Thomas L Friedman in NYT on Trump brokering MidEast peace...
The fact that the normalization of Israel-Emirates and Israel-Bahrain relations was actually set in motion because of the failure, thus far, of the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy does not diminish its significance, even if it adds a dollop of irony to our story.
My rule: In the Middle East, you get big change when the big players do the right things for the wrong reasons.
And this is the right thing.
Why is this happening now?
First, because America is sharply reducing its military presence in the Middle East, and, as a result, new alliances are being forged to fill the vacuum.
The second trend is that ever since the Arab spring, the collapse of oil prices and the surge in Arab youth populations, moderate Sunni Arab states understand that they can no longer retain their legitimacy by outbidding one another on the Palestine question and offering government jobs and subsidies.
@Madken65
Maybe? that's a good thing. Maybe the Israelis and Palestinians now have to decide how they're going to treat one another without as much outside interference. They'd better choose right or their great grandchildren will still be dealing with horrors, for generations. Just like here.
Therefore, the Palestinian issue will most likely become more and more an internal Israeli issue — one that Israel will own alone. The 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, faced with the prospect of Israeli control with no alternative in sight, will eventually demand equal rights and Israeli citizenship. And that will pose a direct threat to Israel’s Jewish and democratic character in a way no Arab army ever has. Bibi’s true legacy.
https://nyti.ms/3htyxm4