Israel and the Abraham Accords: A Futile Political Maneuver or a Meaningful Step Toward a Peaceful Middle East

Abstract

AbstractThe recent rapprochement between Israel and four Arab countries in the periphery of the Middle East (the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco) was achieved through US mediation and formalized in what became known as the Abraham Accords signed on 15 September 2020 and was celebrated by many as a major breakthrough which opened new horizons and ushered in a new era of peaceful coexistence. While it is still too early to assess the impact of the Abraham Accords on the future of the Middle East, a close look at the reasons which led to their signing by the leaders involved reveals major shortcomings that should cause the observer to be less sanguine about their impact. This essay argues that the Abraham Accords were reached with countries that play no more than a marginal role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. None of the countries that signed them share a common border with Israel, and none of them ever fought against it. Furthermore, it demonstrates that except for the UAE, there is little that Israel can benefit from the other three Arab countries which signed the accords. And most of all, the leaders were motivated by factors that have little to do with a desire for peace or a lofty vision of prosperity in the Middle East. On the contrary, all the participants, without exception, were motivated by reasons that had to do with their political struggle for survival or the need to escape from a peculiar predicament that had adversely affected their popularity and prospects of staying as leaders. And lastly, the essay shows that the Abraham Accords were reached by the mediation of the then US President Donald Trump, who, like his predecessor Bill Clinton, had attempted to bring Israelis and Arabs to the negotiations table at the end of his incumbency, and with little effort to mobilize Arab public opinion to embrace the accords.KeywordsBahrainIran nuclear controversyMiddle East Peace ProcessMoroccoNormalizationPresident Donald TrumpSudanTrump Peace PlanUAE