The most surprising thing about the so-called Abraham Accord, which normalized relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel last week, is that anyone was surprised by it. In what has become maddeningly typical of Washington these days, the response, whether for or against, was rife with melodramatic claims about the implications.
In reality, the UAE and Israel had been inching toward normalization for the better part of the last five years. The leaders of Israel and the Emirates have long believed it advances their political and geostrategic interests to have normal relations. All they’ve done now is take their ties public with the promise of developing them further, albeit with—at Emirati insistence—some conditions. It was a natural step for both countries, one that delivered a cosmetic win for Palestine—but also predictably served to further sideline the Palestinian cause.
