Saudi-Iran Rapprochement and China
I was pleased with the news of the restoration of Saudi Iranian ties, including resumption of diplomatic relations, opening of embassies, assurances of respect of their sovereignty and non-interference in their internal affairs.
It is an important indicator that this agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran was signed outside the region. This is unlike the dialogues which were held in Baghdad and Muscat. It is a surprise that China was the host. It is unusual particularly when the matter involves countries which are far from China. I think this is because of certain factors, including China’s dependence on Middle Eastern energy sources and Beijing’s departure from the crucible of controlled and limited diplomacy to start active global diplomacy. This development and determination were expressed by the new Chinese foreign minister a week ago. It also reflected Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech which he delivered at the beginning of his third term in office a few days ago. It should also be noted that China has already proposed a five-point strategy to achieve security and stability in the Middle East through dialogue.
I think that the West is really welcoming it to avoid any slide towards a military clash, as wanted by Israel, with Iran because of its nuclear programme. This is despite the fact that the Iranian-Russian cooperation in Ukraine has increased tensions of the West and its anger towards Tehran.
I am confident that the Saudi Iranian agreement and the successful diplomatic hosting of China will get huge attention and will be discussed.
[by Nabil Fahmy in Independent Arabia]
Is It Netanyahu’s Political Demise?
It was the stench of Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption which has sparked mass demonstrations during 2018, this time people took to streets rejecting the model of religious dictatorship which he and his team want to try to circumvent the judiciary. Perhaps the angry demonstrations which take place against him every week, and which have increased in frequency and intensity over the past few days, may chart the way for him and those with him to fall.
The reforms, as Netanyahu describes them, caused a state of boiling in the Israeli Knesset, and prompted the head of the “Israel Our Home” party, Avigdor Lieberman, to describe the government as a failure.
Netanyahu has lost the support of politicians and the army. He has also lost the support of a number of businessmen who have begun to get fed up with what he might drag Israel into.
In the manner of Marie Antoinette, Sarah Netanyahu decided to ignore the anger of the demonstrators, go out and get a new haircut. The demonstrators knew the address. They surrounded the place in a scene which could have developed into a disaster had it not been the intervention of the police, who managed to save her in the last moments.
With the widening wave of anger, a near end is what everyone is noticing in Tel Aviv. The question remains whether this will be the end of “Bibi” or the end of an occupying state (Israel).
[by FadhelMunasifah in Al-Arab, London]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque