By Abir Bassam

Abraham Accord: Another historical betrayal

August 17, 2020 - 15:26

We live a series of historical betrayals since the Arab revolution in 1916. The British betrayal brought the Saudi clan into power. Compromises brought the other monarchies in the (Persian) Gulf countries. Even more, betrayals were enforced on the Arabs by their own leaders in Camp David,

Yes, it is historical foolishness what the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has done by signing Abraham's Accord on the 13th of August 2020 and supporting politically dying leaders. The first is Donald Trump, and the second is Benjamin Netanyahu. However, what the UAE did was expected. Military cooperation between the Emirates and Israel is at its peak for years now.   

On the practical level, the" Accord" does not mean anything because the military coordination between the UAE and Israel is well known in Bab-el-Mandeb. The UAE owns sixty large firms around the world that control trade on waterways, even in Egypt on the Red Sea. It would not have been possible without the support of the United States and Israel's approval and coordination for them. 

Accordingly, the "Accord" is actually an American-Israeli need. Its significance came at a desperate time to boost two dying leaders, Trump and Netanyahu. Trump needs it to win the elections and gain back the trust of the IPAC the WASPs voters in the U.S. 
White Anglo Saxons Protestant [WASP] voters in the U.S. are of great significance; they are considered to be the privileged, dominant, and most influential people in the country.
 
Besides, those people are mostly the audience and the partisans of the Christian Zionist groups that call for rebuilding Solomon's Temple in Palestine and securing Israel's safety in preparation for the return of Christ.
 
Netanyahu needs it to prove himself as an accomplished politician who can handle the demonstrations, which is at its peak in Israel and filling the streets of Tel Aviv. It is an attempt to save Netanyahu from his ordeal. Add to that, Netanyahu is facing charges of corruption, which he can escape if he was again re-elected as the prime minister of Israel. 

The same applies to Trump, who failed as his partner, Netanyahu, facing the epidemic: COVID 19. Hence, the timing was most appropriate for Trump and Netanyahu. 

However, there is a theory that suggests that the UAE was obliged to submit to this date. It is a kind of blackmail. There were fifteen Saudis and two UAE terrorists that are accused on the 11th of September's 2001 attacks, and the two countries are facing difficult charges. 

It seems that the rest of the Arab world is involved in its own dilemmas; terrorists are still killing people in Syria and Libya. The Americans and the Turks are still occupying and stealing Syria's natural resources. Yemen is striving with the Saudi and UAE siege and war. Iraq and Egypt are completely occupied with the Turkish threats and water shortage.

 Egypt is threatened by building al-Nahdda Damp in Ethiopia. Lebanon is fighting to get rid of the ruins caused by the explosion of the 4th of August. It is also trying to resolve the differences caused by the foreign interference that manifested in violent protests calling for disarming Hezbollah and the government's resignation.

The Accord was orchestrated by Jared Kushner, Trump's son in law, who is trying to prove himself as a worthy consultant, after the Great failure he and his father in law faced in implementing the "Deal of Century." Trump openly complimented him by saying: "You did a great job! People do not understand the things that they can do … I don't think anyone can do what he did."

In this atmosphere, meetings had been activated. Grammy Wood revealed in "the Atlantic" that secret meetings have been going for years. The U.S. departments were leading the talks through private and personal channels. The discussions were personally held between Kushner from one side and the Prince Muhammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and Shiekh Muhammad bin Zayed of the UAE on the other. 

The main purpose behind leading such agreements is to guarantee the safety of Israel; diplomacy is led under the slogan George Bush Junior established, which states that "the road to Jerusalem begins in Baghdad". In the meaning: if you want peace in Israel, you need to have friendship with the surrounding Arab states. 

Of course, influential Israeli figures and business people were involved in the persuasion of Muhammad bin Zayed, such as Hayeem Saban, a close friend of Bin Zayed and an Israeli-American businessman, the Mossad's chief Yossi Cohen, and the UAE and the Israeli ambassadors in Washington. It is clear that under media restrictions, it was impossible for the people to figure out what has been going on behind the scenes. 

The Accord has inflamed the Palestinian streets. Demonstrations and angry signs are filling the roads. However, we need to understand that the (Persian) Gulf people are not necessarily in favor of the agreement. UAE and Saudi Arabia lead hard restrictions on their citizens. Everything they watch or read is monitored, including social media. Even though, great numbers of the (Persian) Gulf citizens have spoken about their disappointments and shamefulness in the agreement. They expressed their total support to the Palestinians.

In the midst of the World War on Syrian, a hardworking man in Beirut said to me: "Do you see all this immigration from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine towards Europe in particular? Large numbers of Europeans are coming to live in our countries. It seems that they are fed up with their cold weather. I believe that they want to replace us." Unfortunately, metaphorically, it is true. The colonial occupation was enforced on our Arab countries. Palestine is not the only country that was submitted to colonialism. The same thing happened in Algeria. Until today the French have a disgraceful museum for the skulls of the great Algerian revolutionary men.

The Accord of shame is going to harden the lives of the Palestinians even more. They were assured that no peace agreements would be signed before accomplishing their own peace; it is a betrayal. We live a series of historical betrayals since the Arab revolution in 1916. The British betrayal brought the Saudi clan into power. Compromises brought the other monarchies in the (Persian) Gulf countries. Even more, betrayals were enforced on the Arabs by their own leaders in Camp David, Oslo, Wadi Arabah, and today in Abrahams Accord.