{"id":59424,"date":"2020-09-30T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2020-09-29T20:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=59424"},"modified":"2020-09-29T16:48:05","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T06:48:05","slug":"uaes-and-bahrains-normalisation-of-relations-with-israel-could-be-an-opportunity-for-palestinians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/uaes-and-bahrains-normalisation-of-relations-with-israel-could-be-an-opportunity-for-palestinians\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE\u2019s and Bahrain\u2019s normalisation of relations with Israel could be an opportunity for Palestinians"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Israel\u2019s normalisation agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, signed on 15 September, signify a potentially tectonic shift in the Middle East and represent perhaps the greatest advance towards peace there in 25 years.<\/p>\n

These developments have been broadly welcomed by those who aspire to a better, safer and more prosperous Middle East. Predictably, they have also been condemned by those who measure success in the region not by the welfare of its population, including the Palestinians, but by how bad things are for Israel.<\/p>\n

Unlike Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians, the partners in Israel\u2019s three previous agreements, neither the UAE nor Bahrain has ever had an armed conflict with Israel. Both theoretically observed a total boycott of Israel, but it was an open secret that they had been cooperating under the table on matters of mutual interest for some time out of concern about Iran.<\/p>\n

Iran has been an increasingly destabilising influence in the Middle East as it adheres to the doctrine of exporting its Shia fundamentalist revolution throughout the region. In pursuit of this aim, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps\u2019 Quds Force has established and supported proxy forces, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, various powerful militia forces in Iraq, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.<\/p>\n

The IRGC also took the lead in buttressing the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria\u2019s bloody civil war. And Tehran has been pursuing nuclear weapons, despite its claims to the contrary.<\/p>\n

The Gulf states felt increasingly threatened by this Iranian activity and, with the US withdrawing forces from the region, have been seeking a regional power with the ability and willingness to stand up to Iran. Israel was the obvious candidate.<\/p>\n

It has long been clear to them that Israel poses them no threat, unlike Iran, and there\u2019s been ongoing, if covert, cooperation on matters of defence and intelligence.<\/p>\n

The UAE and Bahrain also have much to gain from Israel beyond security. As rich and technologically advanced nations, there\u2019s great potential for mutually beneficial trade, and shared high-tech development.<\/p>\n

Other Muslim countries, such as Oman, Sudan and Morocco, may also be ready to conclude deals with Israel in the near future. Saudi Arabia may be more reticent given its position in the Arab world, but it has quietly demonstrated that it supports the arrangements.<\/p>\n

The paradigm of the Arab states had long been that there could be no normalisation with Israel until there was a deal establishing a Palestinian state. This, however, has been counterproductive, as rejection by the Palestinian Authority has always been the principal obstacle to a two-state peace.<\/p>\n

Giving the Palestinian Authority an effective veto over Israeli relations with other Arab countries simply encouraged this rejectionism, which saw Yasser Arafat refuse offers of a state in 2000 at Camp David and 2001 at Taba. Current president Mahmoud Abbas rejected Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert\u2019s offer in 2008, and has refused, since torpedoing negotiations in 2014, to even engage in peace talks.<\/p>\n

The Palestinian Authority has virulently condemned the normalisation deals as a stab in the back for Palestinians. Iran and Turkey have made similar statements.<\/p>\n

While US President Donald Trump\u2019s peace plan released early this year may need some fine-tuning before it could be the basis of a two-state peace, the Palestinians could have taken advantage of its promise of a state as a starting point for negotiations. And the Trump administration\u2019s efforts did help facilitate the UAE deal, allowing leader Mohammed bin Zayed to counter any regional backlash by pointing out that he had prevented Israel from extending its sovereignty to some areas of the West Bank, as the Trump plan permitted.<\/p>\n

The normalisation between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain could be a significant opportunity to kickstart the Israeli\u2013Palestinian peace progress, for a number of reasons. First, if the Palestinian leaders recognise that time is no longer on their side, they should prove more willing to genuinely negotiate difficult compromises. Despite the recent history of Palestinian rejectionism and terrorism, the majority of Israelis still support a two-state peace if it does not compromise their security.<\/p>\n

The UAE and Bahrain have made it clear that they still support the Palestinians and their aspirations for statehood, and history proves that states that have normalised relations with Israel are far more effective intermediaries than those who deny Israel\u2019s right to exist. Egypt and Jordan have been effective advocates for Palestinian interests on numerous occasions, as well as successful brokers of various temporary arrangements.<\/p>\n

In addition, Israelis have genuine and well-founded concerns about their security after the establishment of a Palestinian state. Having friendly Arab states willing to act as guarantors should help assuage those fears, again making a Palestinian state more achievable.<\/p>\n

Finally, the deals will lead to a stronger regional front against the threat to peace posed by Iran, which is funding and arming numerous groups dedicated to sabotaging any progress toward Israeli\u2013Palestinian peace, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

Increased interaction between Israelis and citizens of Arab countries will also lead to greater mutual understanding, greater cooperation and less hostility. This can only be a benefit for all those in the region who aspire to a peaceful and prosperous future.<\/p>\n

If the Palestinian leadership genuinely wants a Palestinian state, it should act now to take advantage of changing but potentially propitious circumstances. It would be a tragedy for the Palestinian people if the ageing leadership\u2019s inability to rethink entrenched positions\u2014such as rejection of any normalisation with Israel\u2014were to cause them to miss yet another opportunity to advance a two-state peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2019s normalisation agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, signed on 15 September, signify a potentially tectonic shift in the Middle East and represent perhaps the greatest advance towards peace there in 25 years. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":59427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[240,218,926,2850],"class_list":["post-59424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-israel","tag-middle-east","tag-palestine","tag-uae"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUAE\u2019s and Bahrain\u2019s normalisation of relations with Israel could be an opportunity for Palestinians | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/uaes-and-bahrains-normalisation-of-relations-with-israel-could-be-an-opportunity-for-palestinians\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UAE\u2019s and Bahrain\u2019s normalisation of relations with Israel could be an opportunity for Palestinians | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Israel\u2019s normalisation agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, signed on 15 September, signify a potentially tectonic shift in the Middle East and represent perhaps the greatest advance towards peace there in 25 years. ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/uaes-and-bahrains-normalisation-of-relations-with-israel-could-be-an-opportunity-for-palestinians\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-29T20:00:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-29T06:48:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1272642778.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"676\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Hyams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Hyams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/uaes-and-bahrains-normalisation-of-relations-with-israel-could-be-an-opportunity-for-palestinians\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1272642778.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GettyImages-1272642778.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":676,\"caption\":\"WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: A young boy stands beneath a Palestinian flag as protesters from multiple Palestinian rights organizations demonstrate outside the White House on September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. 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