Trump’s recent Middle East trip resulted in a series of economic deals with Arab leaders pledging astronomical sums to the US. A $142 billion arms deal was signed with Saudi Arabia, as well as Riyadh committing to invest $600 billion with the US over four years. Qatar ordered 210 US-made aircraft from Boeing, valued at around $96 billion. According to Trump, the total value of the agreements in Doha exceeds $1.2 trillion. In the UAE, agreements surpassed $200 billion in value. The Emirates also ordered 28 aircraft from Boeing for $14.5 billion. Additionally, the Emirates confirmed a $1.4 trillion investment plan in the US over the next ten years. Although some experts find these figures exaggerated, it is stated that the revenue Trump secured for his country from these visits amounts to $4 trillion. Trump claims these agreements will lead the US to a new golden age.
So why are these countries competing to enrich the US while Israel, under American patronage, commits genocide against the Palestinians?
First, the regional leadership rivalry among these nations makes them distrustful competitors. This competition drives them to seek US support to emerge as the dominant power in the region. Second, the UAE and Saudi Arabia rely on US protection against Iran. Fear of Tehran and its proxies, the “Shiite Crescent”, resonates strongly with them.
At this point, these countries no longer have a common goal, nor is there an independent Arab thought, Arab nationalism, or an Arab national identity blended with socialism. The idea of Arab cooperation and mutual support to exist within the global system has been replaced by intense rivalries among Arab states. Internal conflict escalated to the extent that they can even overlook a genocide being committed against fellow Arab people. This approach deepens financial, military, and technological dependence on the US and Israel, while Arab wealth fuels the very hegemony responsible for Palestinian deaths.
In addition to the political and diplomatic support the US provides to Israel, it also supplies weapons and grants $3.5 billion annually. The Arab League was established in 1945 in Cairo with the primary goals of liberating Arab countries still under colonial rule and preventing the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. As such, the league has lost its effectiveness – and thus its practical meaning.
This phenomenon is not a recent development. The Arab Spring in 2011 left the Arab League deeply divided, as internal rivalries among member states split it into three competing factions. The first faction, comprising Tunisia and Qatar, forged an alliance with the non-member state Turkey and actively endorsed regime change through popular protests. The second group, encompassing Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, adopted a hostile stance, perceiving such upheavals as existential threats to regional stability. The third bloc, often termed the “Shiite Axis,” consisting of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, with backing from Iran, pursued a dual strategy: reinforcing allied regimes like Syria, while advocating for regime change in opposing states such as Bahrain.
If the relationship with the United States persists, driven by approaches that prioritize maintaining domestic power – often at the expense of the populace – and fueling competition with other regional states for leadership, neither the oppression of Palestinians nor Israel’s actions can be halted. Consequently, due to this rivalry among Arab states for regional dominance, Israel emerges as the undisputed leader of the region, while the Arab League remains confined to tedious and bureaucratic conference room meetings, unable to break away from this limited role.
(OAY/DT)
