The agreements signed between Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Israel marked a turning point in history. They would also soon reveal the disappointment of leaders and people in our region toward how the Palestinian leadership abused the Palestinian-Israeli issue for its own personal benefits.
Seven decades of attempts to resolve this issue have failed because of leaders who seemingly never wanted the issue to be resolved.
After continuous failures of Palestinian leaders, Gulf Arab countries want to see a positive change in the Palestinian leadership, and an end to Hamas and the internal struggle over power for financial gain. The circle of evil created by the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah with the Turkish and Iranian terrorist regimes must come to an end.
Hezbollah knows that its end is extremely near and that Lebanon needs to stand on its own feet again.
The new alliances must focus on how to eliminate enemies of the region: extremist and terrorist ideologies and militias. Iran has been the main funder of Hezbollah and has abused its wealth to fund terrorists while its people live in poverty and the country’s economy continues to deteriorate.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, still crying over by Qasem Soleimani’s death, continues through his Revolutionary Guard to threaten us.
The ayatollahs’ regime must come to an end, and the people of Iran who have been hostages for 41 years must be freed.
Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan fights for his last breath with a Muslim Brotherhood ideology and strong belief that he is an Ottoman sultan leading the region, supporting Hamas, ISIS and al-Qaeda.
Peace is the only way this region can become stable and a place where youths can be guaranteed a brighter future.
With the peace agreements, we are confident that we will witness the two-state solution become a reality, and that the Palestinians and Israelis can live in peace.
As much as the Palestinian people have suffered, so have the Israeli people. The rise of extremists and terrorists has not just been a threat to Israel but also to countries in the Arabian Gulf.
THE COMMON interests of the new allies will enable the creation of a new conflict-free Middle East.
Israel’s isolation is ending but its commitment toward its new allies has also become stronger. Israel today proves to the world that it has genuinely wanted peace; peace that will stabilize the region, create opportunities for Israeli youth, end its demonization by its neighbors, and allow it instead to be embraced. The opportunities that will be created will give the Palestinian youth political and economic stability, too, by enhancing cooperation between our countries on all levels.
In this process, we hope to also see a drastic change in the Palestinian leadership, and see leaders who can genuinely negotiate that which serves their people in an ethical manner.
Looking into the history of the Palestinian leaders, one cannot deny the lost opportunities to bring an end to the conflict with, Israel. February 2007, Palestinian leaders, representing Hamas and Fatah met King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who wanted to resolve the differences between them.
After two days of negotiations, they presented Abdullah with a document that contained the agreements of all the assembled leaders. Everyone believed that this time the Palestinian leaders were serious. Abdullah asked them to honor their promise and had them swear on the Koran that the document was their final deal. Within 48 hours after their return, the Palestinian leaders broke their word.
Today, major players in the region will have a more crucial political role that will achieve peace and stability and enable the economies of all the countries involved to grow.
Today, a door has been opened to negotiations and alliances with new players in the region. The new players were always supportive of the Palestinian people and the UAE’s and Bahrain’s stance. Ethics and principles can never change.
Israel is officially a friend today, a friend we trust. And I truly believe that the moment those agreements were signed, all the parties involved had great intentions and will work closely together to make sure no one’s rights are violated and that the people of the region will eventually live in peace. A new dawn has finally begun.
The writer is the president of the Bahrain Journalists Association.