"Israel's Foreign Policy towards the Middle East:
Normalization with Arab states, Stagnation with the Palestinians"
Israel's relations in the Middle East are changing. Normalization processes have been launched in the second half of 2020 between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. They are enabling the emergence of a new type of regional relations, which is not based only on shared security interests, but also increasingly includes cooperation on political, economic and civilian issues. However, such progress is not evident in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. There, the stagnation continues and prospects to achieve a two-state solution are on decline, given developments on the ground. This talk will introduce how Israel's foreign policy towards the Middle East has evolved in the post-Arab Spring decade, will assess the current state of affairs in Israeli-Arab normalization processes, and introduce recommendations for policy steps that can help advance Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. It will also relate to the results of the Israeli elections, which will take place on March 23rd.
Dr. Nimrod Goren is the Founder and Head of Mitvim - The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, a think tank working to improve Israel's foreign policy, increase Israel's regional belonging, and advance Israeli-Palestinian peace.