The word ‘normalise’ has gained popularity in the region after an agreement between the UAE and Israel to normalise ties. Normalisation means a situation that is normal and natural, not something imposed or imported.
So, the use of the word to refer to the establishment of relations between Israel and the UAE doesn’t sound normal because this so-called ‘normalisation’ has in its background the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which started as a conflict between the indigenous population in Palestine and the settlers. Since then, it has become one of the most enduring and intractable conflicts in the world since World War II.
US President Donald Trump must realise that Middle East is not a place for him to impose his political ideology. He must realise Arabs and Muslims cannot reach a normalisation agreement with Israel without peace and without following proper mechanisms. Also, normalisation must come as a result of a process founded on wisdom and values and, as a result of that decision, both sides must achieve peace and look forward to a shared future. Unfortunately, the UAE-Israel deal doesn’t achieve any of these.
It is true that after Arab Spring and what happened to Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya, and some other Arab countries, the situation in much of the Arab world is worse than in Palestine, but Israel and the US government cannot use these dire circumstances to pass a normalisation agreement.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is different from the problems in the rest of the Arab world, because this is an issue that is close to the heart of more than two billion Muslims around the world. Moreover, the Trump administration could not normailse relations with a lot of countries and organisations such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea or even with the United Nations or World Health Organisation, and so how can they normalise a conflict that is 75 years old?
Israel and the US were very optimistic that other Arab countries would follow in the footsteps of the UAE, but this is unlikely to happen soon. Even in the UAE, there is a strong anti-normalisation camp because the UAE is not Abu Dhabi alone, but a federation that includes seven emirates. These emirates have their own past and their own views.
The people of Sharjah are more religious, while the citizens of Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah are more nationalistic. Dubai is business-oriented, whose people do not want their business links with other Arab or Muslim neighbours to be affected. But we saw that even Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, who was not part of this agreement, commented on it only after the agreement was completed.
The normalisation of UAE-Israel ties actually comes after the marginalisation of the sheikhs of the other six emirates and the Supreme Council. This is a decision Abu Dhabi has taken alone, which has full control over other emirates, and is thus a coup against the constitution.
The UAE-Israel normalisation will achieve nothing like the Egypt-Israel normalisation. Even decades after Egypt and Israel normalised relations, nothing has changed on the ground. Real normalisation must happen between the people of both sides, not between governments.
Also, Israel is known for giving promises through the media as part of normalisation, and will forget the clauses once the ink on the agreement dries.
For a real normalisation to happen, Israel must believe in a two-state solution. And for that, they must stop building settlements and avoid racism. Only then can both sides sit around a table and finalise all the pending issues and reach peace and normalise.