Ehud Yaari, the commentator on Arab affairs for Channel 12, spoke today (Sunday) with Erel Segal and Tal Shalev on 103fm and discussed the Palestinian Authority's announcement of the elections for its Legislative Council and the presidency during 2021.
"Right now there are no elections yet, only the announcement that they will be held. This both exerts pressure on Hamas and creates a positive image for Biden. In the months leading up to May 22, Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] will have plenty of opportunities to cancel the elections before they happen; just for example, there is the question of whether or not the residents of East Jerusalem will be allowed to vote at all. It is a simple matter for him to claim that if East Jerusalem cannot vote in these elections, they will not be held at all."
"In the past, Israel, in one way or another, has allowed the residents of Jerusalem to vote. The divides between Hamas and Fatah are enormous, but we are at the very least at a sort of middle ground. I predict most of our problems coming not from Biden or Harris, but because all his emissaries to positions in the Middle East are more left-leaning in their positions than Biden himself. Israel may find itself in conflict over both the Palestinians and Iran, even though Biden is in no hurry to come to some kind of agreement."
At the end of his interview, Yaari commented on the impact of the agreements between Israel and the Gulf states on relations with the Iranians in the context of the nuclear agreement: The Gulf states will stand with us until the tide turns or the US and Europeans change their minds.
"We will likely see both the Emirates and probably Saudi Arabia trying to make a partial deal with the Iranians They will not stay with us until the end. There is no sign that the Biden administration is trying to improve the existing agreements, and I do not see the Iranians initiating any negotiations in the coming years."