Article in The Washington Post: The UAE and Bahrain agreements with Israel are a big step in the wrong direction

Researcher Ezzedin Fisher commented on the normalization agreements between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel that American commentators are right to welcome them because we do not see every day signs of reconciliation between Arabs and Israelis, and the accompanying human exchange and direct flights between Tel Aviv and Arab capitals, partnerships between companies, and prospects for cooperation The government is starting with the Corona virus.

Nevertheless, the researcher - who is a lecturer at Dartmouth College in the state of New Hampshire - believes in his article in the Washington Post that like all good news in the Middle East, it is likely to be short-lived and leave us with a bitter taste.

He added that under the deceptive appearance of "peace" these agreements reinforce 4 nefarious dynamics that far outweigh the current courtesies between Arab governments and Israel.

The conflict will remain as it is.

First - that the "Abraham Accords" do not end a single conflict in the Middle East. There are no diplomatic relations between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, and they did not enter into conflict with it.

The actual conflicts in the region are taking place in Yemen, Syria, Libya and Lebanon.

These "peace" agreements do not bring us closer to ending these conflicts, but rather they are likely to exacerbate them;

The alliance between Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia against Iran, which has so far been under the table, becomes more assertive.

In other words, these agreements open the door for Israel to become a fuller partner in the Arab Gulf War against Iran, and perhaps Turkey.

The erosion of the two-state solution

Second - the normalization of relations between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel without a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority increases the erosion of the prospects for a two-state solution.

Broad Arab recognition of Israel, and prospects for cooperation and business partnerships, was one of the few remaining incentives for Israel to make territorial concessions to vulnerable Palestinians.

This was the idea behind the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which promised Israel full normalization and acceptance in the region in exchange for a full withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967.

Now that window is closed, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters can convincingly claim that Israel does not need to make regional concessions in order to win recognition from Arab countries.

The clear result is more Israeli support and "tolerance" for the status quo, which is nothing but a continuous slide down the problematic apartheid path.

Third,

Palestinians ’deep sense of betrayal is expected to increase their" radicalization ", and this is likely to exacerbate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The less liberal people among the Palestinians will be sure that they believe that "armed resistance" is the only way forward.

Finally, the normalization of relations with Israel will widen the gap between the Arab rulers and their peoples.

Arab public opinion has always been hostile to Israel, and Arab regimes often feed this hostility to divert attention from their failures, but when these regimes felt the need to recognize Israel, they were bound by the hostility that they ignited among their peoples.