Will severing diplomatic relations with Israel work?

“Long term and sustainable ceasefire was key to preventing other states from being drawn into the war. We call for the joint efforts of the international community aimed at de-escalating the situation, a ceasefire and finding a political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And the BRICS states and countries of the region could play a key role in this work.”—Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A group of Arab and Muslim states which was formed during the recently held OIC-Arab League conference is actively examining a long-term ceasefire in Gaza; cessation of Israeli aggression against Gazans and reviving peace process leading to the formation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The group held meetings with the permanent members of the UN Security Council and other stakeholders in the quest for durable peace in the Middle East. Yet, Israel’s intransigence which prevented ceasefire for more than a month following Hamas October 7 attack is now proceeding for a short-term truce, release of some Israeli hostages in the Hamas custody and freeing some Palestinians held in Israeli prison.

The only country which has taken a firm stance against Israel in the ongoing conflict over Gaza is Iran. Unlike the monarchial regime of Reza Shah Pahlavi which maintained normal relations with Israel, the Islamic revolutionary government which came into power overthrowing Shah in February 1979 cut off its ties with the Jewish state and expressed wholehearted support for PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat for an independent Palestinian state. Israel and the United States accuse Iran of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, the two deadly enemies of the Jewish state, and view Tehran’s nuclear programme as detrimental to the interests of Tel Aviv and Washington.

On November 19, Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the Muslim countries to at least temporarily severe diplomatic relations with Israel so as to compel that Jewish state to end its brutal aggression against the Palestinians of Gaza. Earlier, Iran had called for imposing sanctions on Israel so that adequate pressure is exerted on Tel Aviv to cripple its economy. Yet, the OIC-Arab League summit held in Riyadh merely passed resolutions condemning Israel over its massacre of Palestinians including women and children in Gaza and the West Bank but failed to take practical measures having any meaningful impact on the Jewish state particularly its principal backer, the United States.

Will it help the Palestinian cause if the Arab-Muslim countries sever diplomatic relations with Israel? Is there any political will and determination on the part of the Arab-Muslim world to render practical support for an independent Palestinian state? Why is there the absence of will and determination among Arab-Muslim countries to take practical measures against Israel and its principal backer, the United States?

A paradigm shift in the Arab-Muslim stance against Israel and the United States took place following the oil embargo which was imposed on the Western supporters of Tel Aviv after the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war. It was the dynamic leadership of the Arab-Muslim world led by the then Saudi monarch Shah Faisal which was instrumental in imposing oil embargo against the United States and those western countries involved in providing military, political and diplomatic support to the Jewish state. The second Islamic summit held in Lahore in February 1974 under the leadership of Shah Faisal and Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was termed a milestone in the context of Muslim unity. But, the assassination of Shah Faisal on March 25, 1975 by a member of Saudi royal family led to the erosion of leadership which had taken a firm stance against Israel and its principal backer. The West, which had neither forgotten nor forgiven the winter of 1973-1974 because of the oil embargo, decided to break the Muslim unity. Thus back-to-back events – like the outbreak of civil war in Lebanon in 1975, the Iran-Iraq war 1980-88 and the Iraqi attack over Kuwait in August 1990 – devastated the Arab-Muslim world, thereby weakening the Palestinian cause and strengthening the state of Israel.

One can analyse the question of severing diplomatic and other relations with Israel from three angles, as follows:

First, Israel’s quest for seeking legitimacy got an impetus when Egypt, Jordan and PLO recognised Israel. Following the end of Cold War in 1991, Russia, China and India also granted legitimacy to Israel to the extent that a majority of the UN member states which till 1990 had not recognised Israel because of its occupation of Arab territories changed their stance. By the year 2000, a majority of the UN member states had recognised Israel whereas a handful of Muslim countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Indonesia had refused to grant legitimacy to the Jewish state unless an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital was established. Israel’s quest for legitimacy in the Arab world got an impetus when the Abraham Accord was reached in 2020 between Israel and the Gulf states of the UAE and Bahrain, followed by Morocco and Sudan which granted recognition to the Jewish state.

Second, after Hamas’s attacks on Israel killing 1,400 people and taking 250 hostages, there is no Arab-Muslim state which had severed its diplomatic relations with Israel. Turkey merely announced recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv but has maintained its diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. In the resolution passed by the UN General Assembly calling for ceasefire in Gaza on October 27, two Arab countries Iraq and Tunisia abstained which reflected a division within the Arab world on the issue of the Israeli brutalities against Palestinians.

Third, out of the 195 UN member states, only 29 don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel which means unlike in 1990, now majority members of world body have granted legitimacy to the Jewish state. If Third World countries sever their diplomatic relations with Israel then one can expect some qualitative change on the issue of delegitimising the Jewish state and compelling it to agree on an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. There is no harm is pursuing that dream!

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2023.

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