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Israel's new Gulf relations give Biden's team a new Middle East hub
[TheHill] November became a turning point for Israel’s new ties with Gulf states. It began with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announcing a $23 billion deal that included advanced F-35 warplanes and drones for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and ended with important delegations from Bahrain to Israel. Together, these bookends represent just two facets of multifaceted diplomatic relations. The new ties that the Trump administration helped broker among Israel, the UAE and Bahrain were part of a push for normalization and peace, but they are rapidly growing into a relationship with cultural, trade and academic ties and ramifications for strategic defense concerns. In retrospect, it seems natural that the real symbol of new Israel-Gulf ties would not be in the hard politics of diplomacy, but rather in trade. Tel Aviv, the city that always seems to have a new tower under construction along the main Ayalon freeway when I visit, and Dubai are perfectly placed to plug in to one another. Both are centers of trade and commerce, and only COVID-19 has set them back from setting new record years of growth. Speaking at a recent first Israel-Dubai conference, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said on Nov. 25 that "this is not something I was sure I would see in my lifetime." Rivlin met with a delegation from Bahrain’s King Hamad Posted by: trailing wife 2020-12-07 |
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