ME 'security pact'.

THERE has been an overflowing of bonhomie between the Gulf Arabs and Israel over the past few months, much of it engineered by the Trump administration. It was barely a secret that Tel Aviv and the sheikhdoms had been enjoying clandestine relations for some time, and last year's so-called Abraham Accords, brokered by the US, saw relations established between Israel and the UAE and later Bahrain.

While the parties involved - the US, Israel and the Gulf sheikhs - gushed over the prospects of 'peace', more critical voices said the Palestinians had been thrown under the bus by their Arab 'brothers'. Moreover, it was said that the alliance was basically being formulated to counter Iran, a country both the Israelis and their Gulf allies consider their arch-nemesis.

Now, it appears these suspicions are being confirmed, as the outlines of a military alliance between the Israelis and the Gulf potentates is shaping up. Talking to the media on Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said that while it would not be right to term it a 'defence pact', there is a process under way of 'setting up [a] special security arrangement' between Israel and its friends in the Gulf.

While the Gulf states - and indeed any other states within the Muslim world - are free to choose their friends and enemies, forming alliances to counter any...

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