On Monday, the Israeli foreign minister, the American secretary of state, and the foreign ministers of Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates held a summit hosted by Israel in Kibbutz Sde Boker. While full reports of what was discussed are still forthcoming, the fact that this was the first time representatives from the Arab countries who signed on to the Abraham Accords have sat at one table to discuss their shared concerns suggests that the promise of the Accords as the way forward in the Middle East is on its way to becoming a reality. As the New York Times headlined one of its stories on the meeting “Israel Summit Shows Ties With Arabs Moving From Ceremony To Substance.”
And also, according to The Times, the summit highlighted a major realignment of Middle Eastern alliances, driven by shared fears of a nuclear Iran; mutual concerns about the United States’ receding presence in the Middle East; a desire for better economic, military, and business ties; and a dwindling commitment to Palestinian statehood by some Arab leaders.
It is gratifying to see that there is apparently a range of significant issues of mutual concern and the political will to address them collectively. We take this as a sign that much of the Arab world and perhaps even the Biden Administration is ready to cut loose the Palestinian albatross and get on with pursuing their national interests. Indeed, while American officials still publicly affirm fealty to Palestinian statehood, Israel was pressed on the Palestinian issue and Saudi Arabia has said that the issue stands in the way of Saudi Arabia joining the Accords, the summit took place in a cooperative spirit, with no reported deal breakers.
Surely, the Arab move towards rapprochement with Israel is driven by a clear-eyed calculation of national self-interest vis a vis Iran and the need to build real economies and wean themselves off their current reliance on oil. Israel is a natural resource for them.
For the United States, the summit couldn’t have come at a better time. The uncertainties of our future relationship with Russia means that a strong, U.S.-friendly bloc in the Middle East, anchored by its closest ally, is now more important than ever.
And for Israel, of course, the Abraham Accords has tectonic potential.
So we look forward with great anticipation to the full details of what happened at Sde Boker.
