The Significance and Position of the Palestinian Issue in Normalization of Saudi-Israeli Relations

Document Type : Original Article from Result of Thesis

Authors

1 PhD. Student of International Relations Dep., Kish International Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kish Island, Iran.

2 Assistant Prof. at Political Science and International Relations Dep., South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Associate Prof. at International Relations School of I.R.I Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Abstract

The Palestinian issue is one of the most complex issues in the Middle East that has loomed large since 1948. During several wars with the Arabs, the Israeli regime seized control of Palestinian regions and occupied their lands. Thanks to its union with the USA, Israel considered its security guaranteed, however, since 2015, a trend known as "Normalization of Relations" has emerged, which has had some success, but both Arabs, particularly Saudi Arabia's allies, and Israel have faced security challenges due to the United States' increasing competition with China, which is one of the reasons for the United States' gradual withdrawal from the region, and the increased influence of Iran there. The main question that arises is "what role, significance, and position the Palestinian issue plays in the normalization of Arab-Israeli relations?" This study used an analytical-descriptive and, to some extent, historical approach to answer the question. The study's goal was to concentrate particularly on the Palestinian issue in this normalization of relations because it is one of the Islamic Republic of Iran's strategic points of contention with Israel and is intertwined with its security. The study's general findings revealed that Arab allies of Saudi Arabia do not place a high value on the Palestinian cause in the normalization process; however, Saudi Arabia, which claims to be the leader of Muslims, appears to regard resolving the Palestinian issue as one of the conditions for normalizing relations with Israel. However, if Saudi Arabia's security is jeopardized more than this, it will withdraw from this term as well.

Highlights

Introduction

As a result of the Palestinian issue, Arab-Israeli relations have always been strained since 1948. However, since 2015, there has been a normalization of relations with Israel and some Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, as a result of various changes. Given the above and the historical background of 1948 to 2015, the main question that arises is "what role, significance, and position the Palestinian issue plays in the normalization of Arab-Israeli relations?" In response to the question, the hypothesis of this study is as follows: Arab allies of Saudi Arabia do not place a high value on the Palestinian cause in the normalization process; however, Saudi Arabia, which claims to be the leader of Muslims, appears to regard resolving the Palestinian issue as one of the conditions for normalizing relations with Israel. However, if Iran jeopardizes Saudi Arabia's security more than this, Saudi Arabia will withdraw from this term as well and formalize its relations with Israel. The study's main goal was to concentrate on the Palestinian issue in the normalization process, as Palestinian freedom is one of the Iranian Revolution's ideological goals.

 

Methodology

The research used an analytical-descriptive approach to test the hypothesis, as well as the historical method, given the historical dimension of the Palestinian issue.

 

Findings

When Israel was formed, three major wars erupted between Arab countries and Israel, each of which ended with Arab failure, and thus Arabs became incapable of liberating Palestine, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia played no significant role in these wars. Saudi Arabia benefited from limited unofficial cooperation with Israel even during the Nasserism era, and has been the de facto leader of Arabs since 1973. Meanwhile, the Western world, particularly the United States, supported the Israeli regime, and in the 1990s, the United States was the Persian Gulf Arabs' ally, paving the way for the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Arabs hoped that this agreement would resolve the Palestinian issue, and Saudi Arabia then presented two more peace agreements. The courses of action, on the other hand, revealed that, just as the Iranian Revolution's leaders claimed, the Israeli regime did not only not end its occupation of Palestine, but actually increased it until 2010.

In addition, the Arab Spring paved the way for the Islamic Republic of Iran to significantly expand its regional influence as a result of the formation of the Axis of Resistance geoculture. Meanwhile, competition between the United States and China led to the United States gradually withdrawing its forces from the region in the 2020s. The two aforementioned factors posed an ever-increasing threat to the security of the United States' allies, the Arabs of the Persian Gulf, and the Israeli regime, and they began normalizing relations with Israel in 2010. This process, which began with bilateral relations in 2015, resulted in the normalization of relations between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Morocco. Close ties have been established between Saudi Arabia and Israel in this regard, particularly in opposition to Iran, but Saudi Arabia still insists that the Palestinian issue must be resolved before the full normalization process can begin. Saudi Arabia has made covert attempts to normalize relations with Israel, prompting Arab allies such as Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain to formalize their relations with Israel and portray itself as the leader of Arabs and defender of Palestinian rights, if only to save face. Until 2020, Saudi Arabia maintained clearly anti-Israel positions in the United Nations.

When the Trump administration proposed the Trump Peace Plan, also known as "the deal of the century," in January 2020, it was practically interpreted as pushing Palestinian leaders to the margins and as the end point to the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts; this plan had previously been supported by the Arabs, particularly Saudi Arabia, and was dubbed the "Arab Peace Plan.” Although Palestinian leaders opposed it and it was practically deemed futile, all Arabs allied with Saudi Arabia understood that the time for presenting plans known as peace plans for resolving this conflict had passed. They recognized the importance of normalizing relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia and Israel realized that instead of relying on the United States to ensure their security against Iran, they should rely on one another in order to survive, because complete normalization of relations would result in the emergence of an Arab-Hebrew geoculture that opposes the Axis of Resistance geoculture. However, as the Arab world's leader, Saudi Arabia still regards the protection of Jerusalem as its primary religious duty. From the standpoint of the Islamic world, this lends Saudi Arabia credibility and legitimacy. However, relations are improving, and Saudi Arabia's allies who have normalized relations with Israel are attempting to change public opinion and reduce regard for Israel as a threat. Given Iran's influence in the region, this process appears to be coming to an end with the normalization of Israeli-Saudi relations. If this is done, the Palestinian cause will be forgotten in favor of establishing regional security for Israel and Saudi Arabia under a newly established Arab-Hebrew geoculture.

 

Conclusion

Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia remained committed to the Arab Peace Plan of 2002 until 2011, the uprisings of Arab Spring, increased influence of Iran in West Asia, signing JCPOA agreement, bin Salman gaining power, Presidency of Donald Trump, and the increasing process of USA's withdrawal from the region and its pressure for the normalization of relations with Israel,  Iran's increased missile capabilities, the failure of ISIS, the formation of a gap in Persian Gulf Cooperation Council as a result of Qatar disputes with Saudi Arabia, USA's withdrawal from JCPOA agreement, and hostile relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia were all among factors that since 2015 Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies and Israel felt more threat caused by Iran.  This went so far as to cause them to normalize their relations with Israel and rely on one another in the absence of the US, pushing the Palestinian cause to the margins as countries normalized their relations with Israel. As security pressures mount on Saudi Arabia, it appears that it will abandon the Palestinian cause in favor of its own security, because Arab public opinion is now prepared and views Israel as a friend as a result of normalization of relations with Israel.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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