If the agreement that Iran reached with Western states on its nuclear file is real- whereby nuclear enrichment will now take place outside of Iran thus preventing a major crisis- then now it must be Israel’s turn.

Just as the rejection of a nuclear Iran is born out of the conviction that this would endanger the entire region (and there is justification for this conviction), a nuclear Israel also poses a threat to our region. There can be no nuclear discrimination, especially as we have a long history that proves that Israel does not hesitate to use force in every crisis using any justification in a barbaric manner. The most recent example is what happened in the Gaza war; the Goldstone report shows this and we are seeing attempts today to suppress that report.

There is recklessness and risk in our region as a well as a lack of concern for people’s lives and stability. We can see this in the people of our region, whether Hamas, Hezbollah or anybody else; this is true and is agreed upon [by many]. But criticizing our own people does not mean we are exonerating Israel and this is what the international community, which the Arabs are watching everyday with calm and in amazement, must realize, as the credibility of the international community is at stake. The Arab region should be free of all kinds of nuclear weapons or anything that could lead to possessing nuclear weapons and there should be no exception for one party over the other.

This is not a justification in favor of Iran; it is quite the contrary, as the Mullah state of Iran is a real threat to the region in terms of tampering with sectarianism and interfering in Arab affairs to cause further division [among Arabs]. Rather, the point of this is to stress that the credibility of the international community is at risk because just as the Western community is vigilant of a nuclear Iran, it should not allow there to be a nuclear Israel.

With regards to the credibility of the West, we are seeing campaigns being launched from time to time against anyone who says a word against Israel and its policies based on the pretext of anti-Semitism. Why is it not the same for the Palestinians or Arabs as they are also Semites? What is the reason for such brazen discrimination?

This logic might not be new to the West; rather, what is new today is that Washington is throwing its weight behind completing the peace process, and showing that it is a neutral mediator. America or the West cannot put a stop to the crises without credibility, and the real danger that the West is facing today is losing its credibility.

As mentioned before, the day we see that pressure is being exerted and there are attempts to either cancel or postpone the Goldstone report – and this is dangerous – is the day the report must be submitted to the UN even if it condemns Hamas and Israel equally, as the situation in our region reached such a regrettable degree that we saw how 20 Palestinian women and one child were swapped with Israel for a videotape.

It must be said here that the credibility of Israel, or Hamas or Hezbollah for that matter, cannot be relied upon, but the real danger is that the credibility of the Western community is being struck. This is all that the extremists and those who want to prolong the conflict in this region need.