its institutions remain paralysed even to enter Gaza to feed its starving population; and when Palestine\u2019s Arab neighbours, notably Egypt and the Emirates are reported to be the architects of Gaza\u2019s strangulation while others like Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are rushing to normalise relations with Israel, it is heartening to hear Sri Lanka\u2019s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath<\/a><\/span> expressing his government\u2019s \u201cunwavering diplomatic support\u201d to Palestinian rights for a separate and independent Palestine state.<\/p>\n

Unlike many countries in Asia, Sri Lanka\u2019s support to Palestine is historically rooted in the island\u2019s millennial connection with the Arab world – an aspect of the island\u2019s history yet remains unexplored. (This lacunae in the island\u2019s history cannot be filled satisfactorily unless researchers consult the Arabic sources that are dusting in Middle Eastern archives and libraries). Will the local Muslim community represented by those thirty civil society leaders who met the Foreign Minister at least wake up now to undertake this invaluable task?<\/p>\n

Be that as it may, what is happening in Gaza<\/a><\/span> now and before engulfing the Westbank is the continuation of the post-First World War imperial design in the form of that infamous 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement by which, imperil Britain and its close ally France with Russia\u2019s consent decided to carve out the Ottoman Provinces in the Middle East as their respective zones of influence. After centuries of civilizational subjugation to the power and glory of Islam under successive Muslim dynasties beginning with the Omayyad, the wheel of fortune finally turned in favour of Britian and Europe.\u00a0 <\/span>It was that process of remaking Muslim Middle East in the image of Western imperialism which eventually resulted in the implant of the state of Israel in the heart of the Arab world in 1948. To cut the story short, when the imperial baton changed hands after World War II from Britian to United States and when the Cold War between the Communist bloc and its Capitalist foe ushered in, and when petroleum became the lifeblood of industrialization Israel was deemed by US to be its imperial gate keeper in oil rich Middle East. Accordingly, Israel was funded quite generously from US taxpayer savings and weaponised clandestinely with all varieties of deadly arsenal including nuclear, so that the Middle East would be remade once again, but this time in the image of Israel. Accordingly, Palestine and Palestinians need to be wiped out in the interest of Eretz Israel. That is why Donald Trump has given carte blanch<\/i> to Netanyahu to finish the job quickly.<\/p>\n

Palestine\u2019s treacherous Arab neighbours are silent partners to this poisonous intrigue. It was as part of that imperial design that Arab nations were intentionally kept defenceless but dependent on US for their security. If any leader such as for example Muammar Ghaddafi of Libya and Sadam Hussain of Iraq, tried to build their own defence industry without depending on the West they were removed from power by either through a war or by promoting enemies from within. But there was one exception to this macabre plan, and that was Shia Iran.\u00a0<\/span>So long as Iran remained an American stooge under the Shah it was allowed to build with US support its own defence system, partly to counter any Russian design to enter and dominate Asia and partly to check the rise of any Sunni recalcitrant in the Middle East challenging US. But after the Islamic Revolution when Iran turned anti-American, the need to destroy Iran\u2019s defence structure has become a priority to US. Iran\u2019s support to the Palestinian struggle has given US and its gatekeeper Israel the pretext to finish that job. But at what cost is another matter.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Hamas\u2019 resistance against Israeli genocide is remaining strong even after eighteen months of Israeli indiscriminate bombing and carnage and has won sympathy globally. The Kassam Brigades is inflicting repeated casualties on Israeli soldiers which the Western media do not want to publish. Gaza casualties are deliberately under-counted, Hamas is demonized while Israeli atrocities are sanitized by that media. But pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protest gatherings like those pro-Vietnam and anti-US demonstrations of 1960s and 1970s are now a regular occurrence, and they have become more organized and have spread to self-funded human rights organizations, and Zionist funded university campuses and research institutions. The difference between then and now is the fact that while pro-Vietnam and Anti-American protests were officially associated with Marxism and Communism pro-Palestine protests are tainted with antisemitism \u2013 a label originated and gained currency in the West because of Christian hatred towards Jews who were cursed and condemned as Christ killers. (Ironically, when those hated Jews were thrown out of Europe like for example from Spain in 15th<\/sup><\/span> century it was the Ottoman Empire that opened its gates to accommodate them. Even during the Holocaust, it was Iraq that became the asylum for thousands of Jewish refugees). By pasting the antisemitic label on pro-Palestinian protestors, the West is once again trying to absolve itself from anti-Jewish guilt.<\/p>\n

Given this short historical background, the reality of the daily horror experienced by Palestinians at the hands of Israel\u2019s IDF terror outfit, and the Wests\u2019 shameless sermonising to the world about democracy, freedom, human rights and so on while remaining silent on Israel\u2019s genocide is all utter hypocrisy. Sri Lanka\u2019s unwavering support to Palestinian struggle therefore looms large in the face of this hypocrisy and Arab betrayal of the cause of Palestine.\u00a0 <\/span>Sri Lanka\u2019s pro-Palestinian stand therefore is more than an expression of sympathy and would certainly earn the ire of Israel and its backers. There lies a danger.<\/p>\n

Although Israel has no direct geopolitical interest linked to Sri Lanka it could play a mischievous role on behalf US and India and against their common enemy China. As expected, Israel has thrown its weight behind India in the recent Indo-Pakistan confrontation over the Pahalgam incident. Already, Israeli tourists are reported to be overstaying their visas and engaging in shady business deals with the locals, and the Chabad House near Colombo is said to be a den of Israeli criminals and spies. Is Sri Lanka going to allow a Zionist colony here in return for Israel\u2019s employment for Sri Lankans there? The 2023 incident in Arugam Bay populated mostly by Muslims, involving a Jewish community centre there frequented by Israeli tourists sent shock waves abroad, and travel warnings were issued by US, UK, Australia and EU countries advising their tourists to avoid Arugam Bay. Sri Lanka\u2019s economy cannot afford to sacrifice its tourist industry. NPP government may well be advised to be extra vigilant about Israeli tourists and their activities.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":234522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2186,46,8,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-featured-news","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nPalestine: Sri Lanka\u2019s Empathy, West\u2019s Hypocrisy & Arabs\u2019 Betrayal\u00a0 \u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Palestine: Sri Lanka\u2019s Empathy, West\u2019s Hypocrisy & Arabs\u2019 Betrayal\u00a0 \u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-09T05:30:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-22T06:58:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Palestine-Gaza.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"631\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ameer Ali\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ameer Ali\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/\",\"name\":\"Palestine: Sri Lanka\u2019s Empathy, West\u2019s Hypocrisy & Arabs\u2019 Betrayal\u00a0 \u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Palestine-Gaza.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-09T05:30:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-22T06:58:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2cbce0d72655cd55d7fb5696868b478f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Palestine-Gaza.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Palestine-Gaza.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":631},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Palestine: Sri Lanka\u2019s Empathy, West\u2019s Hypocrisy & Arabs\u2019 Betrayal\u00a0 \u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2cbce0d72655cd55d7fb5696868b478f\",\"name\":\"Ameer Ali\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1f26172d80e3fb348d31f2ce3a0ffece8316c6250c0a7d0d0689927216a277c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1f26172d80e3fb348d31f2ce3a0ffece8316c6250c0a7d0d0689927216a277c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ameer Ali\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/ameera\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Palestine: Sri Lanka\u2019s Empathy, West\u2019s Hypocrisy & Arabs\u2019 Betrayal\u00a0 \u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Palestine: Sri Lanka\u2019s Empathy, West\u2019s Hypocrisy & Arabs\u2019 Betrayal\u00a0 \u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2025-05-09T05:30:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-22T06:58:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":631,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Palestine-Gaza.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ameer Ali","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ameer Ali","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/","name":"Palestine: Sri Lanka\u2019s Empathy, West\u2019s Hypocrisy & Arabs\u2019 Betrayal\u00a0 \u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Palestine-Gaza.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-09T05:30:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-22T06:58:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2cbce0d72655cd55d7fb5696868b478f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Palestine-Gaza.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Palestine-Gaza.jpg","width":900,"height":631},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/palestine-sri-lankas-empathy-wests-hypocrisy-arabs-betrayal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Palestine: Sri Lanka\u2019s Empathy, West\u2019s Hypocrisy & Arabs\u2019 Betrayal\u00a0 \u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2cbce0d72655cd55d7fb5696868b478f","name":"Ameer Ali","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1f26172d80e3fb348d31f2ce3a0ffece8316c6250c0a7d0d0689927216a277c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1f26172d80e3fb348d31f2ce3a0ffece8316c6250c0a7d0d0689927216a277c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Ameer Ali"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/ameera\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Palestine-Gaza.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241824"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241985,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241824\/revisions\/241985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}