Opinion: The Strategy of Rejecting Peace has Failed

The signing of Abraham Accord between Israel, UAE and Bahrain marks a historic turn of events for Middle East where for a long time peace seemed illusionary. Unlike the previous agreements between Israel, Egypt and Jordan which brought cold peace, the Abraham Accord is all about warm peace. UAE and Bahrain have long maintained backdoor relations with Israel but now they not only want to establish diplomatic relations after recognizing Israel but they also want to embrace and engage Israel in a variety of sectors including agriculture, technology, medicine and security.

While the prospect of Abraham Accord definitely played a major role in prompting Israel to halt annexation, which was supposed to take place in July, the reality is that Arab states have been warming up to Israel for quite some time now. This romance between Arab states and Israel became more intense during the final years of Obama administration, which went out of its way to prioritize Iran over traditional US allies among Arab states as well as Israel. Many Arab states saw Obama admin’s policies as a betrayal of an old alliance and that strengthened the idea among some Arab leaders that they cannot always rely on the US and that a better approach would be to have good ties with the regional superpower, Israel. This also makes sense as Israel is part of the region and has to live and survive there, whereas US is a faraway country and its policies may not be always in the interests of regional players. At least this was never more apparent than during the final years of Obama admin.

Additionally, the increasing threat from Iran and its proxies also played a critical role in bringing Arab states closer to Israel. In Yemen, Iran-backed Houthis have fired ballistic missiles against Saudi Arabia and used suicide drones in attacks against both Saudi and UAE. Iran also plotted the assassination of Saudi envoy to US in 2011. Iran has also supported insurgency in Bahrain and is in open enmity with the Kingdom. The list of threats these Arab states face from Iran is long and ongoing. On the other hand, Iran not just routinely threatens Israel directly but also supports terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad against Israel. Iran-backed Houthis have threatened attacks against Israel multiple times. Iran-backed Hezbollah also poses a significant threat to Israel from the Lebanese border and Iran-backed militias pose a threat to Israel from the Syrian border. This shared threat from Iran brought Arab states and Israel particularly closer in the arena of security cooperation. Apart from US, the formation of Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) in Riyadh, which is presently led by Pakistan’s former Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, also had the blessing of Israel. Israel also shares intelligence with multiple Arab states that are part of IMCTC.

While Arab states are now on the way to recognizing Israel and establishing diplomatic relations, they still hold the Palestinian issue dear to them. It’s just not the priority as it used to be, since these Arab states are now compelled to prioritize their national interests over the Palestinian issue. But that doesn’t mean they will stop talking about the Palestinians. Indeed, Saudi King recently told President Trump that Saudi position on Palestinian issue remains unchanged. Bahrain, during the signing ceremony of Abraham Accord, also called for quick resolution of Palestinian issue. UAE also thanked PM Netanyahu for halting annexation for the sake of Abraham Accord. It is also worth noting that Arab states will be in a better position to negotiate a peace settlement for Palestinians while having good relations with Israel as it gives more reason to Israel to be considerate towards the wishes of Arabs and Palestinians. Having said that, Abraham Accord and similar future initiatives are going to be first and foremost about the national interests of Arab states. Arab states can negotiate on behalf of Palestinians but they cannot choose peace on behalf of Palestinians. That is something that Palestinian leaders will need to do themselves. By rejecting the Abraham Accord, Palestinian leaders (Hamas and PLO) have made it absolutely clear that they are not interested in peace. And why should they? Life is going pretty well for them without having to choose peace. They get billions of $$ in donations in various forms every year and they are some of the most corrupt leaders in the Muslim world. A quick look at their assets explains very well why they would want to prolong the conflict. A Palestinian state would mean that the Palestinians and the rest of the world will start holding Palestinian leaders to the same standards as everyone else, which would slow down the donations as well as make engaging in corrupt practices harder. Indeed, former chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat has admitted in the past that Palestinian leaders rejected excellent Israeli peace offers just because it wasn’t in the interests of Palestinian leaders to reach peace. Palestinian leaders have wasted no opportunity to reject peace in the past and so it came as a surprise to no one that once again they decided to reject peace instead of seizing the opportunity. Except, this time Arab states are not willing to wait for them. Arab states, while still unchanged on Palestinian issue, have decided to pursue their most immediate interests for their people and future generations of Arabs.

Arab states and their recognition of Israel will put positive pressure on Palestinian leadership to change its strategy of rejection of peace and make real efforts to reach a peace settlement with Israel. Young people of UAE and Bahrain are very enthusiastic about peace with Israel and they dream of a prosperous future not just for their own nations but for the whole region. That dream is worth giving a chance. Here it is also worth noting that there are certain forces of darkness, that includes Iranian regime at the very top, that do not want to see peace between Arabs and Jews as their entire narrative is built on the false idea that Arabs and Jews cannot live in peace together side by side. These forces of darkness will try their best to act as the spoiler and create an environment which would be detrimental to peace. One of the key things Muslim states (and not just Arab states) have to be wary of is disinformation or what we also call information warfare. The forces of darkness will engage in information warfare in the Muslim world to try to turn the public opinion against Arab states that are normalizing their relations with Israel. These forces of darkness are counting on the ‘Islamist street’ to buy into the disinformation and further peddle it to create sentiments of hatred against such Arab states. It is up to the government departments of Muslim states to fight back against such disinformation which might be against their own national interests too.

Apart from the US administration of President Trump, which played a pivotal role in achieving Abraham Accord, it is also important to commend the leadership of UAE and Bahrain for taking a step which should be considered nothing less than bold. Leaders of these states knew they will face the wrath of Islamists but they remained steadfast in the face of threats and relentlessly pursued their national interests, and now they are in to reap its benefits. The Middle East as we once knew has changed with the signing of Abraham Accord, and it is only headed towards a better future from here. It is no longer the ‘Arab-Israel’ conflict but Palestinian-Israel conflict. Here are three cheers for peace.

Salam. Shalom. Peace.