Israel-UAE agreement and regional politics

Behind-the-scenes cooperation between Israel and the Gulf states has been going on for many years, culminating in the unveiling of the US Middle East Peace Plan in January this year, which was backed by the Gulf states, but official sources said. And he generally refrained from exposing behind-the-scenes relations between Israel. Against this backdrop, the announcement of the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE was clearly a major change. The UAE's media focused on highlighting the benefits of the new relationship, overlooking the delicate issues of normalizing relations with Israel. At the same time, Abu Dhabi sought to take credit for ending the Israeli government's plans to annex the occupied Palestinian territories of West Jordan to Israel as a condition of the agreement. The UAE has stated that it has agreed to establish relations with Israel on the condition that it terminates plans to integrate the Occupied Palestinian Territories into Israel. If this claim is accepted, then the UAE has gained the status of influencing and resolving the affairs of the region and in this regard, it has overtaken the traditionally influential countries of the Arab world like Saudi Arabia. has left. But the ambiguity over the annexation of the occupied territories to Israel also gives rise to an alternative narrative, which raises questions about the UAE's status and whether it has enough space to allow Israel into these territories. Prevented from joining Israel. The UAE has kept its ambitions secret, but has remained largely silent on its foreign policy and has always preferred to help its allies in the region behind the scenes. Despite this, the UAE has played a more active role in regional conflicts than any other Gulf state, including Yemen, Libya, and, to a lesser extent, the internal politics of Egypt, and its interests extend to the Horn of Africa.  There are some reasons for its intervention in all these conflicts, including reducing the growing influence of Iran and Turkey and keeping Islamic political movements away from their borders. Because of the monarchy, his and the Saudi royal family's interests come together in this whole game. The UAE has been very aggressive towards its allies Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. While Saudi Arabia's attitude has been more cautious and has preferred to suppress and cool the threats posed by neighboring countries, the current UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed has gone a step further, using all his resources. Make every effort to influence and resolve conflicts in and out of the region. At one point, the UAE also faced Saudi Arabia in Yemen's protracted crisis, where it opposed its former ally, the Saudi-backed and internationally recognized Yemeni government headed by Abdul Rabbo Mansour Hari. In contrast, the separatists began supporting the Southern Transitional Council.

Similarly, the Saudi royal family has been gradually moving closer to Israel in recent years, especially in the face of the threat posed by Iran. But the Saudi king and crown prince first wanted to pave the way for it inside the country, as relations with Israel are highly hostile and they do not want to tarnish their image in the region. In contrast, the current Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, could have risked playing a leading role in regional conflicts after completely suppressing dissent and criticism within the country. Whether it was a matter of overcoming Code 19 or humanitarian aid, he came to the point of establishing normal relations with Israel.

The question of the UAE's initiative is definitely linked to the issue of the annexation of the occupied West Bank to Israel, which the Gulf Arab state has used to persuade the West to sign an agreement with Israel. The occupied territories of Jordan have been prevented from merging. In an interview with Sky TV Arabia shortly after the announcement of the agreement with Israel, UAE Foreign Minister Anwar al-Gargash said that Israel's plan to annex West Jordan was like a time bomb that could lead to the end of the Palestinian conflict. All possibilities for a state solution will be lost.

Despite US President Donald Trump's remarks indicating that a plan to annex West Jordan is not currently under consideration, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and key Israeli officials have said that the West Bank There has been no change in their intentions Only they have postponed these plans for now.

Netanyahu, in a televised address calling the West Bank by the Hebrew names of Judah and Samara, said there was no change in the US-backed plan to extend Israel's sovereignty to those areas. Is.

Many media outlets in the Arab world said that Israel had postponed its intentions long before the agreement was signed with the United Arab Emirates because of political problems within Israel and the political problems facing Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Became the main reason for the delay. The Israeli media did not hesitate to say that the agreement broke the tradition of the land for peace and set an example of peace for peace. The Palestinian Authority called the agreement a betrayal and said it amounted to recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The agreement, reached without the participation or trust of the Palestinians, shows that the UAE has no place in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or in the ground realities. On the other hand, it also indicates that there is a tendency in the Gulf countries to change their traditional policy, which some say recognizes the reality of a state solution as predestined. Do it, After all, the UAE's progress in establishing relations with Israel has changed the balance of power in the region forever.

Probably at the expense of the Palestinians, Abu Dhabi has become a new ally of Israel in the region and has further strengthened its ties with the United States. Taking advantage of his aggressive and pragmatic thinking in domestic and foreign affairs, he played a key role in reshaping regional politics, not only in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also in broader issues and regional politics against Iran. Will lean towards