1 min read
Our cover story this week records the first official Israeli confirmation of its talks with its Arab neighbours.
Not that such talks are in any way surprising; for all the remaining rhetoric and verbal hostility towards Israel, many Arab states realise that they and Israel have similar security issues. Shiite Iran poses an existential threat across the region. And Sunni Daesh remains a potent source of terror. Ambassador Regev's statement is built on the fact that the Arab states and Israel have a far greater understanding of each other, and the realpolitik of their respective needs, than the West does with either.
The Iran deal is a case in point.
The West agreed to lift sanctions and embrace Iran with an almost unbelievable naivety. In the region, there remains near-unanimous support among those who actually face the threat from Iran for Israel's opposition to the deal.
The Obama administration's inability to grasp this reality explains its lamentable record, and why any progress that may be made before the departure of the US President and his inept secretary of state will be despite, not because of, their feeble diplomacy.
To get more from opinion, click here to sign up for our free Editor's Picks newsletter.