Context
The Abraham Accords was signed by the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, under U.S. President Donald Trump’s mediation.
Significance of the agreement
- This accord clearly marks a new beginning in the relations between the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdoms and the Jewish state.
- It is the first between Israel and Arab countries since the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace treaty.
- Under the agreement, the UAE and Bahrain would normalise ties with Israel.
- This will herald better economic, political and security engagement.
US mediation
- The accords offer a rare diplomatic win to Mr. Trump, whose other foreign policy bets were either disastrous or stagnant.
- He has called the agreements “the new dawn of a new Middle East”.
Impact on West Asia’s conflicts
- The Abraham Accords have historical and geopolitical significance.
- But, it is too early to say whether the accords will have any significant impact on West Asia’s conflicts.
- Egypt and Jordan have signed peace treaties with Israel in 1979 and 1994, respectively.
- But, the Gulf countries are not frontline states in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
- They had established backroom contacts with Israel years ago; what is happening now is their normalisation.
Palestinian question
- The agreements leave the Palestinian question largely unaddressed.
- Arab countries are signing diplomatic agreements with Israel bilaterally.
- Due to this, the Arab collective support for the Palestinian movement for nationhood is crumbling.
- But it does not mean that the Palestinian question would fade away.
- The vacuum left by the retreat of the Arab powers from the Israel-Palestine conflict is being filled by the non-Arab Muslim powers.
- These non-Arab Muslim powers include Iran, Turkey and their allies.
- The geopolitical sands may be shifting but the core issue concerning Israel is unresolved.