Arab League Fails to Coordinate Position on UAE-Israel Peace Agreement

Arab League Neither Condemns nor Supports Arbaham Agreement
Fails to Prepare Joint Declaration

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The Arab League failed to present a unified voice regarding the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (the Abraham Accords). The Palestinian Authority requested the Arab world to oppose this peace agreement, but this did not materialize. Conversely, the UAE's decision also did not receive support.

Palestinian residents are protesting against the Abraham Accords.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

On the 9th (local time), the Arab League held a ministerial-level meeting via video conference to discuss its stance on the Abraham Accords. Prior to the meeting, the Palestinian Authority demanded that the Arab League issue a joint declaration opposing the Abraham Accords and submitted a draft.

Regarding the meeting, Hossam Zaki, Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League, stated, "We had lengthy discussions," but added, "We were unable to produce a joint declaration based on the content proposed by the Palestinian Authority."

Saudi Arabia took an ambiguous stance during the talks, causing controversy. Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its position supporting the two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders before the Third Middle East War, as the Palestinian Authority claimed. However, Saudi Arabia indirectly showed support for the Abraham Accords by allowing Israeli-registered aircraft to fly over Saudi airspace en route to the UAE.

While the UAE is credited with contributing to the Palestinian issue to some extent by preventing Israel's annexation of the West Bank through the Abraham Accords, the results remain controversial. Regarding the agreement, the UAE explained that Israel's West Bank annexation was terminated, but Israel claimed it was merely postponed. The United States used the term "suspension," indicating that the issue remains unresolved. Eventually, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that there was "no change" in the annexation policy.

On the other hand, the UAE claims that the agreement achieved a "major accomplishment in preventing the annexation of Palestinian territory."

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said, "Although we failed to reach an agreement condemning the UAE for violating the Arab Peace Initiative, we succeeded in preventing the UAE from obtaining the Arab League's support or approval for establishing diplomatic relations with Israel."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.