The Alliance Between Israel And Saudi Arabia
The
apparent Israeli-Saudi alliance, even though hidden from the masses for
now, matches the interests of the US in the Middle East and Western
Asia. Washington hopes that this will weaken anti-Israeli feelings in
the Arab and Muslim world, create a reliable counterweight in the region
to a possible strengthening of Iran, and isolate to the extent possible
radical islamist Sunni and Shiite groups.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: Both Saudi and Israel need to remain close in order to maintain their artificial desert fiefdoms.
Tel Aviv, Israel (NEO) – Saudi
Arabia’s claims to be one of the leaders of the Arab and Muslim world
prevent it from recognizing the State of Israel’s right to exist within
its current borders, while Tel-Aviv in its turn rejects the plan for
Middle East Regulation (MER) proposed by Riyadh involving a reversion to
the pre-1967 status quo. As a result of various domestic and
international factors neither side will change their diametrically
opposite positions and maintain official contacts.
However,
the absence of diplomatic relations does not prevent unofficial contact
between Israeli and Saudi representatives. Recently there have been
frequent media reports on meetings between representatives of the two
states and there have even been claims that the Saudis are ready to
provide Israel with an air corridor and air bases for rescue
helicopters, tanker aircraft and drones (unmanned aircraft systems –
UAS) in case Israel decides to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. Some of
these reports have been denied by officials but others have nevertheless
been confirmed.
In
particular, according to information of a Jerusalem Post correspondent
citing diplomatic sources of both countries, since the beginning of 2014
there have been as many as five secret meetings between the Saudis and
Israelis, in India, Italy and the Czech Republic. Reports appeared in
the Arab press that senior members of the Israeli security forces,
including the head of Mossad, secretly visited Riyadh and held
discussions there with their Saudi equivalents. Apparently there were
even negotiations between the then director general of the Saudi
Intelligence Agency, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, with senior officials of
the Israeli secret services in Geneva.
On
June 5, 2015 Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Dore Gold
met Saudi met with General Anwar Majed Eshki at a conference in
Washington, when the latter presented his strategic MER plan. Key
highlights of this document are devoted to establishing cooperation
between the Arab countries and Israel and the need for joint efforts to
isolate the Iranian regime.
King
Salman of Saudi Arabia commissioned prince and media magnate Al-Waleed
bin Talal to start a dialogue with the Israeli intellectual community
with the aim of reestablishing contact with the neighbouring country.
Prince Talal called on all inhabitants of the Middle East, which were
torn apart by war, to end their hatred of the Jewish people. He also
declared that his visit to Jerusalem signifies the beginning of ‘peace
and brotherliness’ between Israel and its Arab neighbours. Arab media
reported that Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali
Al-Naimi confirmed that his country is ready to export ‘black gold’ to
any place in the world, including Israel. Saudi Minister pointed out
that the majority of the Arab world does not see any obstacles to trade
relations. In August 2014 the head of the Saudi Foreign Ministry
Prince Saud Al Faisal declared at the world assembly of Islamic scholars
in Jeddah: “We must reject planting hatred towards Israel and we should
normalize relations with the Jewish state.” Dore Gold, mentioned above,
told the news agency Bloomberg: “Our standing today on this stage does
not mean we have resolved all the differences that our countries shared
over the years. But our hope is we will be able to address them fully in
the years ahead and Riyadh can become a strategic partner of the Jewish
state”.
It
should be noted that this mobilization of contacts between
representatives of Saudi Arabia and Israel has been taking place on the
eve of and after the signing of the agreement between international
mediators and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program. Tel-Aviv called the
agreement ‘a historical mistake’ and Riyadh perceived it as a direct
threat to its national interests. It is no coincidence that the Saudi
King and some of his direct counterparts in the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) decided not to participate in the summit of this regional
organization on May 14, 2015 in Camp David (in the US). Soon after, on
June 18, 2015 at the St Petersburg Economic Forum, Russian President
Vladimir Putin met with Saudi Defence Minister and son of Saudi King
Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud. The King himself is expected to come to
Russia on an official visit before the end of this year. In other words,
Riyadh made it clear to Washington that the deal with Iran is forcing
the Saudi leadership to look for new allies. Time will tell whether
these steps are more to do with a genuine desire of the Saudis to
diversify their foreign relations, or they are simply a lever to put
pressure on the US administration.
The
US had to react quickly to the aggressive declarations and actions of
its strategic allies and regional partners. Washington assured both
Riyadh and Tel-Aviv that the IAEA and American special services will
keep a tight watch on Teheran implementing all the conditions of the
agreement signed in Vienna and that the sanctions on Iran will only be
lifted gradually. The GCC countries were promised to receive supplies of
new modern weaponry in increasing amounts and on preferential terms. In
the very near future the question of creating a common anti-missile
system for the GCC as a whole will be resolved. This system will cover
the Arab Peninsula with a ‘reliable shield’ from a possible attack by
Teheran. The US also supported Saudi Arabia in its bombing of Shiite
rebels in Yemen. In order to support the air operation of the coalition
led by Riyadh the US fueled the Saudi fighter aircraft and provided
intelligence and equipment. It was even reported that Israel, at the
request of Washington, also provided its intelligence data on Yemen to
the Saudis.
In
order to calm the Israelis following the deal with Iran, Washington
promised to increase its annual financial aid to Israel for the entire
10-year duration of the implementation of the ‘Vienna Pact’ – by around
one and a half billion US dollars. The US additionally accepted
responsibility to finance the further development of the Iron Dome
anti-missile system and to increase Israel’s missile supplies, which
were depleted following last year military operation in Gaza. The
Israeli air force will also get a squadron of the latest F-35
fighter-bombers on favourable terms. At the same time, in the near
future joint exercises will be held with the air forces of Israel, the
US and several European countries for the first time in six years. These
exercises will include perfecting ‘missile attacks and bombing raids on
targets located in far-off countries’.
This
way, the agreement between the international mediators and Iran over
its nuclear program apparently encouraged sworn enemies to look for
compromises and common ground to counter the threat they both face from
Iran. Neither the Israeli nor Saudi leadership believe that the Vienna
agreement will help to restrict further Iranian expansion in the region.
For them, the myth of the ‘Shiite Arc’ or ‘Shiite Crescent’ is an
objective reality. Tel-Aviv is worried that Teheran will nevertheless
end up possessing nuclear weapons and will break Israel’s hegemony in
the Middle East. Moreover, Israelis expect Iran to start actively aiding
anti-Israeli radical half-military half-political groupings (Hamas,
Hezbollah and others). Riyadh, in its turn, is sure that with the
lifting of restrictive sanctions the Islamic Republic of Iran will make
significant progress in scientific, technical, trade, economic, and
other areas, and will improve its combat readiness and the fighting
capacity of its armed forces. In this case, Teheran’s ability to support
the Shiite majority in Iraq, the government of Bashar Assad in Syria
and Shiite communities in countries of the Persian Gulf, Lebanon and
Yemen will significantly grow. A real threat will emerge to the ruling
Sunni groups in the Gulf countries, especially in Bahrain, where
two-thirds of the population is Shiite, in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia
itself (its eastern province), and in other countries of the region.
The
Gulf monarchs are clearly not ready to share power, natural resources
or finances with representatives of their large Shiite communities. The
apparent Israeli-Saudi alliance, even though hidden from the masses for
now, matches the interests of the US in the Middle East and Western
Asia. Washington hopes that this will weaken anti-Israeli feelings in
the Arab and Muslim world, create a reliable counterweight in the region
to a possible strengthening of Iran, and isolate to the extent possible
radical islamist Sunni and Shiite groups. The US, it would seem, is
happy to see several centers of power at once (Israel, Turkey, Egypt,
the Gulf monarchies and Iran) jostling or in competition with each other
but dependent on Washington, with Riyadh together with Tel-Aviv
assigned the role of regional gendarme. The Saudis’ counterinsurgency
operations in Bahrain and Yemen and the support for opposition fighters
in Syria confirm this thesis.
Stanislav
Ivanov, PhD in History, Leading research fellow at the Institute of
World Economy and International Relations and at the Institute of
Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, exclusively for the
online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
No comments:
Post a Comment