Courting Israel

In this article, Ashraf Fahim, a freelance writer on Middle Eastern affairs, based in New York City, discusses the recent attempts by some Arab and Muslim countries to get closer to Israel.He argues that

doing so while Israel continues to oppress the Palestinians is not only immoral, but also potentially dangerous to the long-term national interest of those countries involved. Normalization is being pushed by unelected elites under conspicuous U.S. pressure.

He later cites the point of view of a Kuwaiti commentator Ahmad al-Sarraf who defended the "normalization" steps by saying

"We can only help the Palestinians by talking to Israel" for "How can you exert any pressure on someone by not recognizing them?".

Mr. al-Sarraf added that

"We can't be more Palestinian than the Palestinians" The Palestinians talk to Israel,so there is no reason Kuwait should not.

The author of the article, who does not buy Mr. al-Sarraf's comments, concluded by saying that,

the normalization racket is a bait and switch the Arab and Muslim publics have seen before...Until there are substantive negotiations for an equitable peace, normalization may be imposed from above but it will not be embraced from below.

( Via Daily Star)