New regional order developing in Middle East
Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat elbow bumps with an Emirati official as he makes his way to board the plane to leave Abu Dhabi, September 1, 2020. PHOTO: REUTERS
With more and more countries signing normalisation agreements with Israel, it was signalling a prelude to a new order in the Middle East which would only further divide the Muslim world.
This was suggested by speakers at a webinar on ‘Implications of Arab-Israel normalisation for the Muslim World’ on Tuesday. The webinar had been hosted by the Islamabad Policy Institute with speakers from Turkey, Palestine, Iran, and the United Kingdom participating along with local experts.
Turkish academic Dr Levent Bastürk said the normalisation agreements will not remain limited to a few countries, but would eventually evolve into a regional alliance.
While these developments will alter Iran’s threat perception and behaviour in the region, it would also restrict Turkey’s regional ambitions.
Dr Bastürk said the reaction in the Arab streets to the development with regards to the pacts and the continuation of Palestinian resistance will shape Turkey’s approach to the issue.
“If there is a strong reaction in Arab streets and Palestine, then Turkey will be on the supporting side of this popular movement,” he maintained.
Dr Kayhan Barzegar, a Tehran-based Middle East expert, said the development will fuel extremism and terrorism in the region while promoting division in the Arab and Muslim world.
About Iran, he said it will completely change the calculus of Iran’s defence strategy and complicate ties with UAE.
Dr Barzegar contended that the process started by the Arab rulers will not be sustainable as the people have rejected it.
“Region is not ready for such a compromise,” he said.
London Islamic Human Rights Commission Chairman Massoud Shadjareh and local Arab affairs analyst Ali Mehr said that the silence of the Muslims on past events had emboldened Arab states to move towards normalising ties with Israel.
“If the current wave of normalization is not challenged, it would grow and others too may join,” Shadjareh feared, emphasising the need for activism to challenge what he saw as “colonial systematic racism”.
IPI Executive Director Prof Sajjad Bokhari said that Arab monarchs are eyeing a new regional order in which they can foster greater cooperation with Israel against their common regional foe, Iran.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2020.