The Take

Why are Gulf countries normalising ties with Israel?

After decades of boycott, a sudden thaw in the Gulf brings change.

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan pose for a photograph during the Negev Summit in Sde Boker, Israel March 28, 2022. — Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan pose for a photograph during the Negev Summit in Sde Boker, Israel [Jacquelyn Martin/Reuters]

In the Gulf, normalisation with Israel is paying off: There’s a major free trade deal, Israeli tourism to the United Arab Emirates is booming, and the prospect is brewing for normalisation with Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy. The occupation is still centre stage for Palestinians, and for decades, Israel’s relationship with the Arab world has best, at most, a cold peace. What does it mean for that to change?

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In this episode:

Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom), Middle East correspondent, The Economist

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Alexandra Locke with Ney Alvarez, Negin Owliaei, Ruby Zaman, Amy Walters, and Malika Bilal. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad.

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@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Source: Al Jazeera