ABOUT ME

Abdul Hameed al-Ghabin

Abdul Hameed Al-Ghabyen Al- Anazi) Abdul Hameed al-Ghabin,

a Saudi writer, journalist and political analyst, has recently been controversial about his stance with Israel[1] [2]. Al- Ghabin was born on October 26, 1956 in Saudi Arabia. Abdal Hameed Al – Ghabin is one of the most controversial writers and journalists of Saudi Arabia and one of the leading advocates of normalization with Israel. Al – Ghubin has published several of his writings, most famously Bleeding and The Nest of Wasps.

Professional life

Al – Ghabin had a great career in journalism. Abdul Hameed Al – Ghabin wrote regular articles in a group of Saudi newspapers, most notably Al-Jazeera, Okaz newspaper, and Al-Riyadh newspaper, in addition to some Kuwaiti and Arab newspapers, such as: Al-Seyassah and Al-Qabas, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Al-Nahda magazine, Middle East Online, Israel Hayom and The Times of Israel as the first Saudi and Gulf writer to write in Hebrew newspapers. and others.

– He began his working life in the Saudi Ministry of Defense and received training in telecommunications until 1985.

– (1989 – 1995) worked for Al-Jazirah newspaper as a press editor and responsible for the weekly Mada page and the articles he edits and interviews the most important political and cultural figures.

– (1995 – 1996) worked as a freelance journalist for the British Broadcasting Corporation and BBC Political Viewer magazine, which is issued by the BBC.

– (1996 – 1998) worked at the Saudi Embassy in Kuwait and worked as a press editor and analyzed public opinion trends.

– (1996 –2002) worked for Al-Riyadh newspaper as director and editor-in-chief in its office in Kuwait.

– (2000 – 2008) founded in London and headed the editor-in-chief of Al-Siyas International magazine, as the first independent Saudi political magazine from 2000 to 2008 and opened an office in Kuwait and Riyadh, Al-Siyassi Center for Studies, both of which are issued by Al-Siyasi Publishing and Press Company in London.

The field of writing and literature

– Abdul Hameed Al – Ghubin was known as an opinion writer, storyteller, and writer. He has stories and literary and critical publications. He has authored more than 40 short stories, critical writings and articles on politics, culture and society.

Media presence

– Due to his being controversial as the first Saudi media normalizer to call for establishing relations with Israel[3], his presence in the media increased. Several Saudi, Gulf, and Arab media outlets interviewed him and wrote articles in which he wrote, including the Saudi newspaper, Al-Youm, Al-Shabab, Emirati Sports, Zahrat Al-Khaleej, Kuwaiti Al-Qabas, Kuwaiti Politics, Al-Riyadh Radio, Kuwait Radio, and others. He has always appeared on international television channels such as BBC, Russia Today, RT, Israeli channels such as I24 NEWS and Makan and the Israeli Radio and Television Corporation as a political analyst on Arab regional issues, in addition to many other media outlets.

Media organizations and newspapers

Al – Ghubin worked in several media organizations and newspapers, most notably:

– Al Jazeera newspaper

– Okaz newspaper

– Al-Riyadh newspaper

– political magazine

Conferences

Al – Ghubin covered most of the Gulf summits as a press editor and editor-in-chief. TV programs Al- Ghubin presented live television programs on the Saudi Family TV, including Frankly, and he was the first Saudi to discuss the white lands and the necessity of imposing fees on them. The episode Saudi Arabia imposed fees on the white lands. The program, which sparked controversy, discussed the effects of the Million Poet, the camel merits competition, and the financial and administrative corruption on society. Then the program was suspended by the Saudi Ministry of Information and also prevented from appearing in the media and was not allowed to appear in Dahra again until 2013.

His case that sparked controversy

The Palestinian issue and Israel

– From a supporter of the Palestinian issue to an advocate of peace with Israel. Throughout the career of the writer Abdul Hameed Al-Ghabeen, his approach was a supporter of Arab issues, especially the Palestinian issue. And the Mossad and the dream of the Islamic (Vatican) where he wrote an article in the political magazine in which he said: The Zionist goal is to neutralize the Two Holy Mosques from their symbolism and turn them into an Islamic Vatican. He stressed more than once that Israel will not be a suspected enemy, but rather it is an eternal enemy and will remain. There may be normalization with the Zionist entity, but it is with governments, not with peoples. Feelings of hostility with Israel are related to the essence of the faith. But overnight, he told the Israeli i24news channel on 12/18/2018 in a Saudi and Gulf media contact with official Israeli media that the Palestine issue is dead and peace with Israel is a strategic option and called for the Jordanian royal family to be removed from power as a basic solution to achieve peace and reach a final solution for the Palestinian issue.[4]

And that the Gulf states will normalize full relations with Israel before the year 2020 ends, which is what happened after that. He said that Jordan will be the alternative homeland for the Palestinians[5], and that the Palestinians residing in the Gulf will obtain Gulf citizenship with financial compensation for them, and he said that the administration of Al-Aqsa will be under the Saudi administration. An article was published in the Israel Hayom newspaper[6], which was described by many Arab media outlets as Mohammed bin Salman‘s vision of peace with Israel, and the article sparked widespread controversy. As a result of his position and his views toward Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs is almost permanently quarrelled with the statements and tweets of Abdel Hameed Al-Ghabeen and publishes them on its websites, including Twitter and Facebook.[7] [8] [9]

Saudi Arabia revoked Abdul Hameed ‘s citizenship because of his stance on the Palestinian issue and his call for establishing relations with Israel[10]. The official spokesman for the Saudi Civil Status revealed the truth of what was raised through the communication sites about the withdrawal of citizenship from a person named Hameed Muhammad Ghabin. He said that Hameed Muhammad Ghabin had illegally obtained documents that were proven incorrect, and all legal procedures are being completed against him.

– Senior writers such as Jamal Rayan, Ghada Owais, Yasser Abu Hilal Ahmed bin Rashid, the Saudi opposition, Saad al-Faqih, Dr. Muhammad al-Masari and others, attacked him and described him as a Zionist and implementing bin Salman’s agenda in order to prepare Saudi society for normalization with Israel.

Prison

– On 6/17/2020, Abdul Hameed Al – Ghabin was arrested from his home in Riyadh regarding his views, and his arrest caused a sensation in the media. Days of his imprisonment, he told the British BBC that Saudi Arabia does not imprison anyone because of his opinions, even if it reconciles with the directions of the state, and there is no torture and arbitrary detention. After his release, Al – Ghabin also gained media attention from foreign and Israeli newspapers.[11] [12]

Trial and judgment

– On December 31, 2020, the third joint criminal circuit of the Criminal Court in Riyadh convicted its presiding Judge Rashid Muhammad Al-Eid, judges Sami Abdullah Jaafar, Judge Sami Saad Al Ateeq and Judge Abdullah Al-Khathami Abdul Hameed Al – Ghubin of calling for normalization between Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and Israel, and a sentence of eight months imprisonment and a fine Finance. The reasoning of the ruling stated that the opinions and what he says about a state hostile to Saudi Arabia and his call for normalization with Israel stirred the Arab and Islamic opinion against Saudi Arabia. The Arabism of Palestine and his recognition of the right of the Israeli occupation state to Jerusalem and the legitimization of the occupation through his writings and statements to the media, and this is unacceptable and unacceptable. The Criminal Court said that this opinion is corrupt and contradicts the policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which represents the Muslims’ qiblah, and due to his expression of remorse and non-return to such a corrupt opinion, this ruling is satisfied as a reprimand for him and his likes, which is what dropped the ruling on apostasy and support of Jews against Muslims.

– A group of charges brought by the Saudi Public Prosecution were dropped, including communicating with a foreign country and communicating with the famous Saudi dissident Mujtahid, as well as accusing him of supporting Al-Houthi in the occupation of Yemen. Al – Ghubin admitted that he had called for peace with Israel, and expressed remorse and that he had erred in this opinion.

The judgment is the first of its kind

– This judgment is considered the first ruling issued by a Saudi as well as an Arab court against a writer who publicly and through his writings called for normalization and peace with Israel and his recognition of the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. After Al – Ghubin completed eight months in February 2021, he was not released, as he was detained without a known reason in the Riyadh police for five months in solitary confinement and was prevented from calling and visiting until the Saudi Royal Court ordered his release on 8/7/2021 and obligated him and prevented him from writing or appearing in Arab and foreign media and social networks, according to Israeli sources, including the Israel Today newspaper. According to media outlets, Abd al- Hameed al – Ghubin admitted his mistake in his support for peace with Israel, and that there were motives that made him take this position, especially since he was one of the staunch supporters of the Palestinian issue. Indeed, days before this transformation, he wrote that Israel will remain an enemy by virtue of faith.

His opinions and sayings

– Israel is an enemy by virtue of faith, and it can never be a friend.

– We cannot fight corruption unless justice is achieved for all and we see ministers in prison.

– The Arabs did not offer America anything but what served its interests and undermined their interests. In fact, history did not mention that America sided with any Arab interest, whether against Israel or Iran. – There is a difference between your political stance towards an organization, state, or sect… and your moral stance toward injustice, the killing in Gaza and the displacement of Christians in Mosul cannot be accepted.

– Injustice, need, and society’s pain escalate, and the preacher talks to you about values and the greatness of Islam.

– Terrorism is not a group of people by killing or imprisoning them, the problem ends… Rather, it is an intellectual structure whose existence is reinforced by oppression, injustice, marginalization and non-recognition of rights With time, man gets used to everything, even injustice, humiliation, coexistence with tyranny, and even what has nothing to do with values and races, but before we get to that, many things in the center of the brain have died. And you can imagine the size of what died in us so that we become accustomed to everything that is going on around us.

– The problem of Arab and Islamic countries is that they think in the mentality of the individual, not the mentality of the state. That is why they find revenge, injustice and tyranny that are its components.

– The Palestinian issue is dead, and we have to accept Israel and coexist with it.[13]

– Peace and normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel are closer than the threads of dawn.[14]

– There are no people without a land and Jordan is the alternative homeland for the Palestinians because 80% of Jordan‘s population are Palestinians

– The Qur’an spoke about the Children of Israel, but did not speak about the Palestinians.

Al-Aqsa Mosque must be under the administration of the Two Holy Mosques.

His writings

Bleeding: a collection of short stories published by Al Jazeera Foundation for Press, Printing and Publishing in 1995.

Wasp’s Nest: A collection of short stories published in 1998 – Kuwait

Death Questions: Prose Texts – Kuwait 1998.

Fire under the ashes: essays on politics and literature – London 2020

References

  1. ^ https://www.israelhayom.com/writer/abdul-hameed-al-ghabin/
  2. ^ “PressReader.com – Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions”. www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  3. ^ https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/12/23/saudi-journalist-claims-citizenship-was-revoked-because-of-support-for-israel/
  4. ^ https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/saudi-attacks-anti-peace-jordan-calls-normalisation-israel
  5. ^ www.israelhayom.com https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/a-new-saudi-perspective-for-peace/. Retrieved 2022-03-06. ((cite web)): Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ “https://twitter.com/israelarabic/status/1259412988718649344”. Twitter. Retrieved 2022-03-06. ((cite web)): External link in |title= (help)
  7. ^ “Jornalista saudita ‘sequestrado’ por autoridades por ser pró-Israel”. JJO (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  8. ^ http://www.israeltoday.nl/NewsItem/tabid/381/nid/39814/language/en-US/Default.aspx
  9. ^ “Saudi journalist says citizenship revoked due to support for Israel”. Middle East Monitor. 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  10. ^ https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/saudi-journalist-who-advocated-peace-with-israel-is-released/
  11. ^ Blitz, Desk (2021-08-14). “Saudi Arabia releases journalist Abdul Hameed Ghabin”. Weekly Blitz. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  12. ^ “Saudi Journalist: ‘Palestinian Issue Must Be Eliminated'”. Palestine Chronicle. 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2022-03-06.

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