By Israel has been a military powerhouse for decades, strengthening and making relationships with foreign countries since its formation. And while many countries all over the world have formed strong relations with the state, there were still quite a few that did not recognise Israel.
A high-ranking Israeli official has confirmed that Israel has been working in the last few weeks on normalising relations with Indonesia, one of the three South-East Asian countries that do not have any formal ties with the state, aside from steady trade and tourism contracts.
“The goal is to normalise relations with Indonesia and Saudi Arabia,” the Israeli official said. “These are the two countries we want to reach an agreement with, but it is a slow process that takes a lot of time and effort. We hope for the best.”
Currently, Israel still maintains ties with Egypt and Jordan, who signed peace treaties in 1979 and 1994. However, in 2020, Israel also signed agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, and Sudan — again with a little help from the United States.
This supported Israel’s claims of trying to normalize relationships with fellow Arab countries. Thousands of Israeli tourists have since flooded the UAE, and a UAE royal has even bought a large stake in an Israeli soccer team — one that has been known for its blatant racism towards Arabs and Muslims.
Morocco agreed to formalize relationships after years of back and forth in exchange for the recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over a region of Western Sahara.
Similarly, Bahrain also agreed to formalize ties to ensure support from both the United States and Israel against Iran, and Sudan accepted the agreement to take up the United States’ offer to get itself removed from their terror list and resume trade with other countries again.
Israel’s success in establishing relations with these four countries all in one year proves that the majority of Arab countries do not consider the horrors and unfairness happening against Palestine an issue. It also makes the case that publicly siding with the country that has occupied Palestine does not affect them or their priorities.
Israel’s success in establishing relations with these four countries all in one year proves that the majority of Arab countries do not consider the horrors and unfairness happening against Palestine an issue. It also makes the case that publicly siding with the country that has occupied Palestine does not affect them or their priorities.
Israel has been pushing to form a relationship with Indonesia for a while. The latter is the largest Muslim-majority populated country, and also part of the United Nations. According to reports, Israel also sent COVID-19 vaccines to Indonesia; however, Indonesia was hesitant to accept them.
According to several correspondents, and with the United States acting as a mediator, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to believe that Indonesia will also sign an agreement with Israel. And with Saudi Arabia’s currently close relationship with the United States, it may not be long before they too — and several others, such as Kuwait and Qatar — form ties with the apartheid state.