Israel’s violent escalation in Gaza creates diplomatic headaches for Gulf states that embraced new ties
- Less than a year after signing normalisation agreements with Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco have been forced to change course
- Abraham Accords were signed at the behest of former US president Donald Trump, who hailed the ‘dawn of a new Middle East’
“These statements are largely intended as a public relations exercise towards a domestic and regional Arab audience that continues to overwhelmingly support the Palestinians,” said Elham Fakhro, an analyst at the Crisis Group think tank.
The Abraham Accords swept away decades of consensus and were condemned as “treason” by Palestinian leaders who feared they undercut their demands for a homeland.
They were struck at the urging of then US president Donald Trump, who hailed the “dawn of a new Middle East” as his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner dismissed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a mere “real estate dispute”. It has now come roaring back into the headlines.
“The Abraham Accords were never intended to address the conditions of military occupation and land dispossession facing the Palestinians,” Fakhro said.