One Country’s Normalization

Before October 2023, Diana Buttu said in a round-table discussion organized by Al-Shabakah (the Palestinian Policy Network) there was a major push within Israel to advance the normalization project with Arab states.

That project was, she said, mainly “about sidelining Palestinians and sending a message to the Israeli public that the regime never really needed to address the Palestinian issue. Instead, it could have peace and economic ties with the Arab world without ending the occupation, without dismantling the colonial project, and, of course, without addressing Palestinian fundamental rights and, crucially, the right of return.”

Sidelining Palestinians is not a new idea. It’s an ongoing effort, and that exactly what the Abraham Accords are designed to do.

The Abraham Accords were, and and are, agreements between Arab states and Israel to have diplomatic and economic relations that would not depend on any expectation that Israel be required to guarantee Palestinian rights or a Palestinian state. The Accords, in essence, tries to end support for Palestinians from Arab governments.

The “push”to advance normalization continues, but, like many of Trump’s grand projects, is not succeeding as envisioned. That’s good news for everyone that believes peace includes Palestinians having human rights.