One ‘bloc’ that the Israel-Palestine war has thoroughly discredited, both domestically and abroad, is the Arab Sheikhdoms and their overentitled and ineffective monarchies. As concerns about the horrors of the Gaza Strip grow, Arab Street is outraged by its princelings’ pusillanimous and weak expressions of solidarity for the Palestinian cause, which fail to move beyond meaningless platitudes. As the Palestinian death toll rises beyond rationality, the Arab leadership has once again embarrassed itself by standing silent.

The only counter to Israel’s disproportionate retaliation has come from the sectarian ‘bloc’ led by Shiite Iran and its proxies in the region, e.g., Houthis, Hezbollah, etc. Some, like the Jordanians, actually shot down Iranian drones as they were heading towards Israel, despite the fact that Jordanian Queen Rania is of Palestinian origin (like 20% of Jordan). It is a two-faced and disingenuous attitude to claiming support for the Palestinian cause that has repeatedly been revealed. Rumors of secret meetings between Arab capitals and Tel Aviv have been circulating for years, but it is no longer considered discreet.

Although Egypt and Jordan have already formalized relations with Israel, the recent ‘Abraham Accords’ have resulted in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco normalizing official relations with Israel. Others, including Oman and, more importantly, Saudi Arabia, have held backchannel meetings and struck side deals with Israel to further their bilateral objectives. The abrupt breakout of the Israel-Palestine War (caused by the heinous Hamas attack on October 7, 2023) appears to have moved the Arab world’s official rapprochement with Israel to the back burner, although Arab capitals’ core conduct reveals a definite risk aversion to hurting Israel.

While Egypt and Jordan have previously formalized relations with Israel, the recent ‘Abraham Accords’ have resulted in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco normalizing official relations with Israel. Others, including Oman and, more importantly, Saudi Arabia, have held backchannel meetings and struck side deals with Israel to further their bilateral objectives. The abrupt breakout of the Israel-Palestine War (caused by the heinous Hamas attack on October 7, 2023) appears to have moved the Arab world’s official rapprochement with Israel to the back burner, although Arab capitals’ core conduct reveals a definite risk aversion to hurting Israel.

is a long cry from the days when Palestine was considered a ‘Arab cause’, since it appears that Palestinians have been left to fend for themselves. To the surprise of the Israelis, Western countries such as Norway, Ireland, and Spain have expressed some opposition by recognising the Palestinian State. The last time the Arab Sheikdoms got cold feet and moved together to save their own skins was during the ‘Arab Spring’. As the Arab streets were marching to cries of ashsh’b yurid isqat an-nizam (literally, the people want to bring down the regime), and many Arab regimes did crumble, e.g., Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, the Arab princelings immediately quashed the popular protests and insistences for more democracy Essentially, the restive young desired reforms, democratic rights, and ‘real faith’, which spelled death for the illiberal and undemocratic Sheikdoms that refused to share or transfer authority to others.

Many others renounced hardline factions such as the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideological spawn, as a virtual cleansing campaign to eliminate religioextremist factions gained traction. Today, the Sheikdoms are paralyzed by the dread of guaranteed reprisals from Israel (as seen in its actions against Yemen and Iranian elements). However, the region’s history teaches leaders about the impending risks of abandoning the ‘Arab Cause’ (most notably, Palestine) in relation to Israel. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by dissatisfied Egyptian Army soldiers who believed Sadat had abandoned the Palestinian cause by currying favor with Israel (Camp David Accords).