Middle East’s shifting sands

Palestinians carry placards during a protest in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip to condemn the normalisation of ties between Israeli and Bahrain. Picture: AFP

Bahrain’s decision to defy Palestinian fury and become the fourth Arab state to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel adds momentum to the strategic realignment across the Middle East. It follows a similar move by the UAE last month, and last week’s rejection by the 22-nation Arab League of Palestinian demands for Arab states to denounce any country normalising relations with the Jewish state.

The decisions by Manama and Abu Dhabi fly in the face of the decades-old belief that Israel was doomed to remain a pariah from Arab neighbours unless it gave in to Palestinian demands. The new ties add to Israel’s peace deals with Egypt (in 1979) and Jordan (1994). They are a consequence of Donald Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” vision, based on growing opposition among moderate Sunni states to Shi’ite Iran’s rampant imperialism. Sudan and Oman could follow. Given the close relations between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, there is little doubt authorities in Manama would not have acted without Riyadh’s concurrence.

The shifting sands are also evident in the way Qatar, normally a Palestinian backer, has been quietly working with Israel to broker a ceasefire with Hamas terrorists ruling Gaza. Countries in the region are more willing than ever to prioritise their own interests over Palestinians’, raising a ray of hope for peace. As Dr Colin Rubenstein of the Australia-Israel & Jewish Affairs Council says, the new deals have the potential to transform a volatile region.