Dynamics of normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab Gulf

Abstract

New relations between the Gulf States and Israel indicate an opportunity to strengthen their relations. Agreements were signed, visits were exchanged, and cooperation was conducted in various fields. These relations reflect the geopolitical changes in the region and its multiple challenges. This study seeks to analyze the effects of normalizing relations between Israel and the Arab Gulf states on the Palestinian issue, in addition to studying the extent of the impact of the Gulf War and the Iranian threat on the Arab peace talks, through the main axes of the study that discussed the Arab political systems and the influential factors that contributed to the normalization process. In this study, I followed the analytical description approach, as I studied Israeli-Gulf relations from the 1940s until the present, and analyzed the motives that contributed to Arab-Israeli normalization. The problem of the study is that Israel does not have a real desire to achieve peace, and that its signing of peace agreements with Arab countries are strategic steps to ensure its security and achieve its major ideological goals, such as “Greater Israel from the Euphrates to the Nile.” The study concluded that these agreements are fraught with risks for the Gulf States that have normalized relations with Israel, because they conflict with the will of the people whose opinion was not taken into account.