by Boaz Bismuth
The International Atomic Energy Agency's decision on Thursday to reject, by a large majority of 61 to 43, the proposal from the Arab bloc -- to impose international oversight on Israel's nuclear facilities is not just a major Israeli victory, but also proof that Israel is not some wayward island in a virtuous global sea.
For years now we
haven't exactly been spoiled by the international community; the nuclear
deal and labeling products made in Judea and Samaria are just the most
recent examples. But to conclude that Israel is now isolated after the
diplomatic tsunami forecast in 2011 (remember?) and that the current
"radical" right-wing government in Jerusalem is leading us into
historical isolation is a bit of a stretch. And it's more than a little
wrong.
The International
Atomic Energy Agency's decision on Thursday to reject, by a large
majority of 61 to 43, the proposal from the Arab bloc, essentially by
Egypt, to impose international oversight on Israel's nuclear facilities
is not just a major Israeli victory, but also proof that Israel is not
some wayward island in a virtuous global sea.
The story of the IAEA's
vote needs to be divided in two: The positive aspect, of course, is
that all EU countries, the U.S., and countries from South America, the
Pacific and Africa, all voted against the proposal.
The negative aspect is
the fact that Arab states, even the friendly ones among them with which
we have diplomatic ties, still after all these years cannot cross the
bridge and understand that relations with Israel cannot be maintained
only behind closed doors and only when it suits their interests
(security cooperation, for example), while displaying hostility when the
spotlight is shining, as in the case of the IAEA vote.
Let's begin with the
positive. Recently the superpowers signed a nuclear deal with Iran. Even
those who supported the deal -- aside from President Barack Obama --
are cognizant of its dangers. A diplomatic source with knowledge of the
situation admitted Thursday that the IAEA vote by Western countries
could not have been different. There is a limit to how much Israel can
be put at risk: not only the nuclear deal with Iran, but inspections of
Israeli nuclear sites.
We must also
acknowledge that Israel did serious diplomatic work. And when Israel
embarks on campaigns such as these -- for four years I took part in some
of them -- the work is serious and provides the corresponding results.
However, there is a
negative side to the story. Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi
is comfortable for Israel, certainly in comparison to Egypt under his
predecessor, Mohammed Morsi. Israel and Egypt share common enemies
(terrorism, the Islamic State group) in the Sinai Peninsula. Israel
allows Egypt to deploy military forces in Sinai beyond what is
stipulated in the peace accord between the countries.
Israel and Egypt have
also found a common language regarding Hamas. But when it comes to
civilian matters or things that occur in the spotlight, Egypt is like
the other Arab states in its need to display obstinacy (note Jordan's
conduct lately). On the one hand, the Foreign Ministry's director
general recently paid a visit to Cairo, the Israeli ambassador's
residence in Egypt was re-inaugurated, and a new Egyptian ambassador
will arrive in Israel soon; on the other hand Israel was not invited to
the ceremonial opening of the New Suez Canal and, as noted, Egypt worked
hard against Israel on the nuclear front.
These are the limits to
Israel's relations with Arab states, for anyone who still doesn't know
or doesn't understand. Add to this that the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty is the "baby" of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and
you'll see why Egypt worked so feverishly on the rejected IAEA proposal.
But most importantly for those who were worried: Israel is not lost in the world, and has not lost America either.
Boaz Bismuth
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=13773
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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