Israel-Bahrain agreement: the Arab street no longer mobilizes for the Palestinian cause
Palestinians protesting against the Israel-Bahrain normalization agreement, in the Gaza Strip, September 12, 2020. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
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3 min
A month after the peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, another Gulf monarchy, Bahrain is normalizing its relations with the Hebrew state.
But unlike the UAE, part of the Bahraini population rejects this agreement.
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On Friday, September 11, Bahrain became the second Gulf country to announce
normalization of relations with Israel
, less than a month after a similar deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
This agreement is rejected in many Arab countries.
“
These Arab regimes, for the most part almost all authoritarian, have certainly focused their rhetoric a lot on the demonization of Israel, but the population did not need to be oriented on this point to have affinities anyway. 'empathy and sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people
', notes Fatiha Dazi-Héni, researcher specializing in the Gulf and the Middle East at the strategic research institute of the Military Academy, author of
Saudi Arabia in 100 questions
.
A withdrawal into oneself after the Arab Spring
However, the Arab street is unlikely to mobilize in support of the Palestinian cause.
“
I do not see any mega-popular mobilization today in the Arab world on the Palestinian question.
Since the Arab Spring, there has been a kind of withdrawal into oneself and into internal problems, the internal dynamics of each of the States, and the pandemic, the health crisis will not help to encourage such a mobilization,
”explains Fatiha Dazi- Héni.
The normalization deal sparked anger in Palestine, where the Palestinian Authority and the Islamist movement Hamas immediately castigated the announcement.
On social media, the hashtags "
Bahrainis Against Normalization
" and "
Normalization is Betrayal
" became very popular as soon as US President Donald Trump announced a deal between Bahrain and Israel on Friday September 11th.
Ally of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, a kingdom ruled by Sunnis and with a large Shiite population, shares with Israel a deep hostility towards Iran.
The country is home to the United States' Fifth Fleet, on which it is heavily dependent.
► See also: Israel and Bahrain announce the normalization of their relations
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