THE EUROPEAN – SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION
In the Spotlight
+++ Abraham Accords +++
Strengthened Arab-Israeli relations: development prospects and many unanswered questions photo: ©CPO, stock.adobe.com
The great test of the new Arab-Israeli relationship is yet to come
by Gerhard Arnold, Theologian and Publisher, Würzburg
T
he Arab “axis of resistance” against Israel has broken, even if two long-standing hostile neighbours, Lebanon and Syria, will not hear of normalisation of their relations with the Jewish state. The “Abraham Accords”, brief and general statements about future cooperation between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, which were brokered under heavy pressure from US diplomacy, without the participation of Arab organizations and signed on 15th September 2020 in Washington, generated worldwide media attention. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel as long ago as 1979, Jordan followed suit in 1994. In December 2020, President Trump announced further political normalisation between Morocco, Sudan and Israel. But the King of Morocco is having difficulty going any further, just like the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who has had discreet relations with Israel for years. However, these rulers have to take account of their peoples’ anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian sentiments, driven by the long-standing Arab support for a separate Palestinian state and the demand
for an end to the expansion of Jewish settlements, etc. This also explains the great reluctance of Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, which, while maintaining trade relations with Israel, uphold the rights of the Palestinians. They are a long way from signing the “Abraham Accords”, but Israel is no longer an enemy.
The Arab-Israeli rapprochement The establishment of diplomatic relations with the Jewish state by Bahrain and the UAE did not come as a surprise. Middle Eastern experts unanimously consider that the seeds of this development were sown some years ago. The two main reasons for the Arab-Israeli rapprochement are the growing concerns among numerous Arab states in the Middle East about Iran’s destructive foreign policy and its clear determination to build a nuclear bomb. The second reason is the US political and military withdrawal from the region, initiated by President Obama and continued by President Trump.
great test of the new “The Arab-Israeli relationship
is yet to come: how to deal with Iran.”
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How do the participating Arab states view the opportunities for developing relations with Israel and the further handling of the Palestinian question?
