Tipping point: Israel and the "community of nations" – International news



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The news of the two-year surprise visit to Israel by Chad's predominantly Muslim president erupted on the same day that the Czech head of state announced in Jerusalem his intention to transfer the Prague embbady. in the holy city. According to the information received, the Jewish state seeks to establish full diplomatic relations with Mali, Niger and even Sudan. Jerusalem would also have views on Bahrain and Oman, with Oman repeating that "the Arab states must face the reality that Israel is a reality in the region".

Throughout its history, the state of Israel has been widely perceived as an outcast. A status quo, so often proposed, will last as long as its conflict with the Palestinians – and perhaps even afterwards. According to conventional wisdom, it would forever languish in a kind of diplomatic purgatory with only the Americans in its corner.

Yet, a glance at the map of the world reveals a growing landscape dotted with countries seeking Israeli expertise in areas ranging from defense to the fight against terrorism, to the l & # 39; agriculture and medicine. It seems that the Jewish state is about to make a major diplomatic breakthrough, global and perhaps redefined.

After seventy years, Israel could be on the verge of joining the so-called "community of nations".

To this end, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu revealed Sunday that he would soon visit other Arab countries. This, after his trip to Muscat in October, immediately preceded the visit of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Miri Regev, to the United Arab Emirates. Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz also attended a conference in Oman this month, while Economy Minister Eli Cohen received an invitation to visit Manama in early 2019 to participate in a conference. Summit on Advanced Technologies organized by the World Bank.

All of this follows Netanyahu's alleged secret visit to Cairo in May following his high-level public meeting last year with Egyptian President Abdel al-Fattah al-Sisi at the Assembly. United Nations General Assembly in New York. Despite the harsh rhetoric of Jordan's King Abdullah, Amman maintains close economic and security ties with Israel and recognizes the important role Jerusalem plays in ensuring the continuation of the Hashemite regime in Jordan.

The evolution of this Sunni Arab-Jewish alliance has undoubtedly been accelerated by the emergence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who was the first Gulf leader to publicly express his support for the right to freedom. Existence of Israel. Netanyahu in particular supported the young Saudi leader in the fire of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, stressing the importance that Jerusalem attaches to the emerging ties with Riyadh as well as to the establishment of a foreign policy based mainly on realpolitik.

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"It is perfectly clear that the Arab and Muslim nations would like to establish bilateral relations," said Dr. Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security adviser in Israel and currently principal investigator at Harvard's Belfer Center, at The Media Line. "The reasoning is threefold: a common interest in controlling Iran, a weariness with regard to the Palestinian issue, and knowing that Israel is the only dynamic and cutting-edge economy in the world. technology, especially in cyberspace, in the region.

"Despite this, the history of Israel is at its lowest, as the general level of delegitimation increases. Even in many countries with which Israel has a good working relationship, public opinion is horrible. is more evident in Europe and entering the United States.

"To compensate for the serious consequences that may result, Israel will have to change its policy towards the Palestinians, because it is the only major problem of substance in the matter of disagreement. Something can be done to end the conflict – and people forget Proposals for global peace have already been proposed to the Palestinians, but Jerusalem could put an end to settlement activities and publicly reaffirm its support for the solution of the two This would not solve the problem completely but would help. "

The stalemate in the peace process continues to create friction with Western European countries, but in the last six months Netanyahu has received German Chancellor Angela Merkel and has been welcomed in London and Paris. Moreover, to counter what the Prime Minister has described as the "hostile" attitude of the European Union towards the Jewish state, efforts have been made to strengthen ties with the smaller powers of the United States. continent.

For example, Netanyahu was recently the first foreign leader to attend a summit of the Craiova Forum, including Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Greece. In August, he met in Vilnius with the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Earlier, the Prime Minister attended a meeting of the Visegrad Group, consisting of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. During the summer, Netanyahu hosted Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

A closer look at the West shows that relations with the United States – which, with Israel's technological and military prowess are the cornerstone of its global status – have never been better than under President Donald Trump ; whereas the strong ties that have been greatly developed and put forward by former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper continue to flourish. In Australia, there is talk of more and more relocation of the Canberra mission to Jerusalem.

In the future, Netanyahu should travel to Brazil for the inauguration of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, who is committed to making the Jewish state the destination of his first trip to the country. 39; abroad. Last year, the Israeli prime minister became the first Israeli leader to visit Latin America, making stops in Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia and Mexico. The links between Israel and Honduras and Guatemala also appear to be at record levels.

At the same time, Israel has been deepening its ties with many African states, where Netanyahu has traveled three times in the past two years. The Ghanaian foreign minister recently announced that her government was helping Jerusalem to gain observer status with the African Union, a potentiality publicly supported by Kenya and Ethiopia. Representatives from Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, South Sudan, Rwanda and Zambia reportedly attended the meeting. 39, inauguration in May of the American Embbady in Jerusalem. Links have been restored with the Republic of Guinea and Tanzania.

"In the past five years, Netanyahu has made an effort to contact governments that have not been contacted in the past," said Dr. Ofer Israeli, speaker and principal investigator at the Institute for Policy & Strategy's Lauder School of Government, diplomacy and strategy of the interdisciplinary center, Herzilya, transmitted to the media line. "These are smaller countries on the international stage, but when it comes to the United Nations, every vote is equal, so Israel has tried to make as many friends as possible.

"This policy is in part the product of" liberal "states like Britain, France, and Germany that do not support Israel because of the Palestinian issue. There is no choice but to look elsewhere, including the less democratic ones in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Gulf, Israel is also trying to build links with nations such as Brazil. , where leaders [has shifted to the right]. Another main goal is to target anyone who could move his embbady in Jerusalem. "

This increasingly cheerful attitude has not prevented Israel from attracting the attention of traditional and emerging powers, including Russia, as evidenced by ongoing military coordination in Syria despite the recent crisis. caused by the accidental crash of a Russian reconnaissance aircraft. In the meantime, bilateral relations are flourishing with China, whose most influential deputy prime minister last month spent four days in Israel. The connection between Netanyahu and his Indian counterpart, Narenda Modi, is well documented.

Overall, this growing network of government relations is redefining Israel's geopolitical status, even though this success has not been fully extended at the grbadroots level. While this is a concern that needs to be addressed, a country that has something to offer will always be sought after, respected and, by extension, accepted. Israel has become a model for this type of modern diplomacy, which has given it potential that was unimaginable.

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