Promised land, a land of peace at last?
Throughout history, the Middle East has generally been a land of conflict and even more, since the founding of the State of Israel. The European Union has great allies in the Middle East and must be concerned about peace and cooperation in the region. Many countries share this interest and we must ensure that our action is an exercise in reason and the common good. It is truly a cause that needs no defence. But we must, as European citizens, be aware of the current situation on the basis of its history. On 14 May 1948, David Ben Gurión proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. On that day Ben Gurión defined the Jewish People as those who never lost hope. Although at the time, they were unaware that they would have to keep it up for a long time. Since then, the Middle East has been marked by the conflict which, despite many attempts at mediation, has yet to be overcome. It was not until 1967 that The Six-Days War flared and twenty years after, the Palestine uprising lasted for years ending with the signing of the Oslo agreement in 1993 where both
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parts officially recognised the other. But the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, destroyed all what had been achieved so far. Tensions since then have not ceased but have been increasing. Another significant breakthrough took place in September 1978 where Egypt became the first Arabic country to recognise the State of Israel followed by Jordanians on 1994. The path to peace in the region was being shaped again. The peace agreements where resumed on 13 August 2020 when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed the establishment of diplomatic ties by which the Israeli authorities suspend the annexation of the Palestinian territories. It was the first Persian Gulf country to do so. And it did not take long for another to do the same. In addition, last September Bahrein became the fourth Arabic country to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel. Apart from the great importance of the recent peace agreements and the establishment of full diplomatic BullsEye
