Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Thursday, August 13, 2020, was heavy on Arabs in general and the Gulf in particular. It was as dark as the color of the ink in which Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed signed a US-sponsored normalization agreement with Israel. 

We know that US President Donald Trump is looking for any external achievement, with the approach of elections amid the decline of his chances and popularity. We also know that Netanyahu, who is beleaguered by issues of corruption and political crises, is also looking for an achievement that will keep him in power, after three inconclusive parliamentary elections. We also know that the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and even the Sultanate of Oman have chosen the normalization path since the 1990s, despite the rejection of their peoples, and that the pace of normalization has increased in the past few years, as the flag of Israel has been raised in these countries several times. The Israeli anthem has also been played in these countries. However, all the aforementioned incidents are nothing compared to the enormity of what happened on Thursday. 

The United Arab Emirates has tried since the first moments to manipulate the facts and mitigate what happened by saying that its ill-fated agreement aimed at stopping Israel's annexation of parts of the West Bank, which Netanyahu has vehemently and publicly denied and stressed proceeding in annexing these lands. Netanyahu confirmed that what was said was merely a "temporary suspension" of the annexation process, in exchange for full and comprehensive normalization with the United Arab Emirates.

It is true that the United Arab Emirates has been able to buy most of the Arab media outlets. We have seen the newspapers of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and we have read their coverage and supporting articles, and we have also followed the media outlets as they tried to mitigate the awfulness of what the UAE has done and present the issue of "halting annexation" as an Emirati achievement for the Palestinian cause. However, all of this didn't work.

The UAE has failed to turn its betrayal into an achievement among the peoples of the region. Despite its capabilities and funds, it has also failed to change Israel's image inside the minds and hearts of millions of Gulf and Arab people. Its agreement will forever remain a shame.

The rulers of the UAE and the rest of the Arab surrendering countries can sign agreements of normalization and peace treaties, but the people will continue to stand against them and will seek to change it, even if with their hearts.

Arabic Version