Rather than labor for a final and comprehensive agreement between Israel and the Palestinians in one fell swoop, US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to try a different tactic. The goal now appears to be getting as many Arab and Muslims states to normalize relations with Israel before the US presidential election in November. In so doing, the hope is that the Palestinians will be compelled to return to peace talks. And it just might work.

Already there are normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Serbia (which is not Muslim) and Kosovo (which is). More than that, the latter two both reportedly committed to establishing their embassies in Jerusalem. And the reality is that many more Arab and Muslim countries are ready to do the same, including recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state, all of which undermines the legitimacy of Palestinian claims and weakens their position.

Who’s next?

It is widely believed that the next Muslim state to normalize relations will be the African nation...