24 | AUGUST 27 • 2020 

T

he Abraham Accord between Israel 
and the UAE brought many of us 
a much-needed sigh of relief. The 
pressures for unilateral annexation of parts 
of the West Bank, which 
seemed imminent and would 
have been extremely costly 
— to moving toward a two-
state solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, to Israel’
s 
own self-understanding as 
a democracy and to Israel’
s 
standing internationally — 
have been averted for now. 
It should be clearly stated that Israel 
deserves diplomatic recognition by other 
states; it should not be one of the only states 
in the world upon whom conditions are set 
for normal relations. All the Arab states in 
the region refused to recognize Israel upon 
its establishment, even before its post-1967 
occupation of the West Bank. Meanwhile, 
other states with disputed or occupied 
territory and who refuse independence to 
ethnic populations are not similarly ostra-
cized: Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran refuse 
independence to Kurds; Morocco occupies 
Western Sahara; Turkey occupies northern 
Cyprus and settles Turkish citizens there. 
There should be no double standard when 
it comes to Israel. 

Having said that, the recognition of Israel 
by the UAE is praiseworthy on several 
fronts. It solidifies the growing relations 
between Israel and several Gulf states over 
the past decade, partially motivated by a 
common interest in balancing Iran. Security 
and intelligence relations began between 
the Mossad with their counterparts in the 
1970s. Relations strengthened after the Oslo 
Accords and came into public view in the 
past few years. 
For instance, the Israeli anthem, 
“Hatikvah”
, was played when an Israeli 
won the gold medal at Abu Dhabi’
s inter-
national judo championship in 2018. The 
Bahrain National Orchestra played the 
Israeli national anthem at an interfaith gath-
ering in 2017 at the Wiesenthal Center in 
Los Angeles. King Hamad of Bahrain also 
denounced the Arab boycott of Israel and 
said his subjects were free to visit Israel. In 
this way, official recognition by the UAE is 
the culmination of a process growing over 
several years in the region.
While there is reason to be pleased 
and relieved by the Abraham Accords, 
it is also wise to curb one’
s enthusiasm. 
While it is possible that other countries 
such as Bahrain or Sudan may follow suit, 
most countries in the region will not until 
Israel reaches a peace agreement with the 

Palestinians. 
The Saudis and the Moroccan prime 
minister have reiterated that their normal-
ization with Israel will depend on such an 
agreement. The main internationally recog-
nized paradigm for normalization, ratified 
repeatedly by the Arab League, is the Saudi 
2002 land-for-peace plan. The 2013 version 
was based on 1967 borders with swaps.
Therefore, the Abraham Accord is not a 
substitute for the land for peace deal with 
the Palestinians. The Accord itself, while 
motivated by the UAE’
s desire for scientific 
and economic cooperation with Israel and 
to balance Iran, was also partially intended 
to leave the door to a two-state solution 
open by averting unilateral annexation. This 
is not a “peace-for-peace” deal; it is condi-
tioned on no annexation of land. 
The UAE views its support of a two-state 
solution as not only ultimately supporting 
Palestinian statehood, but also weaken-
ing Iran and its bloc, including Hamas, 
which is also supported by the UAE’
s rival 
Qatar. The UAE has heavily supported 
Mohammad Dhalan of Fatah’
s Democratic 
Reform Bloc, some of whose members 
were expelled from the West Bank in 2011. 
Dhalan is an adviser to UAE Crown Prince 
Mohammed bin Zayed and rumored by 
some Fatah leaders to have sanctioned the 

Eretz
analysis

Yael Aronoff

YOSSI ALONI/FLASH90/JTA

The Abraham
Accord Between
Israel and the UAE: 
Curb Your
Enthusiasm

Israeli Prime Minister 
Benjamin Netanyahu at 
a military base in Ramla, 
Israel, Aug. 4, 2020.

