On 13th August 2020, ‘Israel’ and the UAE agreed to the Abraham Accord. It is expected that the two countries will sign the peace accord in the USA this month. The agreement is being hailed as a success. The USA, unsurprisingly, supports the deal with Trump tweeting that it is a ‘Huge Breakthrough’. And Kelly Craft, the US Ambassador to the United Nations called it “a huge win” for President Trump and for the world, saying that the diplomatic ties show “just how hungry for peace we all are in this world”.
Details of the Agreement
The deal makes UAE the third Arab state to recognize the Jewish entity after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. While recognition didn’t lead to diplomatic relations between the Jewish entity and Egypt or the Jewish entity and Jordan, it is expected to happen in the case of the Jewish entity and the UAE. The agreement focuses on tourism, trade, technology, and other non-military areas.
It will enable the UAE to
- develop commercial, diplomatic and security ties with the Jewish entity while arguing it helped while Palestinians by getting Israel to halt annexation.
- potentially access to previously off-limits U.S. weaponry, such as advanced drones and possibly F-35 combat planes
- potentially to offset the loss of sales locally due to the terms of the current U.S. aid agreement.
It will allow the Jewish entity to:
- gain an ally with “deep pockets and an authoritarian regime that can make quick decisions on arms purchases” (According to the Jewish entity defense industry)
- potentially achieve diplomatic relations with other Arab nations (allowing them to maintain their grip over Palestine)
Impact on Palestine
One of the biggest concerns is the impact of the deal on Palestine. There are a lot of different views in the news regarding the effect that it will have on the Jewish entity’s plans to annex the West Bank. The critics argue that the deal shows how the UAE has betrayed the Palestinian people and their right to the land. The supporters suggest that the Jewish entity has agreed to suspend his attempts to annex the West Bank- though it is unclear whether this is temporary or a permanent.
When considering the impact and reality of the UAE- the Jewish entity agreement, we can’t ignore the effect that it will have on Palestine. Muslim lands which have been forcibly taken by the Jewish entity, whose power is maintained through the United Nations and its member states.
The USA said there will be ‘peace’ in the region, but what kind of ‘peace’ will the Palestinians have with this deal?
- Reality of the Palestinian people
“Two million residents are surviving on only four hours of electricity a day after Israel cut off the fuel supply, leading to the shut down of Gaza’s sole power plant last week.” (A 2020 Aljazeera report)
According to the 2020 Human Rights Watch report, the “Israeli government has continued to enforce severe and discriminatory restrictions on the Palestinian people; restricting the movement of people and goods into and out of the Gaza Strip. They have limited the access to educational, economic and other opportunities, medical care, clean water and electricity for the nearly 2 million Palestinians who live in Gaza.” This has created a situation where eighty percent of Gaza’s population depend on humanitarian aid.
When the UAE announced the deal, they said that they were keeping the Palestinians in mind as the Jewish entity wouldn’t pursue their annexation plans. But the Prime Minister of the Jewish entity, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had “delayed” West Bank annexation plans, but those plans remained “on the table”.
Has the UAE- the Jewish entity deal changed anything?
No, the Jewish entity is as confident as ever.
And the the Jewish entity’s army carried out attacks on Gaza almost daily since August 6, along with tightening a blockade under which it has banned the entry of fuel for Gaza’s sole power plant, plunging the Palestinian territory into darkness.
But why wouldn’t they be confident? When all they have to fear is the disapproving statements of the so-called Muslim rulers.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the deal a “dagger that was unjustly struck by the UAE in the backs of the Palestinian people and all Muslims”.
Turkey said the peoples of the region “will never forget and will never forgive this hypocritical behaviour” by the UAE.
“When you talk of Israel and Palestine, we need to think, will we be able to answer [God] if we abandon those people who have faced every kind of injustice and whose rights were taken away? My own conscience will never allow me to do this, I can never accept it,” Khan said.
They say they can’t forgive or forget, yet they accept it- their actions give us no reason to think otherwise.
- Promises are made to achieve their objectives and quieten us.
When looking at the statements of the Muslims rulers, we need to remember that they have two goals. They want to appease the Western powers, in this case the USA, and to maintain the support of their voting people.
- Appeasing the USA
the Jewish entity and the USA have maintained a close relationship since the Cold War. They have sent well over $3 billion in military and economic aid to the Jewish entity. More than that, the Western state has been actively working against Palestine, using Foreign aid to discourage states and international organisations from recognizing the Palestinian state.
- Appeasing the Muslim population
Muslims across the world have a strong attachment to the Palestinian lands. The so-called Muslim rulers can’t ignore this- to maintain their power and legitimacy, and work to propagate the Western agenda- they need support from their populations.
How should we react to the deal?
The current rulers are happy to stay within their borders, proclaiming their displeasure over the Jewish entity while our brothers and sisters starve, living in horrific conditions before their blood is spilt.
Some could argue that in the current system, the rulers have their hands tied. After all, we live in a system where we are divided by borders. They can’t take action against the Jewish entity, as they are a separate state.
To this we must ask, why? Why after seeing the reality of oppression and suffering that the Muslims are experiencing should we accept this? Especially when it means defying Allah and accepting a political, social and economic system that isn’t purely and completely based on His rules?
Refusing to recognize the the Jewish entity isn’t enough- it doesn’t matter if a few of the Muslim countries make statements to say that they refuse it.
Advocating for a Palestinian state isn’t enough- it will never solve the problems that the Palestinian people are facing. The Western system cannot and will not protect the rights of our Muslim brothers and sisters. The evidence of this is all around us- we’ve seen what the Muslim Ummah, who have a so-called state protecting them, experience.
What we need to remember is that focusing us on the two state solution serves to legitimise the current system- pushing the Muslim Ummah to believe that the only way for the conflict and oppression to stop is if we support our rulers in their shallow diplomatic attempts to advocate for a Palestinian state.
We must take a stand, pushing for the reestablishment of the Khilafah, on the method of the Prophethood. History has taught us that unless we have God-fearing rulers in place, who implement Islam in its entirety, the Muslim Ummah will not be safe and the blood of the men, women and children will continue to be spilt.
Did the Prophet ﷺ not say that:
إنَّ دِماءَكُم، وأمْوالَكم وأعْراضَكُم حرامٌ عَلَيْكُم
“The blood, wealth and honour of the Muslim are sacred to all Muslims”? (Muslim)
Fatima Musab
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir