2023-08-28 18:55:34
Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush was suspended on Monday (August 28th) and subjected to an administrative investigation after the announcement of a meeting with her Israeli counterpart last week, which caused an outcry in the country. Libya does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.
“Normalization”, meaning the recognition of the State of Israel and the establishment of diplomatic relations with it, has long been unthinkable in the Arab world, in the name of supporting the Palestinian cause. When creating what they call “Zionist Entity” on part of the territory of Mandatory Palestine in 1948, the Arab countries do not recognize the new State.
After the 1967 war, Arab leaders agreed on “three noes”: no to peace with Israel, no to recognition of Israel, no to negotiations with Israel. The taboo has gradually crumbled, especially in recent years, under American pressure.
Egypt, a peace treaty for Sinai
Egypt, in a state of war with Israel since 1948, fought the Jewish state on several occasions. In June 1967, Israel launched a “preventive” war and occupied the Sinai Peninsula. The Egyptians failed to retake this territory during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Following this failure, Egyptian President Anouar el-Sadat began secret negotiations with Israel and paid a surprise visit to Jerusalem in 1977.
In 1978, the two countries signed the Camp David agreements, under American mediation, followed a year later by the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, the first of its kind between the Jewish state and an Arab country. It allows Egypt to recover the Sinai in 1982, after the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army and the dismantling of the Jewish colonies. Egypt was then expelled from the Arab League and was only reinstated in 1979.
Anouar el-Sadat, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978, along with his counterpart Menachem Begin, paid dearly for this normalization. He was assassinated in 1981 by a member of the Islamic Jihad, opposed to the recognition of Israel.
Jordan, the post-Oslo “cold peace”
In the aftermath of the Oslo Accords, between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), King Hussein of Jordan negotiated an agreement, again under American mediation. In 1994, the two countries signed a peace treaty, which allowed the opening of borders and the establishment of diplomatic relations. Jordan is the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in the eastern part of Jerusalem. A part of the agreement concerns the question of Palestinian refugees, but remains a dead letter.
These agreements with Egypt and Jordan do not lead to real cultural or economic cooperation. Rejected by public opinion, they are described by observers as “cold peace”.
The Abraham Accords: the Gulf countries join the dance
The recent rapprochement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain comes in a context of strong hostility between Iran and the Gulf countries. Washington is surfing on these enmities and on the fact that Israel holds Iran as a sworn enemy, in order to promote the process of normalization. A diplomatic victory for Donald Trump at the end of his mandate.
In 2020, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain sign bilateral peace treaties with Israel. They also join a trilateral declaration of peace, dubbed the Abraham Accords. They condition this process on a halt to settlements and annexations in the West Bank, but Israel says annexation is simply “pausing” and postponed. These agreements give rise to increased tourism and trade cooperation between the countries.
The Sudanese and Moroccan “deals”
In the fall of 2020, Sudan and Morocco are following in the footsteps of the Emirates and Bahrain. After the overthrow of dictator Omar al-Bashir, the transitional government in Khartoum joined the Abraham Accords in 2021, under the aegis of the United States. Concomitantly, the White House removes Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. The rapprochement is however hampered by the military coup in 2021, then the violence in 2023.
Morocco, which opened a diplomatic representation in Tel Aviv in 1994, then closed it after the start of the second intifada in 2000, reestablished its diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020. In exchange, it obtained recognition by the United States. United, then in the summer of 2023 by Israel, of its sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Elsewhere, standardization remains taboo, at least officially. In many Arab countries, any relationship with Israel, its nationals or any entity representing it is subject to criminal prosecution. This is the case in Lebanon, where an indirect agreement on the demarcation of the maritime border with its southern neighbor has not changed the situation. In Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Iraq or Yemen, the idea of peace with “Zionist Entity” remains unpopular.
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