As part of the preparations for the day after the war in Gaza, the United States is working toward a normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel and an active involvement of Riyadh in the Gaza Strip.
Read more:
In Israel there is a similar expectation that moderate Arab states – the code name for the UAE and Saudi Arabia – would be more involved in Gaza and lead the financing of its rebuilding.
Resuming normalization efforts is a clear Israeli interest, spanning both sides of the political divide, although there is disagreement over the price that would be paid. Normalization with the Saudis would now require a heavier price than was discussed before the war, especially since anti-Israel sentiments have grown in the region.
The motive for the Gulf nation's involvement in Gaza stems from American incentives that would strengthen their stability and security, improve their public image on the international stage and yield financial gains. All those can be achieved through participation in the humanitarian efforts underway now, and later, in the reconstruction of large parts of the Strip.
A Saudi Arabian agreement to proceed in normalizing relations with Israel depends on the price Israel and the United States would be made to pay and is currently only on paper. But the UAE, which had cooled its ties with Israel since the war, has remained committed to the Abraham Accords and the bilateral agreements.
The UAE is already playing a more active role when it comes to humanitarian aid to southern and central Gaza. It has established water desalinization plants, sends aid through Egypt, airdrops more food and medicine, built a field hospital and is now the main financier and operator of the maritime transportation of aid from Cyprus to a temporary pier in northern Gaza.
This extensive humanitarian effort and the continued relationship with Israel point to the Gulf nation's willingness to play a major role in Gaza after the war.
For the Emirates, the work in support of the civilians in Gaza could improve their standing in Arab public opinion, which has been critical of their continued diplomatic ties with Jerusalem. Palestinian public opinion does not favor the UAE, which is disliked only slightly less than Saudi Arabia.
That is why Israel would be required to pay a price to maintain those ties as well, by agreeing to a clear path and timeline toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
But, although the Palestinian question has become more important, it is not a make-or-break moment in the bilateral relations with Israel. The UAE, like Israel, would like to see Hamas removed from power in Gaza, and the Muslim Brotherhood's ideology, as well as the Iranian axis' involvement, weakened. The UAE also wants to see a revamp of the Palestinian Authority and could assist that process.
Yoel Guzansky Photo: INSSIsrael would like to see the UAE replace Qatar in its influence on areas where Hamas rule has been compromised. Their involvement in Gaza should not wait for the day after the war, it should begin now.
- Dr. Yoel Guzansky is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)