Historic opportunity to choose
What decisions will Arab governments make?
Some Arab countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and even Sudan, which had previously signed the Abraham Peace Agreement with Israel, did not take a clear stance on Israel-Hamas conflict saying it is better for both sides to return to the negotiation table.
Regardless of what is happening on the battlefield, it should be noted that in the political arena, events have occurred that somehow indicate that the Palestinian resistance operations against Tel Aviv have altered the political landscape of the region, or at least, many regional countries do not know how to deal with a major ambiguity called "adopting a clear position." Since the first rocket and missile by Hamas landed in the occupied territories on Saturday, countries like Qatar and Egypt have openly stated their roles. For example, Doha, due to its longstanding relationship with Palestinian resistance groups, especially Hamas, condemned these attacks as a provocation by Israel and its intermittent attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque. Even Monday, one of Hamas leaders announced that the Qataris had proposed to mediate in the prisoner exchange process between the two warring parties. Egypt, too, due to its traditional role in the Palestinian-Israeli dossier and because it has taken charge of managing the Rafah border crossing, has repeatedly offered mediation for the exchange of prisoners to Hamas, but so far, there has been no response to Cairo's request.
However, some Arab countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and even Sudan, which had previously signed the Abraham Peace Agreements with Israel, did not take a clear stance and only reinforced their incursion into Gaza, saying that both sides should return to the negotiation table. In this regard, the American website Axios reported, citing a U.S. official, that Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, had requested his counterparts in some Arab countries that had signed agreements (the Abraham Accords) with Israel to condemn the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, but they did not act on this request. This is while in Riyadh, all political and security levels are actively working to de-escalate the bloody conflict in the occupied territories. Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan held a telephone conversation with Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, and Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, emphasizing the need for cooperation to stop the tensions and Riyadh's opposition to targeting civilians, as well as the importance of all parties respecting international and humanitarian laws. But the reality is that most other Arab countries do not know how to position themselves regarding Israel and the current developments. In other words, it is not clear whether the Arabs should adopt a position "in favor" or "against" Tel Aviv.