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Israeli-Arab Normalization Remains a Fount of Hope

(National Interest) Ed Husain - The Abraham Accords, signed on September 15, 2020, have changed the lives of millions. The Accords helped establish direct flights between Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE, some above Saudi airspace. In the airport lounges of Dubai, I watch ordinary Iranians and Israelis talking about their families and businesses. Trade volumes are increasing annually between Arab nations and Israel from $590 million in 2019 to $3.4 billion in 2022. Since 1947, Israelis have lived behind an iron curtain with little contact with their Arab and Muslim neighbors. Now, as one Israeli general explained to me, "We Israelis are wearing new glasses and seeing Arabs and Muslims as partners in peace." What the Accords have started will, in the long run, increase the popularity of peace in Arab countries. Now there is a serious and sustained negotiation led by the U.S. to make peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Islam and Judaism. The writer, Director of the Atlantic Council's N7 Initiative to broaden regional integration between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries, is a professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
2023-09-18 00:00:00
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