The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is spearheading attempts to reinstate the Syrian regime in what Emirati officials have dubbed “the Arab sphere.” At the same time Abu Dhabi is promoting normalization of relations with Tel Aviv.
The Emirati leadership has gone way beyond what has been achieved by previous Israeli peace deals: the Camp David Accord with Egypt and the Wadi Araba Treaty with Jordan.
The diplomatic manoeuvring regarding Syria and Israel seems consistent, as we are witnessing two parallel paths coming together in one [brilliant] moment of Emirati harmony.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Bashar al-Assad are not dissimilar. The first has submitted bills to the Knesset to legalize the use of live ammunition against Palestinians and restrict the Supreme Court’s ability to rein in violent conduct by Israeli police forces.
Meanwhile, we are seeing settlement and transfer projects in Jerusalem and the West Bank, as we are witnessing sectarian transfers in Syria.
The “halal normalization” is not monitored by the regulatory bodies of the so-called Arab “resistance.” The irony being that accusations of treason follow anyone who dares deal with the Emiratis, since they “normalized” relations with “the enemy” Israel.
However, such allegations quickly vanish when it is about Emirati efforts to bring back Assad into the Arab sphere. In fact, even Assad himself is forgiven for responding positively, despite Abu Dhabi dealing with “the enemy.”
What remains is settling the issue of Netanyahu’s policies. But that is a separate matter. Accusations of treason have many functions, and it is too early to put them aside. Approaching Israel must occur in parallel with approaching dictatorial regimes, which often excel in a rhetoric of confrontation when it comes to Israel.
The bizarre menage-a-trois between Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv and Damascus truly makes the use of treason as an argument very complicated indeed.
Building Bridges, Bombing Cities
For example, as the non-permanent Arab member of the UN Security Council, the Emirati representative recently withdrew a draft resolution penned down by the Arab countries to denounce settlement growth in Jerusalem and the West Bank, shortly after Israeli planes bombed Damascus.
The draft resolution was withdrawn to avoid an “Israeli reproach” and is a part of the “halal normalization” process, not covered by the Arab resistance media.
If the usual slogan “we will respond in the appropriate place and time” is the answer to the bombing of Damascus, then a [postponed] accusation of treason is the only answer to the Emirati move in the Security Council.
The absurdity of the resistance’s rhetoric is only matched by the equally absurd normalization rhetoric. People close to Emirati circles of power believe that the UAE aims to remove Assad from Iranian control. This makes those who disagree – and they have a point – put up a faint smile.
If the Syrian regime did not move an inch from Tehran at the height of its involvement in Arab diplomacy, why would it do so now? Iran and its Revolutionary Guards are dispersed throughout the Syrian territory and, following the recent devastating earthquake, al-Quds Commander General Esmail Qaani even visited Aleppo before Assad did.
Surely the UAE must be aware of this. Meanwhile, it is acting within a very restricted range of American tolerance, enabling it to stand on the banks of a flow of investments, which it has pursued since the tenure of Jared Kushner, who brokered the Abraham Accords.
Similar Emirati manoeuvring has enabled Russian funds fleeing European sanctions to be received and will arguably enable the Governor of the Lebanese Central Bank to be welcomed, once penalties are imposed on him.
Open Arms Oman
Trade and exploitation still take place at the expense of Syrian blood, which includes the earthquake victims. Assad believed they did not merit for him to remain in the country, as he had the opportunity to visit the Sultanate of Oman, which incidentally preceded the Abraham Accords countries in the normalizing-ties-with-Israel process, as it welcomed Netanyahu in 2018.
Remember that visit? No? That is because the memory of the resistance is short lived, as long as Muscat also opens its arms to their dictators.
Seeing the grudging celebration of Assad’s return to the Arab sphere; one cannot but wonder how indecent it is to side with a political construct that allows the UAE to construct a “diplomatic bridge” between Tel Aviv and Damascus, the function of which is not only to ignore the victims of the Israeli air raids on Damascus, but also use the earthquake as a means to polish the Syrian regime.
Indeed, the “diplomatic bridge” reduces the bombing of Damascus into an act of normalcy, which, strangely, doesn’t warrant any Syria thinking twice before rushing into Abu Dhabi’s arms. Even though it does not curtail Netanyahu’s will to carry out attacks.
The survival of the dictatorship in Damascus, at all cost, that is what is at stake.
