Special report | A farewell to arms
The Palestinian cause no longer binds the Arab world
Their struggle against Israel still looms large, but for Arab governments it has outlived its purpose
IN THE FIRST years after Israel’s founding, David Ben-Gurion promoted an “alliance of the periphery”. The father of modern Israel saw the Arab world as implacably hostile. So he sought ties with non-Arab states, chiefly Turkey and Iran, which both established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1950 (the first Muslim-majority countries to do so).
This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline “A farewell to arms”
From the August 28th 2021 edition
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