Gulf states warm to Israel, see possibility of Palestinian peace deal

A Middle East analyst close to the White House tells Fox News about the report, “the president has been clear that he wants to see peace and integration between Israel and its Arab neighbors, not least of all so they can cooperate against the threat posed by Iran. This is a welcome step in that direction. It makes many requests of the Israelis and the White House knows the Israelis can’t meet all of them, and the President won’t pressure them to. But these sorts of initiatives are the sorts of deals the President wants to see from regional players.”

Fox News May 16, 2017

Gulf states that long opposed Israel’s every move are proposing a rapprochemont in the hopes of restarting the Palestinian peace process.

The development comes just days ahead of historic meetings between President Trump and Middle Eastern leaders. It consists of a draft proposal reportedly offered up by Sunni Muslim Gulf states and offers closer economic and diplomatic ties with Israel in exchange for significant moves in restarting the Palestinian peace process.

The plan, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is outlined in a draft document circulated by the Gulf states, the mostly Sunni Muslim countries that line the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

It could significantly alter the Middle Eastern diplomatic and economic landscape if embraced by the various parties. The proposal would allow Israeli planes to fly through Gulf state airspace and enable direct communications with the Jewish state, both of which today are limited by the long-running hostility in the region. In exchange, the Gulf states reportedly call on Israel to stop building settlements in the West Bank and ease trade restrictions in the Gaza Strip.

The Journal quoted a “senior Arab official” said to be involved in the discussions, who said, “We no longer see Israel as an enemy, but a potential opportunity.”

The report states that the Arab proposal is aimed in part at aligning them with President Trump, who has expressed a willingness to work with them on pushing the various sides toward a new Middle East peace deal. The Journal says that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among the countries who have told the U.S. and Israel they are willing to open their airspace and allow direct communications, in exchange for the Israeli concessions with the Palestinians.

A Middle East analyst close to the White House tells Fox News about the report, “the president has been clear that he wants to see peace and integration between Israel and its Arab neighbors, not least of all so they can cooperate against the threat posed by Iran. This is a welcome step in that direction. It makes many requests of the Israelis and the White House knows the Israelis can’t meet all of them, and the President won’t pressure them to. But these sorts of initiatives are the sorts of deals the President wants to see from regional players.”

Israel has not yet officially commented on the proposal. And while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed calls to curtail settlement building, in March he said that Iran’s threat to its Gulf State neighbors opens the possibility of closer ties with Arab countries beyond Egypt and Jordan, with which Israel has peace agreements.

He talked about “nurturing these interests” by normalizing ties with countries in the region and “opening new diplomatic streams between us and the Palestinians.”

President Trump met with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi, part of the UAE, on Monday in Washington.  After arriving in Saudi Arabia on Friday, he is expected to attend an “Arab, Islamic and American Conference” on Sunday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and over a dozen heads of state from Arab and Islamic nations including Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Pakistan and the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Then, on Monday, Trump is expected to travel to Jerusalem for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

May 18, 2017 | 4 Comments »

Leave a Reply

4 Comments / 4 Comments

  1. A lot of arm twisting will be required!!!yamit82 Said:

    isn’t much we can sell them except weapons ( even here there would be strict limits)

    I disagree: water tech, agriculture and many other tech!
    However only if true and honest peace is achieved and practiced. No cold peace like with Egypt, & Jordan.

  3. There is nothing in this for Israel!

    1- No Arab State can be depended on long term.

    2- Israel can manage without overflight approval by Gulf States

    3- Israel is not going to attack Iran… Lost that opportunity a long time ago.

    4- Arabs don’t need peace with Israel and there isn’t much we can sell them except weapons ( even here there would be strict limits)

    5- All depends on Israel paying for quasi peace with those temporary States with major concessions with the Palis.

    6- Trump is going to turn out worse for Israel than was Obama. How? Trump is using carrot and stick approach with Israel but it’s a phony carrot and is not the main Trump objective.. Money is main objective… Investment in American infrastructure ($40 billion) and Massive arms procurement by primarily the Saudis but gulf states as well, totaling well over $300 billion withing ten years.

    Trump and the Gulf allies will launch a centre for countering extremism that will aim to fight the long-term ideological battle to counter extremism and promote moderate Islam, the official said.

    Critics of the Saudi kingdom say the government does not do enough to prevent the teachings of some of its ultra-conservative clergy from fanning militancy overseas as well as a domestic security threat at home. The senior clergy have denounced militant Islamic doctrines, such as those of al Qaeda or Islamic State, but still preach intolerant views.

    An effort is being made to get the states to agree to outlaw funding for extremist organizations, the official said.

    More BS duplicity by the Saudis and Qatar still major supporter of Islamic terrorism and Wahhabi Islam around the world especially in the West. They are not going to stop as it would endanger their own regimes.

    They are calling this Trumps NATO plan for ME.. These countries are rivals and even hate each other… They couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag and do not have the technical expertise to maintain the sophisticated stuff they have and will now be ordering.

    Trump is willing to sell the the THAAD anti-missile system and allow the Saudis to co produce missiles and other armaments…. Jared Kushner said to be behind this deal…

    This is very bad for Israel because it tilts strategic parity strongly in favor of the Arabs… Israel alone can’t maintain any parity no less advantage in such a huge disparity. Israel spends in direct procurement less than $10 billion per year. In Time of war all American supplied Saudi weapons and systems can be made available to Egypt, who use the same weapons and platforms.

    Trump needs to use Israeli agreement to ensure congress signs off on these deals.

    TRUMP CANNOT BE TRUSTED!! U.S. extends sanctions relief under Iran nuclear deal

    Trump continued predecessor President Barack Obama’s pact under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

    While Trump criticized the nuclear agreement as a presidential candidate – at one point saying he would “dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran” – Wednesday’s actions demonstrated that he has decided, at least for now, to keep it.

    “The United States continues to waive sanctions as required to continue implementing U.S. sanctions-lifting commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the State Department said in a statement, referring to the deal by its formal name.