More Arab-Israeli Harmony – WSJ

Perhaps now some will rethink their model of how power works. The Trump Administration and Mr. Kushner may not have brought peace to the Middle East, but they ve taken a huge step toward it by putting much of the Arab world on the path to recognizing Israel. In August the White House announced that the United Arab Emirates would normalize its relations with the Jewish state, and on Friday it announced Bahrain would do so too.

On Tuesday representatives from the three countries will gather in Washington. The Arab League this week refused the Palestinian request to denounce the Israel-U.A.E. agreement, and Israelis have started booking flights from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

These agreements fly in the face of a decades-long diplomatic consensus that Israel could only be welcomed in its neighborhood if it conceded to Palestinian demands. Yet Israel is winning recognition not because of political concessions but because of its regional economic and military strength. The U.A.E. insisted Israel forswear annexation of the Palestinian territories, but the main draw of normalization is economic development and shared opposition to Iranian imperialism.

via www.wsj.com