Post # 129, Bob McKnight's Florida Commentary
In a previous post, I reflected that the world wide spread of Covid-19 Pandemic would be a good time for all parties at war to declare victory and retreat (ala Sen. George Akin in the Vietnam conflict). There has been some reduction in fighting in the world due to the virus.
It now looks like the pandemic might have been a trigger for a new peace accord between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, as announced last week. Apparently in May, the UAE delivered emergency aid to Israel for the Palestinians, which prompted the two counties to work on together to fight the virus. According to most Middle East observers, the accord was largely a surprise to the Trump Administration.
The first reaction is that this is a major break through in Middle East negotiations. But the agreement included Israel suspending annexation efforts of the West Bank, Palestine's hope for a separate two state solution.
The UAE would be the third country to normalize relations with Israel--the other two being Egypt and Jordan. Iran remains strongly opposed to anything positive happening in Israel and Saudi Arabia is not expected to joint the pact anytime soon. But, even the biggest Trump detractors have to admit this is an unexpected break through on peace efforts. Why Trump would remain tangled in the Post Office mess and Senator Harris Birther issue, and not focus on this new development, last week is beyond me.