Israel has multiple opportunities to advance ties with Arab countries. Ending the war in Gaza will make it easier and quicker. In the meantime, there’s positive momentum with Syria, including reports about direct talks and US pressure to have Syria join the Abraham Accords. But, these relations are different than those Israel has with Gulf states that normalized ties. There are territorial disputes on the Golan dating back to 1967. Peace efforts were launched as early as 1992 but didn’t come to fruition. Skilled diplomacy is needed to make the most out of these new opportunities and move Israel-Syria improvements forward step by step. Trying to push Syria into the Abraham Accords – too early & too quick, as Trump is doing – might backfire.
Watch Nimrod Goren’s interview with Deutsche Welle (starts at 03:30):
