The recent events in the Middle East have been momentous and encouraging. No one who craves a better future for our region can be unimpressed by the resilience shown by those seeking an improved and enlightened future for its people.
However, as many instill hope for progress in the Middle East, there are those who are trying to seize the revolutions to further establish their grip on parts of our region. We saw this with the Iranian revolution of 1979, when the short-lived democracy was hijacked by the Islamist theocracy that has brutalized and repressed its people ever since.
Similarly, the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon of 2005 sought to expel Syrian troops from its territory and return Beirut to its former glory as the open and progressive "Paris of the East." This was also stymied by Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, who suppressed the revolution and now have de facto control of Lebanon.
While Egyptians were celebrating and coming to terms with the new post-Mubarak reality, Iran was taking advantage of the instability by sending warships into the Suez Canal for the first time. The ships docked at the Syrian port of Latakia - the same port that the merchant vessel Victoria, laden with heavy arms hidden among its cargo headed for Hamas in Gaza, left from only a few days later.
Furthermore, the day after Israel intercepted the Victoria, Egyptian forces intercepted an arms smuggling convoy from Sudan also on its way to Gaza. Even more recently, Turkey intercepted an Iranian cargo plane laden with weapons and missiles.
Since the revolutions began, weapons smuggling in the region has moved from a drip to a flood, and most of it is sent by or intended for Iran and its allies.
Israel is a primary, but by no means the only, target of this covenant of repression and regression. The Jewish state has repeatedly extended its hands in peace to all the peoples of the region and seeks to live up to the words of its Declaration of Independence, which states that Israel is "prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East."
The lesson learned by Israel from recent events in the Middle East is that our outreach to Arab leaders cannot come at the expense of the will of the people and a peace between Israel and its neighbors must not only be signed between leaders, but also be accepted and endorsed between societies. This is why continued incitement and glorification of terror is so toxic to the process.
While seeking to achieve an enduring peace with the Palestinian Authority, we will continue to demonstrate its benefits to the Palestinian people. An improved economy, greater access and movement and a higher standard of living are all goals that Israel is actively assisting as important elements toward an enduring peace and historic reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians.
Only a negotiated solution that is supported by all levels of Israeli and Palestinian society has the chance to succeed and flourish. Without these vital elements, those who seek only repression and radicalism will step into the breach. Recent events in our region have taught us that.
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