Disclaimer: the actions of a state do not always reflect its citizens’ values. This article absolutely does NOT condone any anti-Semitic content, nor does it reflect the actions of the common Israeli.
For the sake of (failed) diplomacy and out of respect for my Israeli peers, I’ve always deflected the Israeli-Palestine issue and used the garb of political correctness to remain apathetic and uninformed about what is one of the greatest atrocities of the 20th and 21st centuries. However, just because an issue has been hyper-normalised by Western media outlets or brushed under the rug, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT DOES NOT EXIST or that it’s acceptable under any circumstances.
This month, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel signed a declaration called the Abraham Accords (let’s save the details about the name of the treaty being a misnomer for later…) with the foreign ministers of the UAE and Bahrain. According to The New York Times, Trump decreed this the making “of a new Middle East”. The agreement entailed new political and economic ties that would mark a dynamic with Israel unseen in the Middle East ever since 1994, when Jordan and Israel established diplomatic relations. The Abraham Accords will now enable tourism between the three countries involved and will encourage the exchange of trade, technology, and energy.
Moreover, the agreement is another proverbial nail in Iran’s coffin, increasing friction between the Sunni Muslims of the Gulf and the Shia Muslims of Iran (alas, a conflict for another article. Lesley Hazleton’s After the Prophet is a fantastic read for anyone interested in learning more about the epic Sunni-Shia split). Isolating Iran has been a long withstanding goal of the Trump administration, which has been using Saudi Arabia to engage in a proxy war with the former oil-rich nation.
While Trump has advocated for Saudi Arabia’s absolution of Israel, King Salman has remained adamantly against this. Although, it has been reported by The Economist that his son, who is less captivated by the Arab sovereignty, could crumble under the pressure when King Salman passes away. It seems then that Trump’s goal is to lead the rest of the Gulf states to follow suit, suggesting that this is only the beginning for Israel’s footing in the Arab world.
Back to the Gulf – while the UAE and Bahrain called for “a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict”, what the agreement very conveniently failed to highlight was:
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Israel’s illegal annexation of the Palestinian territory thus far
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The destruction of Palestinian historical artefacts and relics
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Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations urge for peace in the region or the sovereignty of Palestine and have been ignored for decades.
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Discrimination and apartheid culture
Poignantly enough, the brief list I’ve compiled doesn’t even cover half of it. Now, as for the most recent and pertinent event that has occurred during this struggle: Israel agreed to stop the Annexation under the Abrahamic Accords (not to return all of the land already seized but to stop taking over the remaining minor percentage of the West Bank that has been left unscathed) and then dropped bombs on Palestine, with an Israeli soldier outright murdering an infant.
For all of the Twitter propagandists branding this treaty as a step towards peace in the region, who are you even kidding? These agreements have practically condoned the actions of Israel so far and people are applauding President Trump and actually nominating him for a Nobel Peace Prize. Two – not one – but two right-wing Scandinavian leaders, Tybring-Gjedde of Norway and Magnus Jacobsson of Sweden, deem Trump worthy of the world’s most eminent humanitarian prize after his “peace treaties” led to bombings and the launching of twelve rockets.
It is our obligation to do our research and due diligence. Please do not remain neutral in this situation of injustice or fall for the peace charade. From a Palestinian (and humanitarian perspective), the Gulf’s normalisation treaties are only enabling further chaos, bloodshed, and negating decades of annexation and mass murder.