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The Gulf state of Bahrain has announced that it will normalize relations with Israel after the United Arab Emirates announced the signing of a peace treaty with Israel about a month ago.
President Trump said in a statement that the two countries had reached a “historic” agreement to normalize relations.
“This is the second Arab country in 30 days to sign a peace agreement with Israel,” Trump tweeted.
The agreement was reached on Friday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa.
Egypt and Jordan have normalized relations with Israel before the UAE. Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, four Arab states have recognized Israel.
Analysts now look to Saudi Arabia
Analysts are watching what other countries in the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, are now doing in their dealings with Israel.
For decades, most Arab countries have boycotted Israel, insisting that they will not normalize relations with Israel until the Palestinian conflict is resolved.
Palestinian officials have reacted angrily to the recent normalization of relations with one Arab country after another.
What is the position of Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia, an ally of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, has yet to comment. But the Arab world is watching to see if the Saudis follow the same path.
The Economist has studied the crisis in the Middle East and Palestine. Mushtaq Khan. He says a peace deal with Israel is “just a matter of time” for Saudi Arabia.
It says that the economic and political crisis within Saudi Arabia is growing.
“Saudi Arabia knows that oil will not last forever, but the market price of oil will go down,” he said. The kingdom cannot run on oil. Unemployment is also increasing in the country.
Dr. Khan says that Saudi Arabia feels the need for the United States and the West to trust them to keep their economy afloat.
According to him, the Saudi authorities were responsible for the 2016 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khasogi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
‘The Saudi leadership was in a very bad position after the assassination of Jamal Khasogir. With that opportunity, the Trump administration may have reached an agreement to normalize relations with Israel by putting pressure on the Saudi authorities, “Comer said.
Furthermore, concerns have recently been voiced between Saudi Arabia and its allies about the “axis of power” that Iran and its allies in the Middle East are building. There, too, Saudi Arabia seeks help from the United States and the West.
“The recent rapprochement between Iran, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and possibly Qatar in the Middle East is seen by Saudi Arabia as a new ‘axis of power’ and a field of great competition for itself.”
Dr. Khan says that the fact that the economies of those countries are not just dependent on oil has also become another cause for concern for Saudi Arabia. Therefore, he believes that announcing an agreement with Israel to support the United States is “just a matter of time” for them.
Conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran
The Middle East has a long history of regional conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Concerned about Iran’s growing influence and power in the region over the past decades, the United Arab Emirates has increased informal contacts with Israel in recent years, and Saudi Arabia has forged a kind of alliance with Israel to deal with the situation, says a BBC correspondent.
Religious ideological differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia have added to the decades-long feud between the two countries.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are allies of Saudi Arabia. They have also raised concerns about Shiite Iran with Israel on several occasions. Through this, informal contacts between the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain with Israel have also increased.
Analysts believe that if Saudi Arabia follows the path of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and announces a similar agreement it will be important for the future of the region.
Palestinian response to the Bahrain agreement
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Bahrain and the Palestinian leadership said in a statement that “this is a great loss for the national rights of the Palestinian people and for a united Arab state.”
Ahmed Mazdalani, Palestinian minister for social welfare in the occupied West Bank, told AFP that the announcement was similar to Israel’s announcement of a peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates last month, which “stabbed the Palestinian people and the Palestinian movement. by the back”.
Hamas has described the agreement as “aggression”.
The Palestinians have long relied on a unified Arab position to withdraw Israel from the occupied territories and accept a Palestinian state.
Hussein Amir-Abdullahian, the spokesman’s special adviser on international affairs in the Iranian parliament, told Reuters it was a “great betrayal” of the Palestinian movement.
“From now on, the rulers of Bahrain will be complicit in the crimes of the Jewish authorities and the country will become a threat to the security of the region and the Islamic world,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Iran has blamed Israel for decades of repression, violence, assassinations and war against the Palestinians.
Dr. Mushtaq Khan says that powerful Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates have a long-term positive peace agreement with Israel.
He said that in his research in the 1990s, he realized that the chances of a two-state solution for Palestine were slim. Israel has never been in favor of this solution.
However, he acknowledged that his numbers were not enough to defeat Israel’s Arab League.
“If Israel comes to terms with the leading countries of the Sunni world and the Arab countries do not fully support the demand for an independent Palestinian state, then the fight for the rights of 50% of Muslim citizens of the Palestinian territories will come to the fore. “.
Dr. Khan says that handling that fight will be a big problem for Israel.
Trump’s response
The United Arab Emirates welcomed Bahrain’s announcement. “This is another historic achievement for the region and will contribute greatly to the stability and prosperity of the region,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Netanyahu said he was “delighted” to have reached a “peace agreement” with another Arab country and that “this is a new chapter on the road to peace.”
In January, Donald Trump presented the “Middle East Peace Plan” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It has also mediated agreements between the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain with Israel.
“This historic agreement will pave the way for peace in the Middle East and increase security, stability and prosperity in the region,” Trump said in a tweet that published a joint statement on behalf of Israel, the United States and Bahrain.
Source: BBC
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