Since the signing of the peace agreement between the UAE and Israel on August 13, 2020, there has been a strong belief that peace, security and stability in the Middle East can only be achieved by thinking outside the box.
This is what the UAE has done as it set out to forge relations that stir the stagnant waters in Palestinian-Israeli conflict and pursue shared strategic advantages between the UAE and Israel. Any traditional diplomatic attempt to resume negotiations and break the deadlock in Palestinian-Israeli relations is at an impasse.
New thinking is needed to develop new convictions that will encourage and motivate the Israeli side to seek a final political solution to the chronic conflict with the Palestinian Arabs. This is exactly what the UAE did when it made its rational decision to establish relations with Israel at this particular moment. In this context, two important statements should be noted.
The first, an important statement by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, in which he stressed that former President Anwar Sadat’s decision to launch a peace initiative with Israel reflects his ability to go beyond the ’narratives’ of his time. It was a move that seemed unnatural to many. But he went beyond the concepts of his time and launched a peace initiative that proved to be a precedent.
Peace in our region is, as it often seems to me, subject to the “chicken or the egg” dilemma.
The UAE firmly believes in this forward-looking approach, based on accurate calculations and a strategic vision that is aware of the lessons of history and can create a roadmap that future generations will follow and reap.
The second statement was made by Israeli Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz.
“The fact that we prevented a unilateral annexation enabled the Abraham Accords to solidify and move ahead,” he said. “I am happy these peace agreements were signed and I am sure they will be broadened and drive change in the Middle East, because this is peace between peoples.”
This positive statement confirms that the bet on starting to work together for peace is worth it.
There are also other parties that are starting to think in the same direction, namely finding outside-the-box alternatives. One of them is FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who said, at the inauguration of the Friedman Center for Peace, that the signing of the Abraham Agreement could eventually lead to Israel co-hosting the World Cup with its Arab neighbors.
“Why can’t we dream of the World Cup in Israel and its neighbours? With the Abraham Accords, why should we not do it here in Israel with her neighbors in the Middle East and the Palestinians?”
These are just ideas that paint a positive picture of a better future for all in our region, without bias towards the Israeli side — the speaker here is in charge of an international sports federation, not an international organization concerned with the political conflict. at the inauguration of the Friedman Center for Peace. This has more to do with political marketing and public relations.
And this is no longer a luxury, but an important starting point for gaining sympathy and support at the level of states, governments and peoples. The FIFA president’s participation has angered the Palestinian Authority side, which immediately canceled a planned meeting between Gianni and the president of the Palestinian Football Federation, Jibril Rajoub, in Ramallah.
The Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry has criticized the event itself (the opening of a peace center), and its statement may have at least some merit, at least from its point of view. However, merit is lost when the response is irrational. In other words, advocacy for a just cause is done ineffectively or unconvincingly.
Sport is more than just a game, ever since pingpong diplomacy played an important role in breaking the ice between China and the US, paving the way for effective political dialogue in an experiment that later became a model for international relations.
It is true that there are fundamental differences between such situations of crisis and rupture on the one hand, and the nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the other. But creative thinking can provide a common ground from which all those seeking exits from the crisis can start. Peace in our region is, as it often seems to me, subject to the “chicken or the egg” dilemma.
The Palestinian Arab side hides behind an idée fixe that progress must be made in terms of establishing a Palestinian state first. Meanwhile, many Arabs and in the world find it attractive and effective to come out of the doldrums and skirt the reality through alternative paths.
In light of the repeated failures of traditional paths and the insistence on rejecting any alternative, the fate of the Palestinian Arabs remains subject to a one-sided vision that has proven to all to be no path to peace.
Dr. Salem AlKetbi is a UAE political analyst and former Federal National Council candidate
