The UAE deal with Israel under which it gets F-35s from the US may set off bids from other Arab countries for U.S. favor. “Each one has their own pet project, what they would get for normalizing,” says Nimrod Novik. Morocco wants its occupation of Western Sahara accepted. Sudan wants off the U.S. terror list.
The first commercial Israeli flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi took off Monday morning, signifying the latest step in Israeli-UAE normalization efforts. Jared Kushner said the flight meant, “peace and prosperity are possible in this region,” but for Palestinians, it signified the opposite. Instead, it serves as a reminder of the “betrayal” of their cause by the UAE, and their painful history since the Nakba.
The Israel-UAE deal stems from the colossal failure of Trump-Netanyahu’s “Peace plan.” They could not get annexation off the ground. Annexation actually brought on the possibility of sanctions from Europe, and global isolation, and Israel found an exit ramp from the failed plan by dragging a quiet Arab partner into the light, Sam Bahour says.
The Israel-UAE deal is an exchange of veils. Israel’s Apartheid is veiled again, in return for the veil on UAE Israeli cooperation being removed. And the UAE sells out its commitment to Palestinian freedom.
Jared Kushner got a diplomatic coup today. But Israel remains committed to annexation of the West Bank, the Israeli press is reporting, notwithstanding the historic deal between the UAE and Israel to normalize relations.
The new complaint, filed on behalf of four Palestinians from the West Bank, names President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who was placed in charge of brokering the deal despite having no experience in foreign policy or the Middle East.
Trump administration divide over Israeli annexation, between Jared Kushner and David Friedman, will be resolved in “symbolic” acceptance of annexation, first step being Ma’ale Adumim and Gush Etzion bloc, predicts former Israeli ambassador Danny Ayalon.
Dennis Ross says Netanyahu is deluded about Joe Biden’s potential support for annexation. “[Netanyahu’s] view of the gains unfortunately is not very real. You only establish an international baseline if in fact everyone is prepared to adjust to it. Now maybe if Trump has a second term, there is more of an impulse to adjust to it. But if Trump doesn’t have a second term, no one else internationally of any meaning is going to recognize this new baseline. And if Joe Biden comes in and says, ‘I was opposed to it, I still believe in the two-state outcome, I want negotiations, I saw what Trump did was antithetical to achieving that, so we’re not recognizing that as a baseline…”
Israel is about to jeopardize its support in the Democratic Party by annexing parts of West Bank, but Netanyahu is going ahead evidently with Trump’s blessing. And a fire set by the Israeli military in Jordan Valley last week shows the plan to confiscate more Palestinian land, says journalist Alex Fishman of Ynet on call with Israel Policy Forum.
The American Jewish Committee is indicating that it will do nothing to criticize Israeli annexation. Its ceo, David Harris, won’t even call it annexation, but “extension of Israeli sovereign law.”