Shaking Netanyahu's hand or Yuval Dayan avoiding shaking hands; Bennett's embarrassed glances or Lapid's baffling hugs – none of these are really important, it was all just for show. The real event took place behind the scenes. The results of Biden's visit – whether it was seen from the start as an esoteric layover in Israel or as a promise of a renewal of vows for Israel and the US – include content that does serious harm to Israel's diplomatic and security interests. And lest there be any doubt, the fault lies with the Israeli government, not the Americans.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
The three days of media exuberation are over. Even if there was a drop of mild criticism here and there, it was restricted to the current state of the Biden administration, and said nothing against the government of Israel and its leaders. The reports about the joy and excitement in Jerusalem continued to feature in newspapers through Sunday, but even before the dust settled from the wall in the cabinet room where Lapid hung the "Jerusalem Declaration," its true meanings were already becoming clear.
The Saudi foreign minister took care to make it clear that normalization with Israel would be possible only after a two-state solution was implemented. In other words, at the end of the peace process, not the beginning. Instead of extending its hand to Israel in peace, the Saudis are actually extending it to Iran. A provocative Iranian announcement about its nuclear capabilities and intentions was swift to come. Thus, the Jerusalem Declaration leaves us barely the western half of the city. Commitment to Israel has turned into commitment to a Palestinian state, and the American promise that Iran would never become a nuclear state – while insisting on returning to the 2015 nuclear deal – has led to the opposite.
Above all, it became clear that while the Americans had come to the region to make up with the Saudis, Lapid had engineered a PR opportunity for himself – a chance to blind with his smiles, for which he upended Israeli diplomatic and security policy.
Whereas the Abraham Accords based peace with Israel on recognition of its diplomatic power and defense independence as well as a desire to cooperate with it, now Israel is being portrayed as a protégée state that the US is partly mediating with, partly leading.
In the Abraham Accords, there was a shared interest on the part of moderate Arab states and Israel in creating a regional alliance against Iran. Now, Saudi Arabia is revealing how close it is to Iran, and the United Arab Emirates is already in a hurry to send an ambassador there.
The Abraham Accords put a stop to the insistence on resolving the Palestinian problem before progress on any other Middle East question can be made. Now we're back to the two-state manta, and there is even a demand that upcoming regional summits include Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
If, with the Abraham Accords, the US was the one providing the partner states with economic and security benefits to encourage the important alliance and partnership with Israel, now Israel is the one paying – whether by agreeing to transfer control over the Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir to the Saudis (in exchange for nothing) or relaunching discourse about a Palestinian state.
Even the Saudi decision to allow Israeli flights to use its airspace, which was made because of tourism considerations rather than diplomatic ones, goes against the rationale of the Abraham Accords. If, as one Haaretz writer put it recently, "Every plane that lands in Dubai delivers another blow to the idea of territory in exchange for peace," then under the new policy line, every flight that goes over Saudi Arabia will be confirmation of the Palestinian state narrative.
Thus, Israel's foreign policy, which Benjamin Netanyahu laid out and built up for years, culminating in Israel signing four peace accords based on those countries' recognition of Israel's strength, is reduced to the "Palestinian problem" and resisting Iranian nuclearization. The ceremony that Lapid started this past march, when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Negev Summit, ended this week. Moving from the Abraham Accords paradigm to the concept of the Saudi "peace" initiative is complete.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
