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On several occasions, Palestinian leaders have come very close to a final peace agreement with Israel. But he withdrew at the last minute hoping for better conditions.
Now, Donald Trump has made a deal that sidelined them.
Has reality passed beyond the Palestinians?
Since Israel was born as a state in 1948, the Arab world has refused to be its friend. Countries like Egypt, Jordan and Syria have repeatedly attacked Israel militarily. Others, such as the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia, have vehemently supported Palestinian demands that Israel leave (initially) and then that the Palestinians have their own state.
The agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which were signed yesterday at the White House, are the first time since Egypt and Jordan signed a peace agreement with Israel that the Arab world is breaking the united front against Israel.
This is bad news for the Palestinians.
Their unwillingness to give up some of their demands has put them in a terrible position. Under Israeli leaders other than the super hawk Benjamin Netanyahu, they sometimes had the opportunity to reach a peace agreement, but both Yassir Arafat, in 2000, and Mahmoud Abbas (2008) backed down because, among other things, they did not want to give up. the demand that the Palestinians expelled from Israel’s formation would return.
Deals that in the light of day seem improbably good for the Palestinians.
Since then, the peace process has been completely paralyzed by Netanyahu’s gradual abandonment of the idea of a Palestinian state. Donald Trump made it even worse by completely taking the Israeli side while promising the “peace deal of the century.”
Photo: TT
Wolfgang Hansson: “The agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which were signed yesterday at the White House, are the first time since Egypt and Jordan signed a peace agreement with Israel that the Arab world is breaking the united front against Israel “.
Meanwhile, the geopolitical situation in the Middle East has completely changed. Israel is no longer the great enemy of most Arab states. Iran is seen as a much bigger threat.
More can follow
When the Palestinians refused to accept Trump’s “peace plan”, the US president instead surrounded them, inciting some of the Gulf states to dig the ax with Israel and open diplomatic relations.
Others are very likely to follow. Bahrain would never have recognized Israel if it had not first received the green light from powerful Saudi Arabia, Iran’s archenemy.
For obvious reasons, the Palestinians see it as a stab in the back from their former allies. But they have a bit to blame themselves for. Her demand that everyone who was expelled in 1948 be allowed to return is completely unrealistic. Today, there are just over three million people. As long as Israel is a Jewish state, it will not happen.
Israel will not return all settlements in the West Bank either. Some of them are cities with tens of thousands of inhabitants.
The Palestinians have had an unrealistic vision of what can be achieved. An attitude that was previously encouraged by the Arab world. When the Arab countries now change, the Palestinians are left with no real friend other than a militant Iran that wants to finish off Israel. Although the Arab population continues to be predominantly on the side of the Palestinians.
Photo: TT
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The only advantage for the Palestinians is that Netanyahu has been forced to scrap his plans to annex the West Bank, at least for now. Therefore, at least the theoretical possibility of a Palestinian state remains even in practice in the near future.
No coincidence
For the rest, the outside world is largely weary of the fact that the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel seems to go on forever and is helping to keep the level of conflict in the Middle East high. The willingness to commit to a solution has declined dramatically. What benefits Israel, which is the strong party.
It is no coincidence that the Arab world is taking this turn right now. In Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have had a close friend. They are concerned that the November election will result in Trump being replaced by Joe Biden, who is unlikely to take a similarly tough line against Iran. If they can help Trump get reelected, a lot has been won for these Arab states.
Likewise, it is no coincidence that Trump has stitched the deals with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates less than two months before the elections. You need to signal success in a situation where the corona pandemic, economic and weather fires in the western United States are undermining your chances.
But for voters, both the pandemic and the economy are more important than foreign policy.
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