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A thread on #UAEIsrael deal.
1/ It doesn’t take much for the very woke “progressives” to denounce progress, particularly when Israel is involved. So maybe a little context is needed. Israel & the Arab world have been in a status somewhere between war & hostility since 1948
1/ It doesn’t take much for the very woke “progressives” to denounce progress, particularly when Israel is involved. So maybe a little context is needed. Israel & the Arab world have been in a status somewhere between war & hostility since 1948
2/ On 26 March 1979 Israel (Begin) & Egypt (Sadat) signed a historic peace deal signalling the end of hostilities between the two countries. On 26 Oct 1994 the Wadi Araba Treaty, was signed formalising peace between Israel & Jordan. But since then...nothing.
3/ The conversation in the Arab world has been dominated by Palestinian demands for complete & unconditional support for their cause, despite the obduracy & unrealistic nature of their demands (the right of return, for example) or their tactics (pay-to-slay, for example)
4/ But while the Palestinian Leadership have been motivated by both greed/corruption & religious autocratic extremism the Palestinian people have suffered. The conflict is dominated by hatred of Jews & Israel rather than focus on the building of a viable economic future.
5/ Meanwhile, the Arab world is changing. Non-Arab Muslim fundamentalists Iran, Pakistan & Turkey have been the most vociferous in their anti-Israel rhetoric whilst the largely Sunni block Arab countries have recently been showing positive signs towards normalisation of relations
6/ Now this may be on the basis of the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but so what? Since when has political pragmatism not been a driving force in international relations? Whatever, we are witnessing a seismic shift in the Arab/Israeli status quo that has existed for decades
7/ The UAE is just a start. Sudan, Bahrain, Oman, even Saudi Arabia are set to follow. Who knows, even a Lebanon freed from the malign influence of the terrorist Hezbollah will see the economic benefits of peace. And if ALL Israel’s immediate neighbours are formally at peace?
8/ A Palestinian state on the WB & Gaza under a new generation of leadership post-Abu Mazen and with Hamas suddenly cut off both financially & ideologically from the Arab world, becomes a distinct possibility. Iran & Turkey still remain threats but they will be marginalised.
9/ And to those that are criticising Israel for normalising relations with UAE given their appalling HR record, I say this: if that was the criteria then there isn’t a country in the world that would maintain diplomatic relationships with any current member of @UNHumanRights
10/ It’s interesting to see that the Israel delegitimisers will look for any reason to criticise the Jewish State & we know what motivates that. This deal is no different. But they are an irrelevance in a geo-political arena where peace, real peace, is becoming more than a prayer
