What Will Israel Pay For Normalization With The UAE?

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Right-wing elements in Israel are concerned that Israel has been forced to postpone its annexation plans in Judea and Samaria in return for normalizing ties with the United Arab Emirates. A senior Israeli official claimed that “Israel remains committed to annexing parts of the West Bank” adding that “The Trump administration asked to temporarily suspend the announcement [of applying sovereignty] in order to first implement the historic peace agreement with the UAE.”

However in the official statement released by the US and tweeted by President Trump, it states that as “a result of this diplomatic breakthrough, Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas of the West Bank that were envisioned in the U.S. Vision of Peace ‘and focus its efforts on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.'” The implication is that Israel will work for the time being on strengthening relations with other Muslim countries and put its annexation plans on the backburner.

Joint Statement of the United States, the State of Israel, and the United Arab Emirates pic.twitter.com/oVyjLxf0jd

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2020

The UAE’s statement (as seen in a tweet by Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed) states clearly that the agreement is in return for Israel’s stopping the annexation plans:

During a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories. The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship.

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) August 13, 2020

Dennis Ross, former broker between Israel and the Arab nations, noted this subtle difference, stating that “The UAE made it clear that it meant what it said about the choice for Israel: it could have normalization or annexation but not both. Normalization crosses a threshold. Palestinians won’t like it but the UAE prevented annexation and preserved 2 states as an outcome. Important.”

The window of opportunity for Israel’s annexation plans may be closing fast. If President Trump is reelected Israel can continue to foster its relations with moderate Arab countries while preparing at the same time to annex parts of Judea and Samaria. However if a new president less conciliatory to Israel’s expansionist goals will be elected, the pressure may tell on the Israeli government and it may choose to defer its sovereignty plans in favor of implementing economically lucrative and groundbreaking agreements with the Arab countries rather than getting into a renewed conflict with the US, with indigenous Arabs and with the new friendships being forged in other Arab countries.

Yamina leader Naftali Bennett praised the normalization, saying “relations between the countries are no longer held hostage by Palestinian recalcitrance,” . However he slammed Netanyahu for suspending sovereignty plans.

“It’s unfortunate that Netanyahu gave up a once-in-a-century chance to apply sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, Maaleh Adumim, Bet El and the rest of Israeli settlements,” he said. “It is tragic that Netanyahu did not seize the moment and didn’t have the courage to apply sovereignty to a centimeter of the Land of Israel, but sovereignty over the parts of our homeland will come from somewhere else.”