Why Peace Between Israel and Gulf States Matters

Since its creation as a Jewish state in 1948, Israel has been isolated from nearly every other country in the predominantly Muslim Middle East. While Egypt and Jordan made peace with it, other Arab countries said they would withhold recognition pending formation of a separate Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territories Israel conquered in the 1967 war. Prospects for a Palestinian state have faded in recent years. Still, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Persian Gulf monarchies, have agreed to establish normal ties.

They suggest that Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians is no longer an impediment to its acceptance by its Arab neighbors, and that mutual mistrust of Iran is a more powerful force. The accords solidify a growing alliance between Israel and some Arab countries to contain Persian Iran. While Iran’s population is predominantly Shiite Muslim, the Arab states mostly have Sunni Muslim majorities; Bahrain has a Shiite majority but a Sunni ruling family.