CC, Baile Átha Cliath
The Middle East has seen a turbulent 2020. The year started with mass Iraqi protests that eventually saw the people lay siege to the US Embassy in Baghdad, the protestors chanting ‘death to America!’ and calls to end US involvement in Iraq. Tensions reached a new boiling point when the American government murdered Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran’s famed IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps). But if the illegal killing of Soleimani was not enough nor were the clear imperial ambitions of the US government in the region, we then saw coronavirus rip through the region. Then, the explosion in Lebanon which claimed so many lives and seems to promise more severe economic and political consequences.
During the increasing instability, the Western media has heralded the new normalisation of relations between the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Israel as the shining light in a sea of darkness. Brokered by the United States and under the umbrella of a larger foreign policy goal named ‘Peace to Prosperity’, the European Union has welcomed the development. Western media has described it as ‘historic’ with the American government claiming that it is a breakthrough towards peace. The Abraham Accords, the UAE has claimed are a ‘badly needed realism’ and prevent the further annexation of the West Bank which in turn allows peace talks to take place. However, the accords have seen widespread condemnation in the Muslim and Arab world. Palestinian leadership has described them as ‘betrayal of the Palestinian cause’. Iran condemned it as ‘stabbing the Palestinians in the back’ and Turkey now looks to cut diplomatic relations with the UAE.
One should be suspicious of the wealthy Gulf states and their claims of peace. In recent years the UAE and Saudi Arabia have used their extreme wealth generated by their natural resources to glutton themselves on lucrative arm contracts from the US and UK in particular. With their now modern armies both nations have donned the butcher’s apron and have turned Yemen into a slaughterhouse for their imperial ambitions. This has led to the greatest humanitarian crisis in the region with millions now facing starvation.
The Abraham Accords are neither historic nor meaningful, the UAE has never been committed to Palestine and for decades has fostered a relationship with Israel in secret. Covert dealings around intelligence and opening transport routes have been agreed for decades, which stemmed from a fear that Israel would reject American arm sales to the Gulf state. The deal also now sees both nations agree on investment on a wide array of economic sectors such as security and tourism.
Furthermore, the accords do not stop the further colonisation of Palestine by Israel. People should be skeptical that Benjamin Netanyahu, who in the past celebrated the “dramatic drop in the birth rate” within the “non-Jewish public” that resulted from his social security cuts when he took the role of finance minister in 2002 is planning to see through the annexation. He is promising to resume the annexation when the political climate becomes more suitable and coupled with the approval from America.
The Abraham Accords are a false idol, it has betrayed the Palestinian people who are fighting the diabolical systemic destruction of their nationhood and its words are hypocritical. It is written with hands that are drenched in the blood of Palestinians and Yemeni people who have been slaughtered in imperial conquest. The agreement only serves to consolidate the imperialist economies in the region and to provide a more advantageous position for further colonisation.
Sources:
- How the world reacted to UAE, Israel normalising diplomatic ties | Conflict News | Al Jazeera
- Israel and UAE strike historic deal to normalise relations – BBC News
- https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/22/world/state-department-uae-arms-sale-yemen-intl/index.html
- John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.