JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu buoyantly approached the microphone, beaming at his diplomatic coup."I told you," he told Israelis in a triumphant news conference Thursday night.Indeed he had.At least since 2009, Netanyahu had been insisting, against conventional wisdom, that
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu buoyantly approached the microphone, beaming at his diplomatic coup.At least since 2009, Netanyahu had been insisting, against conventional wisdom, that Israel could build full diplomatic and trade relationships with Arab countries in the Middle East without settling the Palestinian conflict first.
When he sealed a deal to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates this past week, it was not because he had suddenly become more persuasive. What had changed, analysts and former aides to Netanyahu said, was the dynamics of the region and the world. Finally, as Iranian-sponsored proxy forces grew more powerful across the region — in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen — the Gulf states increasingly saw Iran as their greatest threat. And the 2015 Iran nuclear deal persuaded them that Washington was not committed to destroying Iran’s nuclear ambitions or keeping Iran pinned down by sanctions.
His hope is that other countries will follow suit. On Friday, Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, said that normalized relations with Saudi Arabia were “an inevitability.” On Saturday, Israel’s intelligence minister, Eli Cohen, predicted that Sudan would open full relations with Israel by the end of the year.
In the 1960s, Israel airdropped weapons to Yemen to help Saudi Arabia, which was propping up the royalist regime there against revolutionary republicans backed by Egypt. Israel ramped up its secret liaisons in the Arab world and found that despite Arab leaders’ public condemnations of Israel — and a Saudi peace initiative that made resolving the Palestinian conflict a requirement for normalization — in private many were accommodating and practical.
Reelected in 2009 after a decade out of power, Netanyahu took the controls of what had become a powerful vehicle for sub rosa diplomacy, and tried to drive it into the sunlight. “No one wants weak allies,” said an Israeli official who insisted on anonymity to speak candidly about sensitive diplomatic matters. “Israel is in the region. We’re not going to become neo-isolationists or pivot to Asia. And we have this convergence of interests where Israel’s enemies are their enemies.”
“And I said, ‘Don’t give the key for that change to the Palestinians,’” Amidror said. “That was the essence of the argument between us and the Gulf countries. Why give the Palestinians the key?”For years, Israeli military censors had prevented reports on Israeli-Arab cooperation, fearing that they could spark demonstrations against the cooperating governments. But when Netanyahu eased up on the censorship, the protests did not materialize. The Arab public, it turned out, was largely indifferent.
Deutschland Neuesten Nachrichten, Deutschland Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Iran threatens dangerous consequences for UAE over Israel dealIran’s Revolutionary Guard called the deal a “shameful” agreement and an “evil action' that was underwritten by the US.
Weiterlesen »
Kushner hails Israel-UAE peace deal as 'paradigm shift' for Middle EastWhite House senior adviser Jared Kushner celebrated Israel's new agreement with the United Arab Emirates, stating that the deal that President Trump facilitated is a sign of major change in the region.
Weiterlesen »
UAE minister says UAE-Israel agreement not directed at IranThe United Arab Emirates' agreement to normalise ties with Israel was a 'sovereign decision' that was not directed at Iran, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said on Monday.
Weiterlesen »
Telephone calls between UAE and Israel ring for the first timeTelephone service between the United Arab Emirates and Israel has begun as the two countries opened diplomatic ties
Weiterlesen »
UAE summons Iranian diplomat over Rouhani speechUAE summons Iran's charge d'affaires in Abu Dhabi in response to ‘unacceptable’ speech by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani describing UAE-Israel disputed deal as a ‘huge mistake’
Weiterlesen »
Israel expects to formalise ties with Bahrain and Oman after UAE dealIsrael's intelligence minister says Bahrain and Oman could be the next Gulf countries to formalise ties with Israel following deal with UAE
Weiterlesen »