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Peace at last in the Middle East!
The triumphant statements by the leaders of the United States and Israel came as a surprise in August. But the peace they were talking about was not about ending the protracted conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that has caused regional and international headaches for decades.
Instead, the United States has been involved in mediating peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. On Friday, news came that Bahrain was also involved in normalizing ties with the Israelis.
The landmark so-called Abraham Accords were signed at the White House on Tuesday and stood out as a diplomatic triumph for Donald Trump, who wants to be re-elected in this fall’s presidential election.
Great conflict
The parties praised each other for making great strides towards peace and stability in the region. But success has very little to do with the crucial issue that has long stood in the way of actual conflict resolution in the Middle East. Not a single Palestinian attended the White House ceremony. This is in line with policies followed by Trump and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in recent years, in which the Palestinians, according to observers, are often the big losers.
Many of the oil-rich Gulf states have been quietly cultivating their relations with Israel for several years. This type of business is rarely something that is talked about aloud in the Arab world. Since Israel was formed as a Jewish state in 1948, the country has been isolated from almost everyone else in the predominantly Muslim Middle East. Traditionally, the Arab line has been that Israel cannot be recognized until the Palestinians have their own state.
But in 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat broke the boycott by traveling to Tel Aviv to make peace. In 1994, King Hassan of Jordan followed. They ignored calls for solidarity and instead chose to act in the best interest of their countries.
The United Arab Emirates was the third Arab country, and the first yellow country, to follow the same path. Then came Bahrain, which probably wouldn’t have happened without Saudi Arabia’s approval.
Development is further proof that the once important Palestinian issue has slid down the region’s agendas in the wake of the Arab Spring, which forced countries to focus more on domestic issues.
“Stab”
The Palestinians claim that no one had consulted them before announcing that Israeli-Emirati relations would be normalized in exchange for Israel temporarily abandoning its plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. Perhaps it was meant to act as a balm for the Palestinians. In that case, it didn’t work, even though annexation plans have been suspended for the time being.
Instead, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his spokesmen have described the emirate’s change of course as treason and a stab in the back.
University student Baraah Qandil in Gaza City agrees.
“The UAE is one of the strongest Arab countries. They should use their power to support their Palestinian brothers and sisters and their cause. But instead they become allies of the enemy. It is a great disappointment,” he wrote to TT.
The prospects for a Palestinian state were already bleak. Now, some observers say the Abrahamic accords hurt prospects for peace by removing one of the most important incentives for Israel to end the occupation: normalization with the Arab world.
Geopolitics changed
For the Gulf states, it’s partly about pragmatism. Israel has high-tech products and expertise, as well as influence in the United States.
But the accords also reflect the new alliances in the Middle East that have been formed between countries that feel threatened by Iran. Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are now united against a common enemy that, despite extensive sanctions, has strengthened their regional influence following the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
“The historic breakthrough would not have occurred without the help of Iran,” Suzanne Maloney wrote in the Brookings think tank.
“The silent ties that have developed over the years of pragmatic cooperation between Israeli and Emirati officials on the threats from Tehran have helped overcome one of the most stubborn diplomatic schisms.”
Sofia Eriksson / TT
The sun sets over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a holy site in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Stock Photography. Photo: Maya Alleruzzo / AP / TT
Israeli national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat salutes as he boards a plane from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on September 1. Image: Nir Elias / AP / TT
An American delegation, which includes Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo, will meet at the Sakhir Palace in Manama, Bahrain, on August 26 this year. Image: Bahrain News Agency / AP / TT
Discreet contacts have been kept quiet between Israel and the United Arab Emirates for several years. But the announcement of an official peace accord on August 13 came unannounced to most people. The agreement means that the United Arab Emirates is the first Gulf country and the third Arab country to recognize Israel, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
The agreement was reached through the mediation of the United States and is the result of lengthy negotiations.
Under the agreement, Israel is committed to stopping the planned annexation of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, at least temporarily. In addition, full diplomatic exchanges, commercial and air links will be established. Diplomatic telephone lines are now open and the first commercial flight between the countries has already been completed.
The Palestinians have reacted to the agreement with disappointment and condemnation.
On September 11, it was announced that Bahrain would also normalize relations with Israel. The countries are believed to have had discreet contacts since the 1990s, but now open diplomatic relations are being established.
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