Why the UAE Normalized Relations with Israel: Abraham Accords
This paper examines the motivations behind the UAE's decision to normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords, brokered under U.S. oversight. It explores the economic, political, and security incentives driving the agreement, including shared interests in trade, tourism, technology, and intelligence cooperation. The paper also analyzes the implications for Palestinian leaders, who have long relied on Arab solidarity and financial support to sustain their cause. Additionally, it considers Israel's ambivalence toward a political resolution and the role the UAE may play as a diplomatic bridge between Israel and Palestine. Ultimately, the paper argues that the Abraham Accords represent a meaningful shift in Middle Eastern geopolitics that could pressure both Palestine and Israel toward a negotiated peace.
- Introduction: Overview of Abraham Accords and UAE-Israel motivations
- Palestinian Politicians and the Shifting Arab Landscape: How Arab normalization undermines Palestinian political leverage
- The Benefits of Formal Relations: Economic, security, and diplomatic gains from UAE-Israel ties
- The UAE's Position Towards Palestine: UAE frames normalization as long-term benefit for Palestinians
- Israel's Position and Path Forward: Israel's ambivalence and potential steps toward resolution
- Conclusion: Arab world shifts strategy, opening door for peace
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds its argument in multiple named sources — including think tanks, news outlets, and UN statements — giving it credible evidentiary support across different sections.
- It maintains a balanced analytical tone, acknowledging criticism of Palestinian leaders, Israeli ambivalence, and UAE pragmatism without collapsing into advocacy for any single side.
- The paper connects macro-level geopolitical shifts (the Abraham Accords) to concrete implications — for Palestinian funding, Israeli behavior, and regional trade — making abstract diplomacy tangible.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of multi-stakeholder analysis: rather than treating the Abraham Accords as a bilateral event, it systematically examines the motivations and responses of four distinct actors — the UAE, Israel, Palestinian leaders, and the broader Arab world — before synthesizing their interactions into a coherent argument about regional change. This technique is especially useful in international relations writing where outcomes depend on the interplay of multiple parties.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a thematic introduction establishing the Accords' significance, then dedicates separate sections to Palestinian politics, the benefits of formalization, the UAE's strategic rationale, and Israel's ambivalence. Each section builds on the previous one, moving from the immediate agreement outward to its wider regional implications. The conclusion ties these threads together by forecasting a potential shift in the Palestine-Israel dynamic. This funnel-then-expand structure is well-suited to political analysis essays.
Introduction
The 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 Accords have set the stage for an environment of mutual respect and beneficence. The two states had already developed a working relationship in recent years stemming from security collaboration, but the UAE has now decided to formalize those ties through the Abraham Accords, overseen by the U.S. administration.
The agreement has as much to do with promoting economic ties as it does with addressing political issues between Palestine and Israel. The business interests of the UAE and Israel align in many ways — from the tourism industry to scientific and technological development (Cook, 2020). 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 formalize that arrangement and make it public.
This formalization of relations could also open the door for better relations between Palestine and Israel — but it will take effort on both sides, as each has shown itself to be intractable and, at times, aggressive toward the other.
Palestinian Politicians and the Shifting Arab Landscape
Palestinian politicians have long operated under the assumption that the Arab world stands firmly on their side. This has been true to the extent that Arab states donate significant sums to the Palestinian cause. For years, the conflict between Palestine and Israel served as a vehicle through which Palestinian leaders could raise money. Now, with the U.S. signaling its interest in boosting cooperation between Arab states and Israel, that dynamic is shifting. By hosting the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE, the U.S. demonstrated approval of this new formalized relationship. 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 charting a 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 Palestinian leaders 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 reliable source of funding. Qatar, for instance, donated $1 billion to the Palestinian cause between 2012 and 2018 (Jesner, 2021). Many Arab states and other organizations also donate to Palestine, and some speculate that this flow of money enriches certain Palestinian leaders — providing a perverse incentive to allow the conflict to continue rather than resolve it.
Until recently, Palestinian leaders had the solidarity of the Arab world behind them, with a shared understanding that no formal relations would begin with Israel unless the conflict was resolved. With the Abraham Accords, that understanding no longer holds. The UAE has taken the first major step in normalizing relations with Israel, and other states have followed. This new development means that Palestine can no longer count on a unified Arab front. States are beginning to see the possibility of a resolution based on mutual beneficence, and this new direction may ultimately pressure Palestinian leaders to work more earnestly toward ending the conflict.
The Benefits of Formal Relations
Formal relations between the UAE and Israel signal to the rest of the world — and especially to other Arab states — that partnership with Israel can be profitable and beneficial. Although Palestinians view this relationship as a betrayal of their cause, the UAE believes it had to seize this opportunity to formalize a relationship with Israel in order to protect Palestinian interests and prevent a further expansion of Israeli occupation (Cook, 2020). Normalizing relations between the two countries presents a win-win scenario for each.
Since 2015, Israel has maintained a diplomatic office in the UAE, and relations between the two states have been cordial for years. They have collaborated in sports, government, energy development, and the World Expo. The groundwork for formal normalization had been laid long before the Accords were signed. When Israel chose not to annex the West Bank as it had previously intended, the UAE interpreted this as an act of good will toward Arabs and extended the invitation to formally normalize relations in return.
The UAE is not interested in sacrificing its national interests for the sake of Palestinian leaders who view this normalization as a betrayal. The UAE regards Palestine's leadership as ineffectual and unable to bring Israel to the negotiating table, and it is not prepared to abandon a beneficial relationship with Israel on those grounds.
Other Arab states have supported the formalization of ties between the UAE and Israel. These states include Egypt, Jordan, Oman, and Bahrain. They recognize that this relationship will enhance regional trade, particularly as the Abraham Accords are likely to facilitate free trade negotiations. Israel's then-foreign minister Yair Lapid stated that the Accord "is just the beginning" of good things to come between Israel and the Arab states in the Middle East (Barrington, 2021). Agreements have already been reached between Israel and the UAE on matters of tourism, technology, energy, and investments (Barrington, 2021).
Conclusion
The normalization of relations between the UAE and Israel after so many years of conflict between Israel and the Arab world shows that a new direction may be coming to the Palestine-Israel conflict. Palestine's leaders have relied on the support of the Arab world for decades, and money from Arab states has flowed steadily to fund the Palestinian cause. However, Arab states are now taking a new approach. Rather than simply sending financial support to Palestine, they are also reaching out to Israel and exploring whether formalizing relations can serve as a pathway to peace. The Abraham Accords demonstrate that the UAE is willing to collaborate more closely with Israel to build a better regional community — and that willingness may alter the shape of things to come for all parties involved.
References
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