It does seem to be that Times Are Changing in the Middle East. What I mean by this is the improved relations between Israel and a number of the Arab states around it. It was once the case that many of the Arab nations refused to recognise Israel and even went to war with them on numerous occasions. However, there have been numerous examples recently which seem to contradict such a theory. Let us explore.
The evidence of such change
As the Jerusalem Post reported, Israel took part in a Red Flag aerial exercise along with the United States and Pakistan, but more crucially with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The strengthening of relations goes further back to November 2015 when, as stated on The Huffington Post website, Israel opened its first "diplomatic mission" in the UAE. Furthermore, wirth regards to Egypt, Aljazeera noted last year that on the anniversary of the Anwar al- Sadat's speech in Jerusalem, "the two countries have never been closer". It was also stated that the two governments have reached "full partnership and unbreakable alliance". Even more so, in October of last year, Adnan Abu Amer from the Al-Monitor website tnoted that Jordan had been "cozying up to Israel rather quickly". The question 'is Jordan Israel's new best friend?' has also been mooted.
It seems that times have certainly changed. But it is not surprising. As the global challenges that face us have changed, it is now time for new allies to be formed to fight the common threats that we face.
