If you want to divert attention away from your own criminal behaviour, nothing works better, it seems, than starting a fire in someone else’s backyard. Even better if you can find some useful simpletons to light the match.

Israel is an expert at this, and it is with the help of some useful simpleton Arab rulers that it is creating a huge test for the world’s Muslims with the backdrop of Islamic holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.

One of Israel’s motivations is to block the spread of Turkish influence in the region, because Turkey’s support for Palestinian rights remains unwavering after many years. The other is a land grab by the back door which could see the whole Noble Sanctuary of Al Aqsa fall under Israeli control.

Under the recent normalisation agreements signed by the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco their rulers are being urged to demand a role in supervising the holy sites in occupied Jerusalem. As the “Custodian of the Haramain” (the two holy Masaajid in Makkah and Madinah) Saudi Arabia is also being urged to get on board in Jerusalem. This would put all of the normalised states in direct competition with Jordan and the Palestinians, who are already tasked with this important job.

Israel’s unspoken intention, of course, is to put the normalisation states on a collision course with Turkey, which has growing influence among the Palestinians living in occupied Jerusalem. The Israelis regard such solidarity as a threat to their own national security. It is a fact that any show of support for Palestine these days is met with a hysterical reaction from Israel.

By Yazdaan Khan