By: Wali Ejaz Nekokara
Recently, Israel, UAE, and Bahrain have inked an agreement that is termed as “Abraham Accord”. This Accord is being celebrated by the US and Israel as a massive break-through to bring peace in the Middle East. After the Camp David Accords (signed by Anwar Sadaat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel in 1978-79) and the US-brokered normalization treaty between Jordan and Israel in 1994, Abraham Accords are viewed as peace promoters. Is comparing previous accords with Abraham Accords justified? I think no. Previous accords by Jordan and Egypt were a bid to mend their fences with Israel or to make the fractious ties better. Here is an important thing to mention that UAE and Bahrain have never been at war with Israel then, what kind of peace deal it is? Countries having no conflict or border issue are signing a peace deal seems strange. UAE and Israel have been working hand in hand for a long time. From military strikes and countering revolutions to the undermined transition of democracy in Arab countries (like Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt) UAE and Israel were on the same page. In 2011 uprisings, UAE and Bahrain joined the Israeli camp, even supported Israel in orchestrating a coup against the Egyptian democratic government in 2013. Pan-Arab strategy collapsed following the important proponent of Pan-Arabism Egypt’s decision to strike a peace deal with Israel. Since then, the significance of the Palestine issue in the Arab World has reduced to a lip-service. UAE receives military equipment from Israel and both the nations have conducted military exercises jointly in 2016. Before this bid to formalize ties with Israel, almost three Israeli government ministers from Netanyahu’s Likud party paid public official visits to UAE. So, terming the “Abraham Accords” as a historic achievement for rehabilitating peace in the Middle East is not convincing as it will not change anything rather intensify conflicts and instability. It is what Mr. Daniel Levy mentions in his article titled “The missing peace in the Abraham Accords” that “the Abraham accords are best understood as reflecting and formalizing rather than changing realities in the region”. Interestingly, abandoning the annexation in the West Bank in return for normalizing ties with UAE is not a treaty commitment. The accords have nothing to do with lessening atrocities in Palestine or to giving up the occupation.
Furthermore, the objectives of the accord are inextricably linked with the selfish interests of parties of the accord. Firstly, this accord will provide the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdoms with sufficient support to grapple with the sprawling influence of Iran. Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdoms and Israel perceive Iran as a threat to their strategic and ideological interests in the region. Palpably, the role of Saudi Arabia as an influential player in the Middle East pushed Bahrain for normalization of relations with Israel. Saudi Arab has decided to be mum that is raising suspicions and its silence is being translated as a No-Objection-Certificate. Many political analysts maintain that Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Oman will be the next to join the suit. I believe that if Saudi Arabia formalizes its covert ties with Israel, it is not something to be astonished at, because Palestine is now a dead horse for the Arab World and they don’t want to sacrifice their strategic and ideological interests due to a useless issue. Arab world wants advancement, technology, and military superiority against Iran with the help of the USA and Israel. No doubt, the Arab World will get military assistance but that would be limited because it is a plank of the USA’s strategy to sustain Israel’s qualitative military edge. Secondly, the most advantageous position in this accord is captured by Israel. Netanyahu will have multiple benefits First is, he will be successfully diverting the attention of Israeli people from his poor handling of the pandemic. Second is the normalization of ties with two important countries will justify its stance on Palestine. Thirdly, this accord will help Israel to counter Iran more effectively. Forth and most important point is what Joseph Massad writes in his article titled “UAE-Israel deal: Abraham Accord or Israeli colonialism?” that “giving a religious color to the accord by terming it as ‘Abraham Accord’ is a cover for Zionist colonialism”. This accord explicitly shows that Israel is successfully influencing the Arab world to expand its colonial agenda. Another important part of the accord is the USA. Trump will use this so-called peace deal as a political card to bag maximum votes.
Importantly ,The peace of the Middle East is not the priority rather peace among the parties of the accord is a priority. According to the accord, providing each other with a conducive environment and support for materializing selfish aims is the important thing. Abraham Accord is a betrayal not only for Palestinians but for the Arab world also because by supporting Sunni-Kingdoms against Iran, Israel will be selling weapons and technology. It will have two advantages, first, Israel will get a market for selling weapons and Second is that Israel’s narrative against Palestine will get more and more acceptance.
The writer is a freelance writer graduated from School of Politics and International relations Quaid I Azam University Islamabad. He can be reached at [email protected]
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the ‘The Dayspring’