UAE Israel Peace Deal Runs in Circles with Added Arms Sale Clauses
The UAE Israel peace deal, which was recently announced to normalize the relations of the two nations, has instead come with some unexpected chaos. Evidently, a country that has always viewed things from the eyes of gains and losses, it probably would have faced issues in shaking hand with an ally for something that couldn’t have brought any profits.
An accord was announced in August 2020, where the United Arab Emirates and Israel agreed to “full normalization of relations”, with the mediation of the United States. The Emirates reportedly accepted the deal on a condition, where Israel was to suspend the annexation plans of occupied West Bank territory.
As story of the UAE Israel peace deal moved further, every new event highlighted the benefits that the involved parties were seeking. While the Trump administration was convincing two of its Middle Eastern allies for normalization, it was attempting to renovate the reputation of President Donald Trump right ahead of the 2020 presidential elections.
Additionally, the Emirates was not merely promising normalization in exchange of ‘no annexation’. It was finally able to identify the right network to obtain the arms it needed from the US. For years, the Arab nation had been trying to obtain the American F-35 fighter jets, the possession of which make Israel superior in the region.
However, the UAE’s years of attempts were able to get a result through the normalization pact, which was built on an understanding to allow the Emirates an access to more advanced American weapons. This caused a minor turbulence to the smoothly flying aircraft of the UAE Israel peace deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly denied that he had no knowledge about the plans of potential sale of the F-35 jets.
Following that, the UAE canceled the scheduled meeting with Netanyahu and Donald trump in the US. Weeks after a pause in the normalization plans, things finally appear to fall in place, giving a hint of damaging some other in future. On September 6, reports suggested that Israel has finally concluded that it cannot block the sale of F-35 jets to the UAE. However, it didn’t accept the defeat silently.
While the Emirati access to the American stealth fighters could jeopardize Israel’s regional military superiority, it has laid a plan to protect that. Israeli officials will reportedly be asking the White House for other advanced weapons to maintain its supremacy.
The unfurling events of the UAE Israel peace deal have time and again reflected the diplomacy laid next to the normalization pact on table. The US will be able to sell its arms, the Emirates will obtain them after years of trials and in the process, Israel has found a way to make it lucrative for itself. The three nations, as they crush Palestine under their feet, have contradicted their own pledge for peace by yielding military benefits behind the scene, leaving doubts looming over the agenda of their alliance.
