Author: Murat Sofuoğlu
Affiliation: TRT World
Organization/ Publisher: TRT World
Date/Place: September 15, 2020/Istanbul
Type of Literature: Report
Word Count: 1400
Keywords: Palestine, Israel, Arab Uprising, Security, Middle East, Oslo Accords
Brief:
This article dissects the motivations and impact of normalization of relations between Israel and autocratic Arab nations in the recent past. It emphasizes that Palestinians have been sidelined by steps taken by the UAE and Bahrain to establish diplomatic relations with Israel – whose illegal settlements and land-grabbing activities continue despite promises to stop “annexation” of lands taken from native Palestinians. The author quotes Palestinian-American Professor Sami Al-Arian, who says that the deals signed by UAE and Bahrain “do not represent the sentiment of the Arab street.” He argues that these are sentiments of Arab dictators who link the so-called “Deal of the Century” to their own survival and security from the West. Interestingly, the normalization pacts were signed in the White House, thousands of miles away from Arab lands. The article also criticizes the Oslo Accords, identifying how it has only worsened the situation of the beleaguered Palestinians. It states how Tel Aviv has used the Oslo Accords “as a diplomatic tool to develop its economic relations” with those countries which had refused to recognize the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. The deals signed in the White House are a clear sign that united diplomatic Arab support to the Palestinian cause is crumbling. The article puts light on Saudi Arabia, whose leaders have maintained a calibrated distance from the deals, and who remain silent while refusing to call out those publicizing their love affair with the apartheid state of Israel.
By: Riyaz Ul Khaliq, CIGA Nonresident Research Associate
