Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

The joyous Israel-UAE peace deal

The joyous Israel-UAE peace deal

There is a time for war and a time for peace, Ecclesiastes tells us. Joyously, in the middle of a joyless year, a time for peace is upon us. For only the third occasion since 1948, Israel has secured a deal for peace with an Arab state. The United Arab Emirates will put an ambassador in Israel and accept one in Abu Dhabi. Relations will reportedly go beyond formalities and include economic and scientific cooperation, in particular on developing a vaccine for Covid-19.
The normalisation of relations with the UAE follows a courtship at first clandestine but in recent years open and candid. Israel and the Gulf states share a common security threat in the Iranian regime and have figured that cooperation will strengthen their hand against Tehran. President Trump, who brokered the deal, says he is working on getting more Arab and Muslim nations to establish ties with the Jewish state.

The recognition of Israel by a third Arab country in 72 years suggests that, as Dr King (paraphrasing Theodore Parker) said, ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice’. It could do with bending a little faster. Since 1948, all too many regimes and people in the Middle East and elsewhere have consoled themselves that the Zionist project would eventually fall, by its own hand though preferably by that of others. All rejectionism has done is bring war and squandered decades of missed opportunities for economic, cultural and scientific cooperation. Israel is here to stay, the UAE’s normalisation confirms that, and any state that continues to resist the logic and justice of peace is harming itself more than it is Israel.

The forgotten people of this arrangement are the Palestinians. The spell commanding Arab and Muslim nations to withhold recognition of Israel in solidarity with their Palestinian brothers may well have been broken. We will know for sure if others follow Abu Dhabi. Gulf Arab states see Israel as a powerful ally against Iran, and they recognise the benefits of cooperation, but the truth is that the Palestinian cause no longer rouses the Gulf street the way it once did. Demographic, cultural and attitudinal changes have displaced it as a prominent component of Gulf Arab political identity and the Palestinians’ repeated rejection of Israeli peace offers has played its part too. There has barely been a time since the founding of the PLO in 1964 when the organisation and the people it represents have been a lower priority for the region or indeed the larger world. That is not grounds for any kind of schadenfreude. It is simply the brutal facts of realpolitik.

At risk of dropping the pepper pot in the soup, I will note that as a condition of UAE normalisation, Israel has agreed to ‘suspend’ plans to apply its laws to Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria as well as the Jordan Valley security buffer. These plans had already stalled but linking diplomatic relations with government policy is arguably unwise. For one, it implies that foreign governments can exercise a veto over Israeli policy. Since none of us is that naive, let’s acknowledge that one rather important government can do this already in certain circumstances and on certain matters. But extending Israeli deference to the United States to any country offering to take a lease on office space in Tel Aviv potentially establishes a dangerous precedent. What happens if another Arab country promises normalised relations in exchange for Israel renouncing its claim to East Jerusalem?

The use of the term ‘suspend’ rather than ‘cancel’ might indicate that a deal has been struck to allow ties between Israel and the UAE to bed down before Jerusalem starts talking about sovereignty again. Equally, if Joe Biden wins in November, Benjamin Netanyahu has already said he won’t go ahead with his plans. In that case, the next opportunity for Israel to assert its legal rights in these areas may not come until there is another like-minded US president and Israeli prime minister, or until final status negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

Since the overwhelming majority of Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria live in the so-called ‘consensus settlements’, generally expected to become part of Israel in any two-state solution, Netanyahu’s sovereignty suspension is unlikely to trouble most Israelis. They will see this as a landmark day in the history of the modern State of Israel and the wider region too. There is a time for small-print and a time for celebration and for now Israelis will choose celebration. Peace has come upon them.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×