In the midst of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s clandestine trip to Moscow earlier this month, initial rumors surfaced falsely indicated that the Israeli leader met with Arab leaders. These rumors raised some eyebrows of potential coordination between Israel and Arab countries without ties to the Jewish state, particularly Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries.
Moreover, any Israeli air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would require the use of Saudi Arabian or Iraqi air space. Because of the negative ramifications towards the United States by Iraqis for permitting Israel fly-over authority, any air strike would likely incorporate Saudi territory. Rumors circulated earlier this year that Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Saudi officials to secure fly-over permission.
A new INSS report highlights another benefit of improved Israel-Gulf state relations, namely money. The financial support by Gulf states for the peace process would prop-up a young Palestinian state and help propel pan-Arab support for a peace deal. The report states:
“Furthermore, the Gulf states might give added momentum to the peace process, and if and when an Israel-Palestinian/Arab peace agreement is signed, they may help finance it….
“At most, the future role the Gulf states will likely be that of donors, for example by financing joint Israeli-Palestinian projects, or of facilitators, by hosting rounds of talks at home.”
Knowing the key role that Saudi Arabia would play in peace talks, U.S. officials recently urged Gulf States to normalize ties with Israel.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
