Some say that President Trump’s time in power is a good time for Arabs and Israelis to set aside their differences and make peace.
The peace that everyone knows is linked to the Palestinian and Israeli dispute over the occupied territories, the settlers in the occupied territories, the refugee issue and Jerusalem, which Palestinians regard as the capital of an independent Palestine.
Many American presidents assigned themselves the task of solving this long lagging issue in the Middle East but have been unsuccessful thus far.
It’s difficult because Israelis do not accept to return some key holding areas in Lebanon and Syria that are security concerns for them and return to the 1967 borders.
Not only these issues, but also an internal Palestinian conflict, namely that between the two major parties, Fatah and Hamas, has pushed back any possible talks with Israelis until some days ago.
In light of the recent union between Hamas and Fatah and the Palestinian Authority’s taking control of and opening the Rafah crossing in Gaza, the chance of the peace negotiations with Israel has increased.
Israelis are also showing an interest in working with the regional Arab powers on security matters and in unifying frontiers against Iranian influence or aggression in the region.
These days, foreign media is reporting many approaches that are proposed officially to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, but none of the Arab officials have reacted officially to the Israeli proposals.
The reason is simple and direct: As long as the Palestinian issue is not settled, none of the Arab countries want to enter an open and public conversation with Israel.
The most famous proposal of late King Abdullah, which was called Arab Peace Initiatives, has been proposed to Israelis leaders several times. Under this peace plan, which the majority of the Arab world agreed to by the endorsement of the Arab League, Israel was offered a full recognition and normalizing relations with the Arab countries if it accepted the proposal. The proposal required returning the occupied lands, return to 1967 borders, accept the return of the refugees, and accept the creation of Palestine as a state with Jerusalem as its capital.
It’s hard to say if during Netanyahu’s administration peace talks can start. But seeing as President Trump has appointed a special envoy for the peace talks, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Kushner’s shuttling efforts back and forth between Riyadh and Tel Aviv are all very promising signs especially with the peace granted between Fatah and Hamas.
But Prime Minister Netanyahu would be naive if he thinks he can ride on Arab disputes with the Iranians at the current time to normalize his ties with Arab leaders without solving the Palestinian issue.
The bottom line is that no matter how much the Arab world hates the Iranian regime’s regional policy, it understand that the dispute with Iran is a matter of government and the regime and is tactical. On the other hand, the issue with Israel is strategic. Israel entered massive wars and conflicts with Arabs that have not been forgotten and leaders of the Arab world would not have ties with Israel until they resolve the issues of Palestine first.
This article first published at CNN Arabic.
