Israel-UAE Agreement; for war or peace?
Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) completed a peace agreement on August 13, 2020.
The purpose of what is also known as the Abraham Accord is to normalise relations between the two Middle East countries.
Advertisement
Beside returning relations between Israel and the UAE to normal, the agreement, expected to be signed next September, will also bring the relationship between the two countries to the level it was before the wars between the Arab nations and Israel.
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has fought a series of major and minor wars with its Arab neighbours in the Middle East.
The first major war took place in 1948 – after the United Nations approved the division of Palestine into two states – Israel and Palestine.
Several Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, were involved in the 1948 War that they lost.
A six-day war in June 1967 was the second major war between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Morocco took part in the war, directly or indirectly.
There was, also, the War of Attrition between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) from 1967 to 1970.
In October 1973, Egypt and Syria led other Arab states in the Yom Kippur War against Israel.
The purpose of that war was to recapture territories that Israel had taken from them during the previous conflicts.
Notably, the Arab countries did not win any of the wars with Israel since that country was established in 1948.
Relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours were not cordial until 1979 when Egypt normalised ties with Israel.
In 1994, Jordan also signed an agreement to return relationship between Israel to normalcy.
If the agreement between Israel and the UAE is signed in September, 2020 as planned, UAE will be the third Arab country to do so.
Israel and the UAE had, by many ways, tried to cooperate for about a decade as tensions between the two begun to ease and both started to establish contacts informally.
The August 13, 2020 agreement is, therefore, not surprising.
Israel’s plan to annex part of the West Bank (about 30 per cent), an election promise by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, has been the main trigger.
UAE leadership headed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, who, probably, noticed the decisive change in the power structure in Israel, decided to “hit the iron while it was hot”.
The recent general election in Israel failed to give Mr Netanyahu a majority of seats in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
After the last elections, he was forced to form a coalition with pro-Arab political parties.
In agreeing to a coalition with Premier Netanyahu, the coalition partner, Benny Gantz, demanded that the planned annexation of part of West Bank should be suspended.
Suspending annexation of the West Bank and normalising relations with UAE were two alternatives available to the Israeli prime minister.
He opted for normalisation of relations with the UAE because of his commitment to the Arab political parties in the Knesset and also because striking a peace accord with the UAE is a big and historic political landmark for Israel.
Israel, also, wants peace with the Arab nations and cherishes the idea of normalising relations with all of them.
According to a joint statement issued by President Donald Trump of the US, Premier Netanyahu and Crown Prince Zayed, ‘’this historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance (peace) in the Middle East region, and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders and the courage of the UAE and Israel to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential in the region.”
Explaining why the UAE agreed to restore relations with Israel, the foreign minister of that country, Anwar Gargash, said the move would eliminate the threat that faced the two-state solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict.
He added that Israel and the Palestinians must return to the negotiation table to work out an acceptable settlement.
However, he disclosed that UAE would not establish an embassy in Jerusalem until Israel and the Palestinians reached an agreement.
But, to the Israelis and the US, the accord is to enable Israel and the UAE to exchange embassies and ambassadors in both countries and start negotiations for broad cooperation in tourism, education, healthcare, trade, security and others.
Most countries of the world welcomed the Israel-UAE agreement, with some describing it as a breakthrough.
On the side of countries that favoured the accord are the US, Canada, Brazil, India, China, Australia and most European countries.
Presently, South Africa, Algeria, Kuwait and Palestine are among countries that opposed the agreement.
Most African countries, Russia, Chile and Argentina have not taken a position on the issue.
The Abraham Accord is certainly ground breaking, historic and pace-setting.
It aims at bringing together the nations where the three major religions of the world – Christianity, Judaism and Islam -- originated.
Drafters of the Abraham Accord wanted to honour Abraham by not just naming the accord after him, but also to use it to unite the “feuding children of Abraham”.
Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed and Jacob, also known as Israel – were all descendants of Abraham.
Prospects for restoration of peace and normalisation of relations in the Middle East are high.
It is likely that other Arab nations, such as Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Morocco, will restore normal relations with Israel in the future.
Although the trends point to a future of peace and stability in the Middle East, that will not happen, if the “two-state solution of the Middle
East crisis is threatened by annexation of the occupied territories by Israel, and refusal of the PLO to return to the negotiation table.
Email: [email protected]
