Terry Su

Opinion | With Israel-Gaza war, America’s Middle East policy has gone up in flames

The US’ miscalculation was to seek to normalise relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel to counter Beijing’s geopolitical moves in the region. But this forced Hamas into desperate action

As global concerns spread and domestic opposition grows, the US is being shaken to its foundations

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Terry Su

Published: 5:30am, 19 Oct 2023Updated: 1:18pm, 19 Oct 2023

It’s been more than a week since Hamas launched its surprise attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip, which were as successful militarily as they were harrowing in humanitarian terms.

Few had expected this, including US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Eight days before the attack, Sullivan had listed the positive developments in the Middle East that were allowing America to focus on other regions, declaring: “The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades.”

Hamas’ onslaughts shattered the rosy picture. Paradoxically, it was largely Washington’s doing that the “quieter” Middle East suddenly turned into a hellish war zone. America’s latest initiative to broker the normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia spurred Hamas into desperate action for fear that Palestinians’ interests would again be sacrificed, perhaps forever.

Back in September 2020, the Trump administration brokered the Abraham Accords, with the United Arab Emirates – together with Bahrain and Morocco – normalising its relations with Israel. The deal was preceded by Egypt and Jordan’s recognition of Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively.

Any such move by Saudi Arabia would be a lot more significant given its population size, land mass and oil wealth, let alone the prestige it enjoys as the leader of Sunni Muslims. Washington’s calculation was that the ultimate detente between Riyadh and Tel Aviv would counter Beijing’s geopolitical manoeuvres in the region.

Yet America’s Saudi-Israeli normalisation scheme has come disastrously unstuck.

Opinion | With Israel-Gaza war, America’s Middle East policy has gone up in flames

The US’ miscalculation was to seek to normalise relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel to counter Beijing’s geopolitical moves in the region. But this forced Hamas into desperate action As global concerns spread and domestic opposition grows, the US is being shaken to its foundations

The US’ miscalculation was to seek to normalise relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel to counter Beijing’s geopolitical moves in the region. But this forced Hamas into desperate action

As global concerns spread and domestic opposition grows, the US is being shaken to its foundations