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Israel Finds Silent Backing by Arab Nations Hostile to Hamas

(Bloomberg) Gwen Ackerman and Caroline Alexander - As Israel seeks to sideline Hamas in any accord on Gaza's future, it's finding quiet support among Arab nations where antagonism toward the Islamist group eclipses their enmity toward the Jewish state. Egypt is now ruled by an army chief who presided over a crackdown on Hamas' Islamist patrons. Saudi Arabia's king didn't explicitly criticize Israel for civilian deaths in Gaza. The United Arab Emirates is also hostile to political Islam. Israel has had greater contact in recent weeks with Arab governments opposed to radical Islamists, according to an Israeli official. There's an "alignment of interests" between nations that have "common adversaries," said Martin Indyk, vice president of the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former U.S. negotiator in the Middle East. "As they see that the U.S. is less engaged than it was before, it's natural that they look to each other...to find a way to help each other."
2014-08-15 00:00:00
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