Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is receiving deserved praise for establishing full diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates. But this deal would not have been possible had Netanyahu not recently entered into a coalition government with centrist leader Benny Gantz.
The new government matters here in that it gives Netanyahu a commanding majority in the Knesset, Israel’s legislative body, without relying on the support of Naftali Bennett’s Yamina alliance and Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu Party. Ardently supporting Israel’s declaration of sovereignty in areas of the West Bank, were they in government, Bennett and Lieberman would have blocked this diplomatic agreement over its suspension of sovereignty moves. Evincing as much, Bennett responded to the announcement by attacking Netanyahu.
“It is unfortunate that Netanyahu missed a once-in-a-century opportunity to apply Israeli sovereignty,” Bennett tweeted. “It is tragic that Netanyahu did not seize the moment, nor did he muster the courage to apply sovereignty to even an inch of the Land of Israel.”
While Haaretz reports Israeli ministers as saying that the sovereignty freeze is only temporary, Netanyahu won’t easily be forgiven by the Israeli hard-right. That said, it’s clear why Netanyahu went ahead with this deal regardless.
For a start, he’s struck an important diplomatic victory for his nation and thus added a new chapter to his political legacy. The UAE is a rising economic power and geopolitical force. This partnership will advance Israel’s international interests in an environment in which it faces increasingly strained relations with many traditional partners (most notably, in the European Union). Also, by taking the near-term prospect of annexation off the table, Netanyahu will cool rising tensions with neighboring Jordan, which is of great importance to the United States. King Abdullah II of Jordan is deeply concerned about annexation and had posited major consequences for his U.S. and Israeli relationships were Israel to advance its sovereignty moves. That complication has now been resolved, at least for the time being.
This deal has also earned Netanyahu the increased goodwill of the Trump administration. If Iran moves toward a nuclear breakout, Israel will want to call on President Trump to take military action. This deal makes that support more likely by playing to Trump’s transaction-loyalty worldview.
The prime minister achieves another foreign policy victory, here. As the Atlantic Council’s Benjamin Haddad points out, the suspension of sovereignty will find favor from presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Netanyahu and the Israeli right are concerned over the increasing skepticism that defines Democratic Party attitudes toward Israel — much of that skepticism being related to Israeli settlement activity. By taking the prospect of annexation off the table, Netanyahu has thrown Biden an olive branch in advance of his prospective presidency.
In short, while Netanyahu’s accord might cause him some complications at home, it will earn him gratitude abroad. Of course, it’s also a major foreign policy victory in its own right.
