Headlines
Factbox-The bitter relationship between Israel and Arab states
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 15, 2025
5 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 15, 2025
5 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Israel's relations with Arab states are complex, marked by treaties and conflicts. Key players include Egypt, Jordan, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
(Reuters) -Israel's bombing of Qatar last week risks a new breach with Arab states who are meeting on Monday, opening another chapter in a fractious history since Israel's creation in 1948 marked by repeated wars and periods of frosty peace.
Here is how the relationships have played out for some major Arab countries, which have also had difficult ties with Palestinian leaders over the years, complicating efforts to stabilise the Middle East.
EGYPT
Israel and Egypt, the most populous Arab state, fought wars in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973. But Egypt struck the first Arab peace deal with Israel in 1978 at Camp David. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who agreed the deal, was assassinated three years later.
The peace treaty remains deeply unpopular among Egyptians according to opinion polls, but it has become an enduring pillar of Cairo's foreign and security policies and critical to its relationship to the United States. Israel and Egypt cooperate on oil and gas, but have little other trade.
Comments by Israeli and U.S. politicians suggesting that Gaza's population should be relocated partially to Egypt's Sinai were vehemently condemned in Cairo.
JORDAN
The second Arab state to make peace with Israel, in 1994, Jordan is the Arab state with the closest ties to Palestinians. By some estimates more than half the country's population is Palestinian - many of them descended from refugees who fled or were driven out when Israel was created in 1948.
Jordan controlled the West Bank and east Jerusalem from 1948 until Israel captured and occupied the Palestinian territories in the 1967 war. King Abdullah's Hashemite dynasty has been custodian of Jerusalem's Muslim and Christian sites since 1924.
Like with Egypt, the peace deal with Israel is important to Jordan's approach to security and foreign policy and is central to its ties with the United States. However, anger over Israel's treatment of Palestinians is widespread in Jordan and was sharpened by the war in Gaza.
UAE
The Gulf monarchy surprised many Arab states in 2020 by agreeing to normalise relations with Israel - the first to do so under Donald Trump's so-called 'Abraham Accords'.
The deal allowed the United Arab Emirates and Israel to coordinate more closely on what they both saw as threats from Shi'ite Iran and Sunni Islamist groups, and was seen in Abu Dhabi as bolstering the country's economy and regional role.
However, the UAE has always said normalisation was intended to advance the goal of a Palestinian state - something that has been increasingly challenged by the war in Gaza and accelerated Israeli settlement building in the West Bank.
Israel's airstrike on Qatar, a neighbouring monarchy and fellow member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, now plunges the relationship with the UAE into uncharted territory.
BAHRAIN, SUDAN, MOROCCO
Fellow Gulf monarchy Bahrain followed the UAE in normalising ties with Israel shortly afterwards. Morocco, which already had ties with Israel, agreed to strengthen them as part of the Abraham Accords in return for the United States recognising its sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Sudan made up the fourth member of the accords but did not enact normalisation before sliding into war.
SAUDI ARABIA
Home to Islam's holiest sites, Saudi Arabia has always presented itself as a champion of the Palestinian cause but has for decades kept the door open to future ties with Israel.
In 2000, it corralled other Arab states to agree the Arab peace initiative offering full normalisation with Israel in return for the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of Palestinian refugees.
Over recent years it had appeared to be edging towards following the UAE and Bahrain into a deal but the war in Gaza and Israeli strikes on Gulf ally Qatar have made that prospect dimmer than ever.
SYRIA
Israel seized much of Syria's Golan Heights during the 1967 war and declared it was annexing the area in 1981. Under the Assad family, an ally of Israel's arch regional foe Iran, the relationship remained one of open hostility.
During Syria's civil war, Israel repeatedly bombed targets linked to Iran in Syrian territory. After the Assads were toppled in December, it has intensified strikes on Syrian military assets, seized Mount Hermon and moved troops into southern Syria.
LEBANON
Lebanon is home to many Palestinian refugees and was host to the Palestine Liberation Organisation from 1970. Israel clashed repeatedly with the PLO and invaded Lebanon to fight it in 1978 and 1982, occupying the country's south until 1990.
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group emerged as Israel's main enemy on its borders. Last year's war, triggered by the conflict in Gaza, led to major reverses for Hezbollah and an uneasy ceasefire deal.
IRAQ
Israel destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor with a bombing raid in 1981. Since the war in Gaza, it has repeatedly struck Iran-aligned groups inside Iraq.
YEMEN
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group has tried attacking Israel with missiles and drones since 2023 over the war in Gaza. Israel has targeted Houthi leaders and military positions with airstrikes.
(Reporting by Angus McDowallEditing by Ros Russell)
Israel and Egypt fought wars in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973. However, Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1978.
The UAE surprised many by normalizing relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, aiming to address mutual threats from Iran and Islamist groups.
Saudi Arabia has historically positioned itself as a champion of the Palestinian cause while keeping the door open for future ties with Israel, especially through the Arab peace initiative.
Israel's recent airstrike on Qatar has complicated its relationships with other Arab states, particularly the UAE, which is a fellow member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Jordan has a significant Palestinian population and has historically maintained close ties with Palestinians, making its peace deal with Israel crucial for its security and foreign policy.
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