OPINION: The UK is betraying the promise of the Abraham Accords
Five years on, the UK could be leading the charge to build a coalition of coexistence that stretches from Jerusalem to Riyadh. It appears to have chosen otherwise
Five years ago, the Abraham Accords transformed the Middle East. The normalisation of relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Morocco and Sudan, was an extraordinary breakthrough, but it was only the beginning. Indeed, 77 years after its independence, 15 members of the Arab League still do not recognise the State of Israel.
While many celebrated the prospect of a new Middle East dynamic ushered by the Accords, it was noted that some were reluctant to welcome this wind of change. This group were part of a foreign policy establishment which held on to the view that normalisation could only happen after a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Accords challenged this orthodoxy by presenting an alternative vision in which Jewish-Arab relations could be allowed to thrive and demonstrate that a peaceful future is possible.
Indeed, on 6 October 2023, Israel stood on the brink of normalising relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Such a development would have further isolated Iran and its network of terror proxies while creating genuine momentum toward a lasting peace in the Middle East.
That peaceful future was violently sabotaged by Hamas on 7 October. Funded and armed by Iran, Hamas unleashed a violent pogrom, murdering over 1,200 innocent men, women and children and abducting 251 people. This horrific massacre was a calculated and successful attempt to destroy further peace between Israel, its Arab neighbours, and the Palestinians.
Two years on, Israel’s inevitable military response against Hamas in Gaza has been used to turn it into a pariah in the eyes of Ireland, Spain, Norway, France, and now, tragically, the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, 48 hostages remain in captivity, and peace seems further away than ever.
And yet, there is hope. With Iran and its proxies now on the back foot following Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, we face a historic opportunity to build on the Abraham Accords. At the UN in July, Arab and Muslim states, including Saudi Arabia, opened the door to further normalisation by calling for Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in the Gaza Strip. These are significant developments that could pave the way for a genuine, lasting settlement.
Expanding the Abraham Accords to include Saudi Arabia and even Syria and Lebanon would send a clear message that terror cannot dictate the region’s future. Coexistence, not conflict, must define the future of the Middle East.
Sadly, the Prime Minister’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state as a response to the ongoing conflict, and before the conclusion of a peace process, risks undoing this progress and rewarding those who have chosen war over peace.
The surest path to peace is to reject Hamas’s vision of endless war and instead build a coalition of coexistence that stretches from Jerusalem to Riyadh and beyond. The UK should be leading that charge.
In choosing to repeat the same failed approach of offering counterproductive gestures dressed as solutions, the spirit of the Abraham Accords has been betrayed.
Claudia Mendoza is the CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council
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