USA-israel-UAE-Bahrain Peace Agreement: Where does the Middle East stand?
Opinion Policy Analysis by Joelle El Sheikh, Staff Writer
September 30th, 2020
On September 15, 2020, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Bahrain officially normalized relations with israel, with The israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement, officially the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of israel, as well as the Bahrain–israel normalization agreement, officially Abraham Accords: Declaration of Peace, Cooperation, and Constructive Diplomatic and Friendly Relations, with the United States as the mediator.
On August 13, 2020, President Donald Trump announced that the United Arab Emirates and israel were normalizing relations under the israel-United Arab Emirates peace agreement. Exactly 28 days later, it was announced that Bahrain and israel also agreed to establish full diplomatic relations. Several reports close to the White House and the President have stated that up to 5 countries might also soon join. Given that the last peace treaty with israel was signed with Jordan in 1994, this move comes as a shock to many Arabs across the world, alongside a crippling reality that lingers in the minds of many: is this the beginning of a new Middle East?
It’s no secret that the signing of both these peace deals comes at a time when both israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump face a new challenge pivotal to their legacy. Netanyahu was formally indicted on corruption charges across three trials, and President Trump faces a tough re-election in November amidst his ineffective strategy to combat the pandemic[1]. The deals also aim to enhance economic cooperation in several sectors, including Healthcare, Science, Technology and Peaceful Uses of Outer-Space, Tourism, Culture and Sport, Energy, Environment, Education, Maritime Arrangements, Telecommunications and Post, Agriculture and Food Security, Water and Legal Cooperation. Thus, signing a peace deal with Gulf countries is a major diplomatic step towards a more “peaceful” Middle East that satisfies all parties; except for Palestine and its allies in its cause.
“The UAE has come out in the open on its secret dealings/normalization with Israel. Please don’t do us a favor. We are nobody’s fig leaf!”[2] Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official and a veteran Palestinian negotiator and member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said on Twitter. It’s no question that the Palestinians have been utterly and completely side-lined by these peace deals. In fact, The Palestinian Unified National Command of Popular Resistance stated that September 15 marked a day of mourning-A Black Day- in which “black flags are raised in all squares, buildings and homes". Perhaps the most uttered word throughout the entire signing ceremony was “peace”; the question is, whose peace are they referring to?
"And in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the Israeli bulldozers continue to demolish Palestinian homes and ethnically cleanse the Palestinians out of their villages and cities on a daily basis," Palestinian demonstrator Emad Essa from Gaza told Aljazeera. This event takes us back to the British 1917 ‘Balfour Declaration’ that, yet again, side-lined the Palestinians and denied them any sovereignty over their own land. While “peaceful” for israel and the United States means more legitimacy and power for israel in the region, PA President Mahmoud Abbas confirms that the only peace they know is israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories.
As the initial ‘peace agreements’ were announced, policy rumors surfaced, providing that the agreements were conditional and went to ensure that Israel’s annexation plans would be put to a halt. However, the Emirati ministers told The Independent that israel halting annexation was not a condition for the agreement, “Annexation or a two-state solution to the crisis, meanwhile, is not mentioned in the joint statements between Bahrain, UAE and the US”[3].
“The Arab position that demands the establishment of an independent Palestinian state before normalizing with Israel is collapsing,” said Jehad Harb, an analyst of Palestinian politics who is based in Ramallah, in the West Bank, to The New York Times. “The Bahraini move is an affirmation of this new reality.”
We know the Western story, and we know the Palestinian resistance, but where does this leave the rest of the Middle East? The deals has been widely accepted and welcomed within israel and the UAE; however, other countries have expressed their utter disappointment and disapproval towards this step. Turkey was one of them, despite the fact that Ankara formally recognizes israel. Hezbollah, the Lebanese highly complex and controversial party and military force, strongly condemned the move by noting it was a "great betrayal of the Palestinian people"[4].
Do these peace deals, as well as the subsequent deals that might follow, imply a new era for the Middle East? An era where standing against israel becomes the exception? In the case of Lebanon, for instance, the relations between Lebanon and israel are mainly governed by the 1943 Lebanese Criminal Code and the 1955 Lebanese Anti-Israeli Boycott Law , forbidding any interaction with nationals of enemy states. Similar is the case of Syria and Iraq.
On a macro-scale, it’s quite normal to wonder whether the hostility between these countries will remain a “slogan” and slowly move to the opposing side, or whether the conflict and tension will persist. If the latter is the case, there’s also a concern over a long term-plan. The long-term goal is clear: give Palestinians their land back, to which many agree with, but what’s the plan? The current attempts are proving to be, to some extent, unsustainable, both against israel as well as within the countries themselves. While the Gulf countries are busy growing their economies and improving relations with powerful countries - Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq all face political and economic turmoil due to clashing interests, growing corruption, and most significantly foreign interventions in all spheres. This is certainly not to say that those who choose peace with israel are better off - on the contrary, it simply serves to show that a country’s interests are maximized and achieved once it has a well-devised and calculated plan. It remains a matter of national pride for countries like Lebanon to stand with the Palestinians, yet we must we not strengthen ourselves to further strengthen the case we stand for?
Both peace deals also have implications on a micro-level. These relations don’t simply imply an economic and diplomatic relationship, but also a cultural and educational one. Students from all over the world, including Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq might find themselves in the same college campus as iraelis. Same case applies to the work field, if not more frequently. This is what the New Middle East looks like. It’s not simply about leaders shaking hands and signing a piece of paper, it’s about integration. It’s about having an Arab and an israeli in the same conference room working on projects. It’s about slowly convincing the world that israel has been, and will be here, and the whole world has to deal with it, or else. The truth, however, is nowhere near the new Middle East; the truth lies in the abandoned houses, in the tears of the terrified children in Gaza under bombing, in the stolen lands, and in the hearts and minds of the Palestinians that have lost so much, and are now watching the world slowly move on, when they don’t have anything to move on to.
From the famous words of Edward Said, “You cannot continue to victimize someone else just because you yourself were a victim once-there has to be a limit”.
[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-uae-bahrain-peace-deal-trump-netanyahu-b446885.html
[2] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-emirates-trump-palestinians/palestinian-official-accuses-uae-of-normalisation-with-israel-idUSKCN2592AM
[3] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-uae-bahrain-peace-deal-trump-netanyahu-b446885.html
[4] https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2059527716045/lebanons-hezbollah-condemns-bahrain-move-to-normalize-israel-ties