Spin and truth about Israel's agreement with the UAE
Things seen from New York during another eventful week in the new world. A weekly column by Amir Rapaport
Amir Rapaport
| 21/08/2020
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes part in a meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 19, 2019. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Things seen from New York during a summer that will not be forgotten, August 2020: Israel's agreement with the United Arab Emirates received major coverage in the American media, and justly so. It is a historic move that changes the face of the Middle East. From here, the perspective is better because in the Israeli media even history in the making is drowned out by the cacophony of the Knesset that is about to "commit suicide" for the fourth time in a year and a half (and in the center of the discussion about the agreement, after the initial excitement, stands the question of whether Netanyahu hid information on arms deals between the US and the UAE from the defense establishment).
Fruits of the agreement
From America, the statements heard in Israel regarding the agreement can be assessed more objectively. As for two main claims: first, that it's not an especially important agreement because Israel and the UAE were never in a state of war, and anyway have had trade and defense ties for years, is not correct at all. The truth is that it can't be called a "peace" agreement because there was not a state of war, but at the same time it cannot be downplayed as merely the opening of a new and exotic destination for the Israeli tourist. The opposite is true. It is an amazing agreement that changes the reality in the Middle East dramatically.
The fruits of the agreement can be assessed in terms of two main aspects. First and foremost is Iran. The shared enemy has united Israel and the Persian Gulf states for years, and the Iranians have only strengthened the pact with their missile and drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities during the last year. But the openness of the agreement now is not only symbolic. It pushes Iran into a corner and demonstrates that Israel isn't alone in the region against the great threat, but rather the opposite.
In the big picture, after many years in which the regional axis of evil – the one between Iran, Syria and Hezbollah (with arms extended into Yemen and Iraq) grew in strength, the picture has been the exact opposite for the past year or couple of years. (The assassination of Qassem Soleimani during the last year in an intuitive decision by Donald Trump, the signs of the economic sanctions on Iran, and Hezbollah's distress within Lebanon after the disaster in Beirut show the height of the crisis, which may be only temporary. The Iranians are already starting to respond with provocations such as the takeover of a ship from the UAE on Thursday)
In any case, now, the fact that Israel has a pact with a country that is in rocket range from Iran is a lot more than a counterweight to the presence of Iran on our borders, the ones with the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Another significant aspect is legitimacy for additional agreements that will come later, and a change in perception by many countries of the world, mainly in Asia, that are still stuck in a mindset from the days of the large-scale Arab boycott of Israel that the Middle East is made up of a very small number of Jews and countless Arabs. No more. This paradigm has been shattered, and there will be many economic fruits because of it.
"Overall, the agreement with the Emirates is dramatic and changes the entire regional reality even more than the peace with Jordan and maybe even more than the peace with Egypt," said a source at the UN Security Council whom I spoke with this week, and it seems that he is right. He's not off base.
Things seen from New York during another eventful week in the new world. A weekly column by Amir Rapaport
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes part in a meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 19, 2019. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Things seen from New York during a summer that will not be forgotten, August 2020: Israel's agreement with the United Arab Emirates received major coverage in the American media, and justly so. It is a historic move that changes the face of the Middle East. From here, the perspective is better because in the Israeli media even history in the making is drowned out by the cacophony of the Knesset that is about to "commit suicide" for the fourth time in a year and a half (and in the center of the discussion about the agreement, after the initial excitement, stands the question of whether Netanyahu hid information on arms deals between the US and the UAE from the defense establishment).
Fruits of the agreement
From America, the statements heard in Israel regarding the agreement can be assessed more objectively. As for two main claims: first, that it's not an especially important agreement because Israel and the UAE were never in a state of war, and anyway have had trade and defense ties for years, is not correct at all. The truth is that it can't be called a "peace" agreement because there was not a state of war, but at the same time it cannot be downplayed as merely the opening of a new and exotic destination for the Israeli tourist. The opposite is true. It is an amazing agreement that changes the reality in the Middle East dramatically.
The fruits of the agreement can be assessed in terms of two main aspects. First and foremost is Iran. The shared enemy has united Israel and the Persian Gulf states for years, and the Iranians have only strengthened the pact with their missile and drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities during the last year. But the openness of the agreement now is not only symbolic. It pushes Iran into a corner and demonstrates that Israel isn't alone in the region against the great threat, but rather the opposite.
In the big picture, after many years in which the regional axis of evil – the one between Iran, Syria and Hezbollah (with arms extended into Yemen and Iraq) grew in strength, the picture has been the exact opposite for the past year or couple of years. (The assassination of Qassem Soleimani during the last year in an intuitive decision by Donald Trump, the signs of the economic sanctions on Iran, and Hezbollah's distress within Lebanon after the disaster in Beirut show the height of the crisis, which may be only temporary. The Iranians are already starting to respond with provocations such as the takeover of a ship from the UAE on Thursday)
In any case, now, the fact that Israel has a pact with a country that is in rocket range from Iran is a lot more than a counterweight to the presence of Iran on our borders, the ones with the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Another significant aspect is legitimacy for additional agreements that will come later, and a change in perception by many countries of the world, mainly in Asia, that are still stuck in a mindset from the days of the large-scale Arab boycott of Israel that the Middle East is made up of a very small number of Jews and countless Arabs. No more. This paradigm has been shattered, and there will be many economic fruits because of it.
"Overall, the agreement with the Emirates is dramatic and changes the entire regional reality even more than the peace with Jordan and maybe even more than the peace with Egypt," said a source at the UN Security Council whom I spoke with this week, and it seems that he is right. He's not off base.
