The View from Israel: Abraham Accord Agreements

Taken from a purely Israeli perspective, it is hard to find fault with the recent agreements signed between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Offering boundless opportunities for technology, health, security, tourism and economic bilateral deals, the fruits to be reaped by both parties are open for the picking (well, apart from F35s). Not to mention the emotional regional security it provides to Israel and equally so, the bolstering of the anti-Iranian alliance it offers to the Sunni Gulf States. With it, de jure annexation of the West Bank has been immediately suspended, and removed from the agenda.

In a recent poll conducted by Channel 12, an unprecedented 77% of Israeli respondents expressed support for the UAE agreement, whilst a mere 17% said they preferred the annexation path instead. These figures are telling of the Israeli consensus view on recent developments, indicating a strong understanding that bilateralism, rather than dangerous unilateralism, is the only path to unlocking regional harmony. For years, “making peace with the Arabs” seemed a distant and remote prospect for Israelis, crystallized by the brokering of the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002 (which said that the 57 Arab and Muslim states will only establish “full diplomatic relations” with Israel, in exchange for a “comprehensive peace agreement” with the Palestinians).

Therein lies the issue for many on the left of the Israeli political spectrum, who share the Palestinians’ uneasiness, that the recent developments have upended the consensus Arab view on the conflict and have created a false illusion that “peace for peace” is possible in all contexts. In essence, implying that Israel need not pay a huge price for its much-coveted peace deals, and that even if the occupation continues (and de facto annexation endures) the agreements will still proceed. Acknowledging these very legitimate concerns, there is also expectant hope that the shifting regional dynamics can be leveraged as a bridge to revive a political process between Israelis and Palestinians if partnered with smart diplomacy.

Photo credit: Txalapartari, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Further signs of rapprochement between Israel and its neighbours

There is continuing evidence of a thawing of relations between Israel and the Gulf states and other countries in the region. Jordan and Israel have recently reached an agreement over allowing flights over both countries’ airspaces, and it is reported that Sudan is also seeking to open dialogue with Israel. In a particularly symbolic recent move, the foreign ministers of Israel and the United Arab Emirates made a joint visit to the Holocaust Memorial in central Berlin earlier this month following September’s US-brokered deal to normalise relations between the two countries.  Israel and Bahrain also look set to resume diplomatic relations.

The effects of Covid-19 on children’s schooling in Israel and Palestine

Children in Gaza have been particularly seriously affected by the devastating virus. Electricity shortages and internet disruption make any form of remote learning a challenge.  Although schools reopened briefly at the end of the summer, an outbreak in the strip has led to a further shutdown. Many children lack access to textbooks or modern computers and are trying to learn with the aid of only a mobile phone. One parent described to Aljazeera the challenges faced in getting homework to her children’s teachers.

“When my children get homework from their teachers on WhatsApp they write it on paper, I take photos for the answer and then I send to the teacher over WhatsApp to get their evaluation and feedback”

In the West Bank two schools in the Nour Shams refugee camp had to close earlier this month following an outbreak. In Israel schools remain closed following a second lockdown although kindergartens and nursery schools will soon reopen. The children won’t be required to wear masks but will have to bring in a form each day to certify that they are healthy.

Coexistence beacon Neve Shalom under attack

Last month this peaceful community where Jews and Arab-Palestinians live together in harmony was hit by alleged arson attacks.  Two fires broke out in the community’s school last month, burning down the main building of the School for Peace. The town is located near Latrun, which lies between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and it is ‘dedicated to building justice, peace and equality in the country and the region.’

“In a place where books are burned, people will also be burned. Whoever burns a school and library is a terrorist who won’t hesitate to burn a family as well,” tweeted MK Ofer Cassif, the only Jewish MK in the Joint List of Arab parties. “When the prime minster himself incites against Arabs and the left, the ‘Bibistim’ [slang term used to refer to ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu supporters] will go and burn the society as a whole.”

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Talks between Israel and Lebanon over maritime dispute

It has been 30 years since talks have been held between Israel and Lebanon but recently the UN hosted discussions near the border between the two countries in order to try to resolve a long running dispute over territorial waters where there may undersea natural gas reserves. There are no formal diplomatic relations between Israel and Lebanon, and both sides had been playing down the significance of these talks although US secretary of state Mike Pompeo pronounced them ‘historic’.