Fifty years ago they fought in the Yom Kippur War - now, thanks to the Abraham Accords, they are developing a partnership
September 19, 2023 11:27
The disasters in Morocco and Libya have been a sobering reminder of the interdependence of the international community – the constant imperative that we each stand ready to rally around in the face of catastrophe.
The solidarity borne out of adversity is harder to secure in day-to-day diplomacy. It requires compromise, understanding and receptivity – and it is always a long process.
Peace in the Middle East and across the Arab World has always been especially hard-won. Its progress has been measured in small, deliberate steps: from letters to handshakes, then missions to embassies and then from trade deals to treaties.
While the outside world has sometimes helped to advance progress – Jimmy Carter played a critical role in the Camp David process, while Bill Clinton worked tirelessly to promote peace between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians in the 1990s – improved relations across parts of the Middle East have ultimately been sealed by their own efforts and leadership.
This September marks the third anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords, which promises the prospect of Arab-Israeli normalisation across the region. In the meantime, we’ve also seen small-scale engagement and cooperation on regional security by the likes of Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.
Since 2020, Israel and Morocco have also been solidifying their diplomatic ties in recognition of their shared interests and responsibilities to global and regional security. This comes almost half a century after they stood on opposite sides in the Yom Kippur War.
The news that Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been invited to visit Morocco also promises to open the door to further discussions, real cooperation and a relationship that will benefit Israel, Morocco and the entire region.
The latest diplomatic progress will be especially important to Morocco’s 2,000-strong Jewish population and the hundreds of thousands of Israelis with Moroccan heritage. The shared histories and identities of these peoples and the countries they belong to are often forgotten by outsiders, but these civic society foundations are key to securing a lasting peace.
On a wider scale, these improved relations are a highly positive sign for Israel’s relations with the Arab world and to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Small steps towards normalisation between Israel and the Arab world, and the shared interests they emerge from and strengthen, represent an incremental revolution taking place in Middle Eastern geopolitics.
More than half a century after the Arab League proclaimed its infamous and uncompromising “Three Noes” – no peace with Israel, no negotiation with Israel and no recognition of Israel — many Arab states are now recognising that this moribund politics has done nothing to advance the cause of regional peace and prosperity or statehood for the Palestinians and so are radically rethinking their relationship with the Jewish state.
These developments deserve far wider attention from the international community, which too often seems to ignore the Abraham Accords process and be oblivious to its consequences. Indeed, the UK government didn’t even mention the Accords in its 2021 integrated review or the update published this year.
The benefits of sustainable partnerships such as these are at once global, local and visible at every level of society. The US, the UK and the entire international community has an interest in nurturing them.
This is an instructive moment for my party as we consider how a future Labour government should wield its influence on the global stage. We in Britain should be doing all we can to champion normalisation between our allies in the Arab world and Israel. Our leaders should be vocal about their intentions to invest in a peaceful future, and maintain positive relations with those working to secure it.
This September, it will have been three years since the Abraham Accords promised Arab-Israeli normalisation across the region. In the meantime, we’ve seen small-scale engagement and some cooperation on regional security by the likes of Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.
Benjamin Netanyahu's agreement to travel to Morocco in the near future raises the prospect of the Israeli Prime Minister's first state visit to any of the Arab nations that signed the Accords. It also promises to open the door to further discussions, real cooperation, and a relationship that will benefit Israel, Morocco, and the entire region.
Taken together, these steps to peace and prosperity throughout the Middle East and Arab World should be a source of real hope for the region’s future stability. Britain should stand shoulder to shoulder with those seeking to advance and deepen the Abraham peace process.
Baroness Ramsay is chair of Labour Friends of Israel in the House of Lords
