The director of the Defense and Security Program at the Middle East Institute described the agreement between the UAE and Israel as historic.
In his article in Foreign Policy, Bilal Saab said that regardless of how this diplomatic deal announced on Thursday is read - and there will certainly be many supporters and critics given its historical nature - there is one conclusion that seems irrefutable, and that is. Israel is the biggest winner.
Israel, and specifically its beleaguered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has achieved a great victory. By suspending threats to annex parts of the West Bank in exchange for full normalization of relations with the UAE, Netanyahu gave himself room to backtrack on a promise that may have been popular but was not at all realistic.
Thus, Netanyahu won normalization with a "rising" Arab power in exchange for something he was not likely to do and was not in Israel's long-term interest. In diplomatic circles, this is called a coup.
The writer believes that the UAE, in return, will get a lot from this deal. It "strengthens a leadership position in the Arab world and its ambitious role in geopolitics."
And the enhanced and official bilateral cooperation in sectors such as energy, medicine, technology and military industry will bring great benefits to both countries. And they'll get the opportunity to work as a team without worrying about politics.
He added that the Middle East as a whole would benefit from any de-escalation of tensions and what he described as positive diplomacy. But he added that it was worth not exaggerating expectations regarding the effects of this deal on regional security.
Above all, the UAE and Israel have never fought each other, and neither has seen the other as a conventional enemy. So calling this agreement a "peace agreement," as the Trump administration has done, is somewhat exaggerated. But it represents formal recognition of the bilateral relationship that has existed for decades, and it is also the beginning of an outright diplomatic process, so broader gains may take time to fully bear fruit.
The UAE and Israel have never fought, nor have each seen the other as a traditional enemy. So calling this agreement a "peace agreement," as the Trump administration has done, is somewhat exaggerated. But it marks a formal recognition of the decades-old bilateral ties, and it is also the beginning of an outright diplomatic process
The agreement also has yet to withstand political opposition from some in the ultra-conservative Israeli society. If Israel breaks its promises in the West Bank, the Emiratis will help escape the impasse.
And the writer hinted that if the elephant in the room, Saudi Arabia, joined the diplomatic side, that would be the time when praise for the deal should double.
Saudi Arabia, not the UAE, is the top prize for Israel in terms of diplomatic recognition. It is Saudi Arabia, not the Emirates, that traditionally speaks in the name of the Islamic world, and its king is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The Arab domino effect will occur the moment Saudi Arabia boardes the ship. And when it does, it will eventually crack up the broader term for Arab-Israeli security cooperation.
However, as the writer says, there is no evidence to indicate that by concluding this agreement with Israel, the UAE would have separated from Saudi Arabia. But it certainly makes it appear as if Abu Dhabi was moving forward and charting an increasingly independent path.
Even if Saudi Arabia signed the agreement, a possibility that Trump left open by saying that other Arab countries could join this agreement soon, it will be remembered forever as a follower, not an initiator. Nor will Arab history be kind to the Saudis for effectively abandoning their leadership of their junior partner.
Saab concluded his article in Foreign Policy that this matter, on the other hand, may have been a Saudi priority all the time, in effective coordination with the Emiratis. With the "watch and learn" method, the Saudis might have calculated it this way.
And they may want to first see how the agreement will resonate in the Arab world and, most importantly, in Tehran, the old enemy. On this basis, it is determined whether they will join or move away. The Iranians will certainly criticize the agreement, and the influential Revolutionary Guards will describe the Emiratis as traitors, but what matters are actions, and this may be what Riyadh will be waiting for.