Arab Politics

Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of (FDD) and a columnist for the Washington Times.

However, any hope of a full-fledged embrace of the plan by Gulf leaders was dashed when, just days later, the Arab League issued a sound and unanimous rejection of the entire plan, underscoring how Israeli ties to the Persian Gulf continue their delicate dance of two steps forward, one step back. Denouncing the plan as a “so-called ‘deal,’” the Arab League dubbed it a “setback” to the peace efforts undertaken in the past 30 years. The Palestinians initiated this public meeting of the Arab League, knowing they could shame the Arab states into denying their intrigue with Israel.

In December 2019, Germany’s UN ambassador was listed on the Wiesenthal Center’s Top Ten Anti-Israel/Antisemitic List for casting over two dozen anti-Israel votes at the United Nations. Ambassador Christoph Heusgen reportedly compared Israel to Hamas and voted for scores of anti-Israel resolutions at the world body.

Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of (FDD) and a columnist for the Washington Times.

The Moscow talks show that 2020 will continue the trend of deepened cooperation between Erdogan and Putin. Turkey purchased the S-400 missile defense system from Russia last summer, much to the chagrin of the international community, as well as negotiated a ceasefire following Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria this past October. Their partnership in this new arena demonstrates that despite being on opposite sides of the fighting in Syria and Libya, the Turkish and Russian presidents have an uncanny ability to cut deals. However, it is unclear whether these bargains can hold, and thereby remedy Erdogan’s troubles at home and abroad.