HERE is a story of a man who was living peacefully in his own home in a peaceful neighborhood with peaceful neighbors, when all of the sudden an unexpected thief moves into the house with the help of powerful people from the next neighborhood, who next forces the owner to allow the person to live in this house. This ‘forced tenant’, with the help of his powerful allies, first slowly encroaches a lot of space in the house and then declares that that this house is his and claims ownership of it. Along with the claim they have by now forced the real owner of the house to a small room next to the balcony, and on many occasions the ‘forced tenant’ has tried to push the real owner to the balcony in the hope that he would fall off, leaving the way clear for the ‘forced tenant’ to usurp the house.

One of the main supporters and strong allies of this occupying thief after years of status quo offered to be an honest’ judge and resort to a peaceful resolution. Yet, this so called ‘peace keeping judge’ is the one who is shielding this thief against any aggression against him and providing him with all the logistic support he needs to stand strong against any threat. The thief in this case is the Zionist state of Israel and the ally is America. Take a wild guess about who the poor house owner is in this case.

On Dec. 7, US President Donald Trump announced that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, describing this move as “a long overdue step”, while calling on the State Department to shift the US Embassy to Jerusalem. I am not surprised at Trump’s move as much as I am surprised at people’s surprise on hearing of this step. The US with all its power has sided with the Zionist state for a long time. Moving the capital of this illegal state to Jerusalem was the promise that every single president, running for presidency, has been making the Jewish lobby in the US, and simply Trump turned out to be the only honest one who did it. The environment for such a decision is perfectly ready as the Arabs are divided as usual, and even the Palestinians themselves are divided to the core.

Although the global reaction to this unilateral move was against Trump’s decision, which falls squarely in favor of the Palestinian people, but the negative reaction and the unnecessary attack against the Kingdom cannot be justified. I have been watching the social media sphere — reading and listening to the comments of many bashing Saudi Arabia, which was the only honest country that stood by the Palestine’s right of a country and the Palestinian people’s rights. Proof of Saudi Arabia’s support is evident and only those blinded by hatred cannot see it.

A short glimpse at history will show that the Saudi Army was among the many who fought in the 1948 war against the Zionists and many of our brave soldiers were buried in that holy land. As for the political and financial support, Saudi Arabia was among the top, if not the top, who provided help and financial support to the Palestinian cause. Our stand with the Palestinians is solid as a rock.

On the US’ decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman said, “We renew our deep regret over the US decision on Jerusalem ... The Kingdom has called for a political solution to resolve regional crises, foremost of which is the Palestinian issue and the restoration of the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights, including the right to establish their independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Prince Turki Al-Faisal, former Saudi ambassador to the US, said in a CNN interview, “Everybody was taken aback by President Trump’s first statement and there is no rationalization or explanation that can satisfy the rejection that that statement has received, not just in Saudi Arabia, but throughout the Muslim world.”

Prince Turki Al-Faisal agreed with the conclusion that this step has damaged America’s role in the peace process saying, “I just don’t know where we’re going to go from here. The whole world is puzzled because America was the country that was leading the peace negotiations in our part of the world, and now Mr. Trump has abandoned that role because he’s taking Israel’s side.” I like his conclusion here when he said, “Jerusalem is not Trump’s to give and he is handing Jerusalem to an illegal occupier without having the right to do that.”

We take this sad opportunity to inculcate in the minds of our young children and for the generation to come, the love of Palestine. The cause should be alive in our hearts and minds. Every inch of Palestine belongs to the Palestinian people and we recognize the Zionists as only an occupying illegal state. Jerusalem, forever, will be the capital of Palestine.