Israeli writer: The European Union is stronger in support of the Palestinians than the UAE and Bahrain

Israeli writer: The UAE and Bahrain agreements with Israel allow all parties to save face

An article in "The Times of Israel" stated that the agreements concluded between the UAE and the Kingdom of Bahrain with Israel could infer from them that the two Arab countries are less supportive of the Palestinians than Europe.

The newspaper writer

that officials and analysts familiar with the secret relations of Israel with many Arab countries for a long time said that these countries no longer care much about the Palestinians, but in public statements, all Arab governments, until Tuesday, adhered to their declared positions, and confirmed The necessity of establishing a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just solution to the refugee problem.

But it is striking, according to Ahren, that the agreements that Israel signed with the UAE and Bahrain do not reflect such positions.

Absence of any support for the Palestinians

It does not refer to the Arab Peace Initiative or previous Security Council resolutions, the 1967 borders, nor the capital in East Jerusalem, nor the refugees.

Even the concept of a "two-state solution" that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported in the past, and which the US administration continues to support, is completely absent from the agreements between the UAE and Bahrain, as well as the Israeli settlement project in the West Bank.

The writer pointed out that the carefully thought out wording of the agreements allows all parties to save face, as it allows the Emiratis and Bahrainis to claim that they have defended their Palestinian brothers, while allowing Netanyahu to tell his right-wing base at home that he opposes the establishment of the Palestinian state, and will annex parts of the West Bank in the future.

Mysterious and general signals

He drew attention to the fact that the foreign ministers of the UAE and Bahrain, in their official speeches during the celebration of the signing of the agreements at the White House yesterday, referred vaguely and in general to peace and security, protection of the rights and interests of the countries of the region, and standing with the Palestinians in their quest for an independent state.

He added that the two ministers could have said that they would stand with the establishment of a Palestinian state with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital, and that they recognize Israel within its internationally recognized borders, and urge Israel to stop settling in the Palestinian lands on which the Palestinian state will be established in the future, but they refrained from saying that.

Surprisingly close

In contrast, Ahren said, the European Union would not have signed an agreement with Israel that does not explicitly provide for a halt to settlement activity. Even in its statement that welcomed the Israeli-Emirati agreement, the European Union said it still strongly supports the negotiated "two-state solution" based on the agreed criteria Internationally.

"But the UAE and Bahrain agreed to sign written agreements without any of the criteria mentioned above. Not mentioning these agreements until the" two-state solution ", a concept endorsed by even Washington, which sponsored the agreement, is close to surprising."