With the new Biden administration, several questions have emerged: How much will the recent normalization of Arab-Israeli diplomatic relations be influenced by the new administration? How will the Biden administration deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Dr. Daniel Pipes answered these questions in the Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy; however, his answers give the impression that there will be some hiccups in the process of normalization with Arab countries, as well as in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In light of these facts, we have to take advantage of the normalization of relations that has occurred between Israel and Arab countries under former US President Donald Trump, and to support those countries in working with Israel to engage in a different kind of diplomacy that is not entirely dependent on the American administration, so that we do not turn back the clock and disrupt recent developments.
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Pipes explains that the Biden team is likely to give Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the PA carte blanche in much Middle Eastern diplomacy, which means returning to the old ways: requiring the blessing of the PA's rejectionism. In this scenario, the two-state solution will never be implemented because an independent Palestinian state could never be established under a corrupt and incompetent authority. Even if it were to be established, it would never be able to provide stability and prosperity for its people and could easily destabilize its neighbors.
According to polls conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between Sept. 14-16, 2017, the majority of Palestinians are unhappy with Abbas's performance. Two-thirds (67%) of the public want him to resign, only 38% of the Palestinian public polled said West Bank residents could criticize the PA without fear of reprisal and 77% perceived it as corrupt. In terms of the recent normalization of Arab-Israeli diplomatic relations, nothing will change, but normalization is unlikelty to expand to other Arab countries due to a return to conventional diplomacy, which says that there can be no peace until a reluctant PA makes peace.
One of the most common causes of turmoil in the Middle East is that everyone talks about politics, and the big problem is that Israelis and the Palestinians is only seen through the lens of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Opportunities to get to know innovators on both sides of the divide are missed. To avoid setbacks to recent developments, the Arab countries that have recently normalized relations with Israel should encourage those that haven't to separate politics from science.
Let politicians take time over the negotiations while Israelis and Arabs continue to cooperate on technology and science. A relationship based on shared scientific endeavours and accomplishments can shift the mindset of the new generation away from militarization, conflict, hatred and extremism to science and knowledge. This transformation would mainly be achieved through "science diplomacy," which would keep science separate from politics.
Science diplomacy can be defined as a field of research, education and practice that is dedicated to better understanding and reinforcing the connections between science, technology and international affairs with the goal of tackling national and global challenges. Science diplomacy is divided into two categories: the first is diplomacy for science, which facilitates international scientific cooperation; the second, science for diplomacy, in which international relations are improved through scientific cooperation. The advantage of this diplomacy is that it overcomes political challenges as well as cultural and religious differences, and thus is considered an important bridge between countries. This scientific cooperation between Israel and the Arab people to make the world a better place is explained in detail in the book: Thou Shalt Innovate: How Israeli Ingenuity Repairs the World, by Avi Jorisch.
The book provides interesting details about Israeli-Palestinian cooperation, especially in the field of medicine. For example, the story of Mohammed, a Palestinian man who worked with Hadassah University Medical Center and United Hatzalah to save lives and advance emergency medical care, especially for the Arab population of east Jerusalem. The service is not concerned with saving Jews, Muslims, or Christians, but with saving people. Jorisch's book also tells the story of Imad and Reem Yunus, Christian Arab Israelis who created a GPS device used in brain surgery and launched Alpha Omega, the largest Arab technology company in Israel. The company performs deep brain stimulation during surgery and is used for people suffering from tremors, Parkinson's disease, and other neurological disorders. The book also gives several examples of scientific cooperation between different ethnicities in Israel in the field of modern drip irrigation, solar water collection, an internet firewall, a capsule camera, back surgery using robots, and more.
When people only receive information about Israel via mainstream media news, they think that daily life in Israel involves nothing but violence, war, suicide bombings, stabbings and car accidents. If the mainstream media intends to spread this kind of news to serve political interests and perpetuate the turmoil in the region, science diplomacy must take the peace process forward by circumventing politics.
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