Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Elham Fakhro

Elham Fakhro is Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Gulf States.

Selling Normalization in the Gulf — Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed participate in the signing of the Abraham Accords, September 15, 2020. Tom Brenner/Reuters

Current Analysis

Selling Normalization in the Gulf

When the UAE and Bahrain normalized their relations with Israel, the countries' leaders justified their actions as beneficial to the Palestinian struggle for statehood. Elham Fakhro explains how this rationale quickly fell apart and shifted, revealing deeper economic and strategic goals. Fakhro also

Elham Fakhro • 14 min read