When the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco announced that they would establish relations with Israel in 2020, officials from the UAE said the deals were symbols of peace and tolerance, while then US President Donald Trump proclaimed "the dawn of a new Middle East".
Those words seemed empty to many in the region. Even in the countries that signed the agreements, called the Abraham Accords, support for the Palestinians and hostility toward Israel over the decades-long occupation of the country remained strong, especially after and after the Israeli government expanded settlements in the Palestinian West Bank.
On Saturday, when Palestinian attackers from Gaza stormed into Israel in the most daring attack in decades, it led to an outpouring of support for Palestinians across the region. In some parts, there was celebration despite the fact that hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians were killed, and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that a "long and difficult war" was ahead.
"This is the first time we are rejoicing like this for our Palestinian brothers," said 70-year-old Abdul Majid Abdullah Hasan, who joined a gathering of hundreds of people in Bahrain. In the context of the Israeli occupation and blockade, the Hamas operation "warmed our hearts", he said, adding that the government's agreement on the recognition of Israel was "shameful".
Demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinians were held across the region, including in Bahrain, Morocco, Turkey, Yemen, Tunisia and Kuwait. In Lebanon, the head of Hezbollah's council praised the "era of armed resistance" while in Alexandria, Egypt, a policeman opened fire on Israeli tourists, killing two Israelis and an Egyptian.
The echoes emanating from Gaza underscore what many officials, academics and citizens in the region have been saying for years: The Palestinian cause remains a deep-rooted rallying cry that shapes the contours of the Middle East, and Israel's position in the region will remain unstable as long as its conflict continues. with the Palestinians.
Agreements on diplomatic "normalization" between Israel and Arab governments, even with the powerful Saudi Arabia, will not change much, according to regional analysts.
"The current war is a harsh reminder that lasting peace and prosperity in the region is possible only after the conflict between Israel and Palestine is resolved," said Bader al Saif, a professor at the University of Kuwait. This, in his opinion, is a fact that nothing can erase.
The idea that you can parachute over Palestine, deal with the Arabs and come back, just doesn't work
Many Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, have long insisted that the price of recognizing Israel must be the creation of a Palestinian state. However, over the past decade, the calculus has changed as authoritarian leaders balance negative public opinion toward the relationship with Israel against the economic and security benefits it could bring, and what they could get in return from the US.
The Biden administration is pushing for a deal to establish relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia in exchange for significant concessions to the kingdom. Saudi officials are demanding US security guarantees and support for the civilian nuclear program.
King Abdullah II of Jordan said at a conference in New York last month: "The idea that you can parachute over Palestine, negotiate with the Arabs and come back, simply does not work."
Indeed, some Arab officials and academics claim that no one has listened to their warnings about normalization deals that do not seriously address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After the new events in Gaza, it's as if you hear the Arabs saying to the American president, "we told you so," the distinguished Saudi academician Khalid al-Dahil posted on the X social network. "Ignoring what is right in seeking a just solution for the Palestinian cause creates a trap for the region and poses a threat to peace," he stated.
US officials argue that normalization is a key step towards a more integrated Middle East, with positive consequences for regional security and US defense interests. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on CBS on Saturday: "We have said from the beginning that even as we work towards normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia it cannot be a substitute for resolving the differences between the Israelis and the Palestinians."
However, many in the region argue that normalization acts as a betrayal: a triumph of government and business elites over the will of the people.
The Palestinian cause is "something we grew up with and it has become a compass that shows what is right and just," said Rim Maraj, 34, who took part in a symposium in Bahrain on Saturday to discuss the outcome of the Abraham Accords.
"If I could, I would erase that agreement from the history of my country," she said.
Surveys show that even in Arab countries that have relations with Israel, the majority of citizens view the Abraham Accords negatively. "We fully support the right of the Palestinians to liberate their land," said Hassan Benadzeh, one of the organizers of the protest in Morocco. "We are asking for an end to normalization because it does not reflect the opinion of Moroccans".
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar issued a statement in which it states that it considers Israel "solely responsible for the current escalation due to the continuous violation of the rights of the Palestinian people".
The Iranian government welcomed the attack on Israel, while a spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that his country "has been warning for months about the danger of provocative actions" by Israel.
"The current occupation and dehumanization of the Palestinians has been fully exposed for decades and has shaped the way Arabs view the conflict," said Al Saif. "Palestine is the priority of the Arab streets".
However, Abdulhalek Abdullah, a political scientist from the UAE, predicts that a deal between Saudi Arabia, the US and Israel is likely to materialize.
"I would bet on that," he said. "If the Americans offer the right price, I think the Saudis will put the national interest as the highest priority."
On Sunday, a hint of that thesis appeared in the major Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. The former editor of the newspaper, Tariq Alhomadjid, criticized Hamas and the Palestinian factions in a column for what he called a "useless war".
He accused them of trying to sabotage the possibility of Saudi-Israeli normalization, and of serving Iranian mentors at the expense of the Palestinian people.
"Iran does not want real peace, and especially not Saudi-Israeli peace," he wrote. "Because if it happens, it will be peace that will change the face of the region".
Prepared by: N. Bogetić
Bonus video:
