New Signs of a Developing Arab-Israel Alliance: 'Old Hatreds Are on the Run'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed what he called a "public expression of the warming in relations between Israel and Arab countries."

"The UAE Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed, spoke about a new alliance in the Middle East: An Israeli-Arab alliance. This is the direct result of our policy, which has turned Israel into a rising power in the region and the world," Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting.

His comments followed bin Zayed's tweet on his personal account of an article in The Spectator, which said that a "new narrative is emerging in the Middle East."

Islam’s reformation: an Arab-Israeli alliance is taking shape in the Middle East | The Spectator https://t.co/uzJNi6GUsa

— عبدالله بن زايد (@ABZayed) December 21, 2019

In the tweet, bin Zayed used the title of the article: "Islam's Reformation: An Arab-Israeli alliance is taking shape in the Middle East.

In the article, writer Ed Hussain, says, New maps of the Muslim mind are being drawn and old hatreds are on the run."

He said the "anti-Semitic craze to destroy Israel" that was "powerful" in the 1960s united Egypt's President Nasser and other Arabs, but now Sunni Arabs are "changing course."  
"Islamist leaders are losing their appeal — at a time when Iran, with its brand of theological fascism, poses a threat to Israel and the Arab world alike," he wrote.

In his comments, Netanyahu said he couldn't detail all the moves he and his colleagues had made over the years but he said bin Zayed's remark was "the result of the ripening of many contacts and efforts" which would best be kept quiet for now.