Nicosia [Cyprus]: Awhile US President Donald Trump has hailed the agreements just recently signed between the United Arab Emirates & Bahrain to normalize relations with Israel as “the dawn of a new Middle East”, the Secretary of PLO’s Executive Committee Saeb Erekat firmly condemned them, describing the so called “Abraham Accord” as “an Arab dagger-a poisonous dagger-in the back of Palestinians & as destroying the possibility of negotiations”. So it’s not evident yet in case the new deal going to support (or) hinder peace within the troubled area of the Middle East.
Diplomatic relations
The UAE & Bahrain going to recognize & establish diplomatic relations with Israel. First time in their own biography, the Emirates & Israel are starting air travel between them &, for its part, Bahrain has opened its airspace for those airplanes. Awhile politicians & ordinary citizens continue to weigh the potential benefits (or) pitfalls of the Accord, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has declared the freezing of the annexation of the West Bank.
It must be mentioned that multiple teams & politicians, within the UAE, Saudi & Bahrain on numerous occasions expressed an concern in establishing ties with Israel & vented frustration with the hard-line stand steadily succeeded by the Palestinians in the last decades. Over the yrs. the Palestinians have relied on the help -political & financial- of Arab govts in their own struggle for freedom & independence. However things have turned dramatically. The Gulf states are no longer a monolithic crowd & each state takes 1st into account(a/c) its own interests & not the usual Arab rhetoric regarding the Palestinian cause.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman back in 2018 throughout a gathering with Jewish society chiefs within the US has been quoted as informing that the Palestinian command “never lost an chance to miss an chance.” Multiple Arab govts are exasperated with the never-ending conflict & the rejection by this Palestian chiefs of all this schedules proposed.
John B. Alterman, director of the Middle East Programme in the Center for Strategic & Intl. Studies in Washington(WA), inquired regarding what prompted the normalization of relations between the UAE & Israel, stated that Arab govts, following the “Arab Spring”, ruled that their own principal threats have been internal & not external & that the Arab – Israeli conflict has been a political distraction. “In addition, the Israeli & Emirati govts distribute a wide range of security issues. They both watch Iran as a severe & enduring security danger. They both are hostile to political Islam & skeptical that greater democratization within the Arab globe going to result in best outcomes. Because they watch eye to eye on numerous adversaries, they distribute an concern in deeper intelligence spreading.”
Arab States
Within the Middle East, the sands are shifting & Arab states have turned their own outlook on domestic security threats, in see of the dangers posed by Tehran & Ankara, coupled with the said ambition of the US to lessen its military footprint within the area. It’s a well- well-known secret that the secret solutions (or) the UAE & Israel have been cooperating for some of the yrs. as of now on the problems of terrorism & Iran & the previous Accord is specific to enhance this cooperation. Furthermore, the UAE discusses Hamas as a terrorist company & no longer supports financially the Palestinian Authority.
In a joint article, Dr Yoel Guzansky, Sr. Study Fellow in the Institute for Domestic Security Studies, & Ari Heistein, Study Fellow in the same Institute, write that “the normalization settlement exposes the UAE to criticism, provocations & potentially even threats to its domestic security from Iran, although Iran is not alone in its opposition to the settlement. Turkey has also criticized the UAE’s previous steps, & it’s possible that it’ll take (2) action in reaction, like offering rising help (presumably funded by Qatar) to Islamists during the area that seeks to thwart the UAE’s Middle Eastern agenda”.
Courageous step
Numerous observers commented that the normalization settlement is a courageous step to fostering reconciliation & co-existence & boost UAE’s image as a beacon of tolerance & moderation, that was tarnished in previous yrs. by different problems, involving the Saudi Arabia-led campaign in Yemen, that humanitarian companies describe as “the worst humanitarian crises within the globe.”
Furthermore, they point out that the UAE may as of now be able to gain from that US sophisticated hardware like F-35 fighter jets, armed drones & intelligence tools.
The Israeli Ambassador in Cyprus Sammy Revel described the Abraham Accord as “a landmark for peace & stability within the area” & added further: “The accord gives a striking variant to those radical enforces that oppose peace & cooperation. Besides, the Accord effectively strengthens the power of moderate voices within the face of fanaticism that severe nations & their own proxies sow around the area. It’s an important phase in ending the conflict within the Middle East & beyond.”