Monday, January 16, 2012

Which Muslim countries in the Middle East recognize (have diplomatic relations with) Israel?

Officially, Egypt and Jordan. Unofficially, (i.e., pragmatically and quietly): Morocco, largely because Israeli intelligence once ped information of a plot to inate King Han II to Moroccan authorities; Turkey, because it stood to gain much more from Israel than it could from its Arab neighbors, although this status is threatened by Turkey's new leadership; and many Arab countries who clandestinely trade with Israel. The saddest of all cases is Lebanon, which, had its president-elect Bashir Gemayel lived long enough to take office, would not only have unquestionably established relations with Israel, but also would have become its strongest ally. It was always a question of which country would be first to have peace with Israel. Sadat bravely took that step. That Lebanon would have been second was a given--until Bashir, like Sadat, was cut down. Jordan was overdue; in spite of numerous exchanges of intelligence between Israel and Jordan, and behind-the-scenes cooperation, King Hussein, who at age 15 had seen his grandfather, King Abdullah I, inated by a Palestinian who feared Abdullah would make peace with Israel, procrastinated, probably more out of fear than for any other reason, for four decades. Notably, the Arab countries who have enjoyed positive relations with Israel have customarily leaned toward the West.

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