By shunning the Bahrain summit, Palestinians are burning all bridges to future peace
The “Peace to Prosperity” workshop in Bahrain last week proved that the winds of peace between the State of Israel and the Arab Sunni states are becoming stronger and stronger. It was Jared Kushner’s brilliant plan to bring together leaders, experts and professionals from around the world to discuss economic development, institution-building and paths to peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While the Palestinian Authority publicly denounced the conference, the cost will be to the Palestinian people, whose alliances in the Arab world and future bridges to peace will be no more.
The Trump administration’s accomplishments in the Middle East are not spoken about in the mainstream media, but have changed the course of history. The formation of an alliance against Iran based on common security and economic interests have strengthened the ties between the Sunni Arab states and the State of Israel. While the acceptance of this vital partnership has not fully come to the Arab street, more and more journalists and commentators in Arab media are broadcasting their pro-Israel views.
Since meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed earlier this year, I can affirm that their admiration for Israel is stronger than even some Jews believe. The Palestinian rejection of the conference is an insult to the Sunni king who sits in Saudi Arabia, a strategic blunder for the PA, but a way to pressure it further – pure genius by President Donald Trump and his team.
While the event was a major success in moving the region
closer to peace and prosperity, it is up to the Palestinians to choose whether to set sail or to stay on shore. Since the creation of the State of Israel, the Palestinian leadership has rejected peace with the Jewish state in all forms and has waged wars of destruction. Now that the Gulf Arab states are warming up to Israel, the allies who have been assisting the Palestinian leadership in their goal to destroy Israel are spreading thin.
The summit was a clear sign that Trump and his Middle East team – Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, Special Representative Jason Greenblatt and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman – are unmatched by any past American “peace” envoys. Past envoys have focused on forcing the two sides together with demands and condemnations, especially against Israel; the Trump administration has brought new possibilities to the region with action. In spite of past diplomatic failures by other administrations in the region, the Trump administration’s event was a grand-slam strategic success.
The PA must face the facts. The “Peace to Prosperity” workshop was like a Middle East world chess championship. If you have the opportunity to win and throw it away, you have no one to blame but yourself.
The Palestinian leadership has insulted Trump, his team and the Sunni Arab states, who have made great strides to bring the region together to make a final peace. Countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and others are courageously reaching out their hands in peace, and the rejection of their goodwill by the PA will burn the Palestinian people’s future pathways to peace.
The writer is a No. 1 New York Times best-selling author with 94 published books. He is the founder of Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, of which the late Shimon Peres, Israel’s ninth president, was the chairman.