UAE Palestine and Israel New Solutions

Why the UAE Established Relations with Israel

Introduction

The conflict between the UAE and Israel has been going on for very long. The new Abraham Accords mark a turning point in the relationship between Israel and the Arab world. The UAE wants warmer relations with Israel, and Israel has shown that it wants the same. The Abraham Accords have set the stage for an environment of mutual respect and beneficence. The two states have had a working relationship in recent years, stemming from security collaboration. But now the UAE has decided to normalize relations with Israel in the new Abraham Accords overseen by the US Administration. The agreement has as much to do with promoting economic ties as it does with paving the way to deal with political issues between Palestine and Israel. The business interests of the two countries of the UAE and Israel align in many ways—from the tourism industry to scientific and technological development (Cook, 2020). Additionally, there are political benefits as well: the UAE and Israel will be able to enhance regional security by working together, sharing information, and eliminating threats to peace in the region (Cook, 2020). The UAE and Israel already enjoyed cooperation in the realm of security and intelligence; the Abraham Accords simply formalizes that arrangement and makes it public. This formalization of relations could also open the door for better relations between Palestine and Israel—but it will take some effort on both their parts, as each side has shown itself to be intractable and aggressive.

Palestinian Politicians

The view of Palestinian politicians has been up to now that the Arab world is on their side. This is true to the extent that Arab states donate significant sums to the Palestinian cause. Up until now, the conflict between Palestine and Israel has been a way for Palestinian leaders to raise money. Now the US has signaled that it is interested in boosting cooperation between the Arab States and Israel. By hosting the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, the US showed that it approved of this new formalized relationship. And as Brown (2018) reports, “the United States may go even further—leading members of Congress have introduced legislation designed to not only fund Palestinian-Israeli economic cooperation in general but also to specifically require that Israeli settlements in the West Bank be eligible for funding for joint projects.” In short, Palestine now finds itself in a new position. Having relied upon monetary support for its cause of independence, the tide is shifting, with the UAE leading the course for a new kind of cooperation in the Middle East—one that calls not for independence but rather for integration and friendship.

One criticism of the Palestinian leaders and politicians is that they do not negotiate with Israel in earnest: some argue that these leaders might not want to solve the conflict because it is a good money source. Qatar for instance donated $1 billion to the Palestinian cause between 2012 and 2018 (Jesner, 2021). Many Arab states and other countries and organizations donate to Palestine, and this is making certain leaders within Palestine richer and richer, which, some speculate is a big reason they are not trying to make an effort to solve the conflict.

Up until recently, Palestinian leaders had all their fellow Arabs on their side, with the idea no formal relations will start with Israel unless the conflict was resolved. With the Abraham Accords, this understanding is no longer the case. The UAE has taken the first major step in normalizing relations with Israel, and other states have followed suit. This new development means that Palestine no longer has the Arab world lined up in one direction. States are beginning to see the possibility of a resolution based on mutual beneficence. This new direction might make Palestinian leaders more likely to work toward ending the conflict.

The Benefits of Formal Relations

Formal relations between the UAE and Israel are a signal to the rest of the world but especially to the Arab States that partnership with Israel can be profitable and beneficial. Although Palestinians view this relationship as a betrayal of their situation, the UAE believes it had to take this opportunity to formalize a relationship with Israel and normalize relations in order to protect Palestine and prevent the furthering of Israeli occupation (Cook, 2020). Normalizing relations between the two countries presents a win-win scenario for each.

Since 2015, Israel has had a diplomatic office in the UAE, and relations between the two states have been cordial for years. They have collaborated together in the realm of sports, government, energy development, and the World Expo. The ground has been ripe for this type of formal normalization for years. When Israel did not annex the West Bank like it had intended, the UAE saw it as an act of good will towards Arabs and extended the invitation to formally normalize relations with the state in return.

The UAE is not interested in betraying its own national interests for the sake of Palestinian leaders, who see this normalization as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. The UAE views Palestine’s leaders as ineffectual and unable to bring Israel to the negotiating table. The UAE is not about to abandon a beneficial relationship with Israel for the sake of the feelings of Palestine’s leaders.

Other Arab states have supported the formalization of ties between UAE and Israel. These states include Egypt, Jordan, Oman and Bahrain. They see that this relationship will further enhance trade in the region, as it is likely that the Abraham Accords will facilitate a free trade negotiation. Indeed, Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid stated that this Accord “is just the beginning” of good things to come between Israel and the Arab states in the Middle East (Barrington, 2021). Currently agreements have been made between Israel and the UAE on matters of tourism, technology, energy and investments (Barrington, 2021).

The UAE’s Position Towards Palestine

The UAE is not turning its back on Palestine with this agreement with Israel. On the contrary, the UAE views this agreement as beneficial for Palestine in the long run (Barrington, 2021). As more and more Arab States adopt formal relations with Israel, it will mark a turning of the tide in terms of Middle East peace. The pressure will be on Palestine and Israel to broker a similar peace agreement due to public support for such a deal and the fact that the wider Arab world is eager for the conflict to come to an end at last.

The UAE has sought to create a warm peace with Israel, different from the cold peace that Jordan and Egypt established with Israel decades earlier (Koduvayur & Daoud, 2021). With Bahrain joining the UAE in the Abraham Accords with Israel, the relationship between the Israeli state and the Gulf States is now stronger than every before. It is no cold peace but rather a mutually beneficial warm peace. The Gulf States are now more willing to admit that Israel has a right to exist and defend itself (Koduvayur & Daoud, 2021). The bilateral relationship between the UAE and Israel is meant to be good for both states’ citizens, as they will be able to travel between the two, and develop mutual cultural appreciation and respect for one another.

The UAE is a business hub among Gulf States, which means Israel will be able to develop ties through the Arab community thanks to its new formalized friendship with the UAE. This is an important consideration, because it means that Israelis will now come into closer contact with other members of the Arab community, including from those states that have traditionally been hostile to Israel (Koduvayur & Daoud, 2021). The beneficial effect of this closer contact between people is expected to have a humanizing impact, as the deal is a “peace message” rather than a political treaty, according to Dr. Ali al-Nuaimi (All Arab News, 2020). Co-existence, tolerance and acceptance of others were all key reasons that Dr. Ali al-Nuaimi cites for the rationale behind the formalized relations between UAE and Israel. This insistence upon co-existence and tolerance means that there is the hope that a new culture and atmosphere will develop that will over time make it possible for Palestine and Israel to come back to the table in a better spirit, so that peace and acceptance can be achieved.

Israel’s Position

While Palestine has been recalcitrant in some ways when it comes to ending the Israel-Palestine conflict, Israel has been ambivalent about a real resolution, too. Neither side has demonstrated a serious commitment to resolution, with each digging in and issuing non-starters that would make a lasting peace untenable based on certain demands. Hassan and Munayyer (2021) argue that a rights-based approach is needed. The Abraham Accords may be that first necessary step towards creating a culture in which human rights and benefits are promoted.

Yet the problem of violence and unilateral actions remains a source of tension between the two states (Youssef, 2020). Israel has shown that it was willing to suspend annexation of the West Bank, and this suspension motivated UAE to take the initiative to formalize relations with Israel. It was a sign of good will on both parts, and that demonstration of good will is what has been missing between Israel and Palestine over the years of their conflict. The conflict has become so culturally ingrained in the region that many see it as never going away.

However, the Abraham Accords open the door for a possible resolution by clearing the atmosphere and showing that the Arab world and the state of Israel can live and work side by side without tension. The fact that travel between the two states will be open means that the two people will be able to mix with the culture of one another and see the people of each state in more human and dignified ways.

The UN (2021) has stated that only a political solution can solve the problem between Israel and Palestine. The normalization of relations between UAE and Israel is certainly a political solution that will have social and economic effects for the two states. It is exactly this kind of political solution that is needed for Israel and Palestine. Yet, leaders of Israel, like leaders of Palestine, have been reluctant to take formal steps toward a political solution. It is more politically expedient for them to nurture the conflict than it is to resolve it. The last Israeli PM who promoted a vision of political peace was assassinated, and since then it has been few Israeli leaders willing to adopt that tone and stance. The politics of Israel toward Palestine have been one primarily of aggression and hostility.

The Abraham Accords may be viewed as a betrayal of the Arab concern by Palestine, but Israel can see them as a first step towards a better, more practical political solution and peace. By meeting with UAE to normalize relations and agreeing to normalization with other Gulf States, the stage is now set for Israel’s leaders to take a similar political stance toward Palestine if at all possible.

Indeed, the UAE is also poised to play a political role in solving the crisis between Palestine and Israel. As Chulov (2021) noted in May 2021, hostilities between the two states had broken out into violence once more—but now one big difference is that “the UAE is willing to play a role in peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians, joining an Egyptian push to bolster a ceasefire in Gaza and de-escalate tensions between the two sides, the Gulf powerbroker’s leadership has said.” With UAE able to now straddle both sides of the conflict and exert some influence among both states, there is new hope for a resolution based on a political solution founded on respect and mutual beneficence.