Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s sudden trip to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, December 12, sharp-focused attention on the Abraham Accords – the 16-month-old diplomatic agreements many believed ushered a promising new era into the Middle East.

Bennett’s precipitous summit with the country’s head of state, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan (aka MBZ), was enabled by the accomplishments of Binyamin Netanyahu who, in August 2020 – under the aegis of the Trump administration – autographed an extraordinary agreement together with MBZ that committed the two countries to full peace, full recognition and full normalisation.

Israel and Bahrain simultaneously signed a parallel accord amid optimism that the way was being paved towards “the crown jewel” of treaties – an Israeli-Saudi peace pact.

After decades mired in an impenetrable bog, hopes for real Middle Eastern amity bloomed as quickly as wildflowers in the Negev. Most Israeli Jews responded with a blend of that hope, plus disbelief. Others expressed dismay at the prize forfeited for the agreements...

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