Israeli left cheers weakly as Netanyahu inks deal with UAE
The Israel-UAE deal crushes the center-left’s belief that no Arab state will make peace with Israel without the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic Aug. 13 announcement of a peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates caught Israel’s political arena by surprise. No one, not even senior members of the security cabinet including Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, had any idea that Netanyahu was secretly cooking up the exciting diplomatic breakthrough.
Gantz and Ashkenazi, the former military chiefs and current heads of the Blue and White Party, swallowed the indignity and hailed the deal, even ignoring Netanyahu’s broad hints that he had not clued them in because he feared they would blab. The center-left opposition, meanwhile, reacted with confusion and embarrassment as the news crushed its long-held belief that no Arab state would make peace with Israel absent resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establishment of a Palestinian state.
The left, which has consistently shrunk over the past two decades, is at a loss for words. Its most cherished wish is peace with the Arab world, but the credit for the achievement is going to Netanyahu, leader of the political right and a despised and demonized figure, making it hard for them to appreciate the breakthrough.
The congratulations by Netanyahu’s critics were hesitant and half-hearted, and underscored his having to give up his annexation plans for the West Bank as quid pro quo for the deal. Given that the center-left had fought hard to prevent the planned annexation, it was a strange reaction, suggesting the loss of its ideological compass. Not only had the opposition failed to adjust to changing regional circumstances, it has endured a harsh blow with Netanyahu’s breaching of the peace camp’s domain.
