An Opportunity to Revive the Political Process, or an Illusion? (Shlomo Brom, Anat Kurz, INSS)

In recent years, much has been said about the need for Israel to identify opportunities that can be leveraged toward improvement of its strategic position in the midst of the regional turmoil. It seems that the renewed international and especially the regional interest in reviving the political process is just such an opportunity that, if exploited, can be a way for Israel to promote its relations with the pragmatic Arab states and serve as a channel to make progress toward resolving the conflict with the Palestinians. However, this opportunity will in all probability be squandered because of the political situation in Israel and Abbas’s weakness, factors that can be expected to discourage both the steps Israel will have to take in exchange for realizing the potential inherent in this opportunity and any willingness to put them into practice. Therefore, it seems that Egypt and the Arab Gulf states will continue to cooperate with Israel against their shared enemies in a limited fashion and only behind the scenes, but in all probability, under current circumstances, the positive potential inherent in these relations will not be realized

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