The United Arab Emirates’s (UAE) Minister for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, said this week that the “Arab countries’ decision not to have relations with the State of Israel was wrong”, and called for a “strategic shift” in Israel-Arab ties.
Speaking in an interview to UAE-based newspaper The National, Mr Gargash said: “Many, many years ago, when there was an Arab decision not to have contact with Israel, that was a very, very wrong decision, looking back. Because clearly, you have to really dissect and divide between having a political issue and keeping your lines of communication open”.
He argued that the Arab boycott has complicated efforts to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mr Gargash, who has been in his role since 2016, predicted “increased contact between Arab countries and Israel”, including “small bilateral deals and visits by politicians and sports players”.
He said that a “strategic shift” in Israel-Arab ties is required for progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and in order to keep the two-state solution as a viable option.
