After the formalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel in 2020, Israeli Premier Neftali Bennet and UAEs’ de facto ruler and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan have met for the first time in the Emirates’ capital without any eyebrow raised from anywhere. Although many details have not yet been shared about the meeting, it is clear that one of the main topics discussed was Iran, sadly not Palestine, and its relationship with both nations, among other things. In 2020, the Israel-UAE bilateral trade in goods alone has reached nearly $500 million up until now. This figure is $125 million more than what the trade was in the previous year. The trade is expected to grow significantly in the following years and so is the friendship between the two nations which was unimaginable a few decades ago, but became a necessity since the development of Iran as a common enemy.
The tour, which is being dubbed ‘historic’ by the western media, while the Arab press is more or less mum on it, is significant. Consider. After Egypt and Jordan, now more and more Arabs have openly embraced the Zionist regime openly. The difference is Egypt and Jordan went into treaties for ‘peace’, whereas the recent Arab-Israeli ties are based on Iran-driven. Now , whenever Israel kills Palestinians, there is hardly any word from Arabs. Sadly, Pakistan is following the Arabs when it comes to raising voices for Palestinians. The Bennett trip has made public Arab states’ priorities and we can see the region is changing. At the end of the day, the most beneficiary state of the UAE-Israeli ties is Israeli. Israel’s political isolation in the region is diminishing while Iran’s isolation is becoming a fixture.
Iran has been a longstanding supporter of Palestinians’ rights in the region and a vocal against Israel’s expansionist policies for the past many years and the UAE has also not enjoyed a healthy relationship with the country. However, the UAE has been trying to improve its relations with Iran, a Shiite majority country. The Emirates’ sent its envoy to Tehran to engage in talks with the country regarding the new Iran Nuclear Deal as Iran backed out of the previous one after former President Trump ordered the assassination of Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani. It seems like Israel is strongly arming against Iran by developing friendly relations with Arab countries, so as to keep the Iranian threat at bay while the US negotiates another deal with the Shiite theocracy. Iran remains a threat for the Emiratis and they share Israel’s fear that Tehran will attain a nuclear bomb. Israel opposes the option of dialogue with Iran and wants to keep military action as the number one option while the UAE wants to keep the passage of talks open as both countries also have large trade bills.
As more and more Muslim countries open their gates for Israel, the Palestinian cause is being pushed in the background. With this new friendship and trade benefits, it is likely that more countries will be open to the option of recognizing Israel as a legitimate state, killing the Palestine cause and sidelining Iran altogether.
