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When the United Arab Emirates shocked the Arab world by normalizing relations with Israel, he said the move would alleviate the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict. But nine months later, the wealthy Gulf state finds itself in a difficult situation as its newest ally bombs the poor Palestinian territory of Gaza.
Israeli warplanes and artillery are piling up in Gaza as Hamas, the group that controls the territory, launches rockets. About 174 Palestinians, including 76 women and children, have been killed, according to health officials in the enclave. Ten people have been killed inside Israel, including two children, local doctors said.
While nearly a third of Arab countries have ties to Israel, this week’s bloodshed shows that diplomatic ties called last year’s Abrahamic Agreement have not made much of a commitment and have done nothing to alleviate the root cause of the protracted crisis. with the Palestinian conflict in the state.
“They [the UAE] it is clear that they are in a very difficult situation. On the one hand, the Basque Country’s interests with Israel are long-term and strategic, so their ideal relations should be resilient to shocks, “said Cinzia Bianco, a visiting member of the European Council on Foreign Affairs.” and they said they would provide leverage to control attacks on Israel. “
So far, Israel has renounced all international efforts to promote a ceasefire. Bianco said Abu Dhabi could still put diplomatic leverage to put pressure on the Jewish state to limit the scale of its revenge. However, he added that this intervention could jeopardize the progress of joint projects of strategic value for the Basque Country.
Recent collaborations include Emirati and Israeli defense manufacturers seeking to develop a system to deal with drones.
According to Abraham and the Accords, the normalization of relations between Israel and the BAC was rapid.
The pre-agreement stance was that the Arabs would recognize Israel only if there was a just agreement that would lead to the creation of a viable Palestinian state with the Palestinians. The transactional agreements reached by the Trump administration revealed a pro-Israel stance that made Palestinians feel isolated and betrayed. Critics say the Arab states have abandoned a bargaining tool and gained little in return, warning that more Palestinian militant factions will be exploited.
Like other members of the Arab League, the BAC upheld an appeal to the International Criminal Court on Tuesday to “investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed by Israel against the Palestinians.
“The Basque Country is in favor of the rights of the Palestinians, with the end of the Israeli occupation and the settlement of the two states with the independent Palestinian state of East Jerusalem,” said diplomatic adviser to Basque President Anwar Gargash. “It’s a historical and principled attitude that doesn’t move.”
The Basque Foreign Ministry quickly killed the Israeli settlers in the lands claimed by Israeli settlers to condemn the Israelis ’intentions to evict them. And when clashes broke out between the Israeli armed police and young Palestinians, the BAC called on the Israeli authorities to reduce tensions.
The clear public attitude of the BAC has covered the Emirati and the people living in the autocratic state to condemn the actions of Israel and express support for the Palestinians, after suppressing local anger with the previous decision to normalize relations. Not only the border of the Emirati line activists who have sided with Israel, but most of the reactions on social media – including some ministers – have been pro-Palestinian.
“Normalization [of relations] it is irreversible, but it is very difficult to defend and talk about it in these situations as well, ”said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a political science professor in Dubai.
After the Basque Country signed the agreement, it was speculated that Saudi Arabia, Israel’s top prize, would continue. Like Abu Dhabi, Riyadh has secretly cooperated with Israel on intelligence and security issues as they share the goal of fighting Iran.
But this week’s Israeli attack on Gaza looks further. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Sunday that the kingdom “categorically rejects Israeli violations against Palestinians,” and called for an immediate ceasefire.
In Morocco, which established relations with the Jewish state in October in exchange for recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory discussed by the U.S. in Western Sahara, the Foreign Ministry said it was seeing the events “with great concern.”
In 2014, during the last major war between Israel and Hamas, thousands of protesters, including government ministers, took to the streets in the capital, Rabat. This time Moroccan police dispersed a small pro-Palestinian protest in the city this week. The newly formed Morocco-Israel Business Council also announced that it had postponed the virtual meeting with the aim of boosting investment in Morocco in Israel.
Public sentiment in the Arab world maintained its pro-Palestinian stance, said HA Hellyer, a senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The absence of a protest is not a desire to protest, but a permission to protest.”
Hellyer said restrictions on freedom of expression across the region made it more difficult to measure the extent of people’s anger, but extensive social media and major television coverage showed that the “Palestinian question” was still close to the hearts of Arabs.
“Nearly half of the messages I received for the religious holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan on Thursday show photos of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem,” he added.
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