Jaber Mohamed Al Shuaibi, Emirati Researcher in Geopolitical Issues
02 September 2020
Day after day, the United Arab Emirates demonstrates its uniqueness and leadership. Transparency and prominence of the UAE’s positions are the key components of the UAE’s march in moving forward towards better future in a region that is overwhelmed by unrest, where stability has become an exception. The UAE’s strategic decision to annul Israel Boycott Law, after the UAE-Israel peace treaty was announced and after receiving the Israeli and American delegations in the UAE, reflects the leading position of the State that is similar to its leading positions at the Arab level through building peaceful nuclear energy plant and launching “Hope Probe” to Mars. The gradual restoration of ties with Israel after 70 years of the Arab-Israeli conflict, starting with hosting Israel in the permanent headquarter of the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi and the Special Olympic World Games tournament in 2019, as well as welcoming Israel’s participation in Expo Dubai 202, represents the realization of a vision after years for making peace. This was reflected positively on ceasing the annexation of the west bank territories to Israel and providing opportunity for dialogue and diplomacy between the conflicting parties, without prejudice to the Palestinians’ rights or having adverse effect on the Arab interests in the light of the continuous Arab’s rejection to the inevitable existence of Israel in the region.
The peace treaty with Israel definitely came after prudent assessment of the geopolitical conditions in the region in the light of the emergence of regional powers in this multi-polar world. The re-definition of opportunities and threats and the differentiation between friends and enemies are the proper and sound adaptation of the countries, which are capable of setting their strategies within the regional sphere that is represented in accepting religious pluralism. In this regard, we mention as an example Pope Francis’s visit to the State in 2019 that was officially welcomed. This, in turn, sent significant message to the ones promoting the extreme or terrorist ideologies emphasizing the inevitable necessity for joint human coexistence.
The UAE sees the peace treaty as a distinct opportunity that came in a timely manner to serve the Palestinian interests, based on the increasing, pivotal role of the UAE in supporting the Palestinian brothers since the establishment of the State by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may Allah rest his soul. Moreover, the UAE-Israel ties provide more effective negotiation leverage to end the stalemate in the Arab position on the Palestinian issue. This is because the insistence on rejection to any negotiations or agreement with Israel by those exploiting the Palestinian issue for their own interests leads to worsen the situation and cause bigger losses to Palestine and the loss of more Palestinian territories as well, since settlement imposes new demographic facts in favor of Israel. Finally, the coming days will demonstrate that Palestinian issue is one of the permanent priorities of the UAE’s foreign policies. The UAE has an integrated, special vision towards the future of the two-state solution on permanent basis, in order to achieve peace, security and sustainable development across the Arab World. Therefore, the UAE’s credibility and courage will revive the Palestinian issue through the State’s role as a moderate Arab and regional pole forging the future of the region based on the action not the reaction.
