VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The saying, “There is no eternal enemy in politics”, seems to be very  true. The diplomatic relations agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates –UAE is the most obvious example. Once very hostile, now they seem to have made peace. There are various possible reasons why the relations were established. It was because of doing so,  the UAE is trying to block Israel's annexation of the West bank, which the United States of America fully supports. Otherwise, there is an economic motive behind it.

This situation is actually not so surprising. Because over the past five years, contacts between Israel and the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, have increased rapidly. Indeed,  the relations between the UAE and Israel are not built in a single night. Trade between Israel and the Gulf states is now estimated at around US $ 1 billion per year. An Israeli-owned company, AGT International, is reportedly to have struck a $ 800-million deal with the UAE for the purchase of border surveillance equipment. It is believed that there is another evidence of closeness between Israel and Arab countries.

Palestinians are certainly very disappointed with this development. They feel that they have been used as a justification for the relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which has been condemned by the OIC-Islamic Cooperation Organization countries. One of the OIC countries, Turkey, immediately reads the economic motives behind this formalized relationship. Meanwhile, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that this had  opened a new era in the relationship between the State of Israel and the Arab world. A complete and official peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has been established. It is expected that more Arab and Muslim countries will join this circle of joint peace.

 Although at this time the possibility is not yet obvious, it can be identified from the attitude of Saudi Arabia, for example. Despite serving as Secretary General of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Saudi Arabia does not appear to be too harsh in its response to Israel's 'annexation' of Jerusalem. Of course, this has colored the Political Map of the Middle East or the relationship between Islamic countries and Israel to a great extent.

Will the ideal goal, which the OIC countries have fostered together so far, regarding the establishment of a Palestinian State free from Israeli annexation, be realized? and will a new group of countries collaborating with Israel appear?

It seems that there will be a conflict between idealism in support of the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state, and the interests of each OIC member state.