Israeli economic delegation to attend UAE energy forum amid deepening Israeli-Arab economic and military ties
The Israel Project 17-Jan-14
Reuters reported yesterday that Israeli Energy Minister Silvan Shalom will attend the Jan. 20-22 World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, the latest in what is becoming a steady stream of evidence signaling warming ties between Jerusalem and traditional U.S. allies in the Arab world. The visit will mark the first official Israeli delegation since 2010 to the United Arab Emirates, a Gulf country whose leaders have become increasingly vocal in calling attention to Iranian territorial claims throughout the Gulf. The news comes alongside analysis published today by Washington Institute fellow Ehud Yaari describing how shared risks from Hamas and Sinai jihadists have created an environment in which the "level of coordination and exchange of information [between Israel and Egypt] is at an all-time high, and top commanders from both countries are now in almost daily communication." Deepening cooperation between Israel and Arab countries has been taken as part and parcel of a broader dynamic that has seen the solidification of three regional Middle East blocs. Alongside a camp made up of Israel and the U.S.'s Arab allies, there has been an increasingly explicit emphasis on a transnational "resistance" bloc anchored by Iran, while a third camp of relatively extreme Sunni entities - Turkey, Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood, various jihadist groups - has mostly opposed but opportunistically cooperated with the other two blocs. Analysts are divided over how the U.S. can navigate the emerging geopolitical reality. Repeated gambles on using Turkey to mediate U.S. interests in the regional have floundered, and Washington has at times seemed to proactively distance itself from security cooperation with its Arab allies. Recent weeks have seen growing criticism that the result is a de facto U.S. alignment with Iranian interests and moves.
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