Dore Gold says Arab ties will precede Palestinian solution

Foreign Ministry director-general Dore Gold says the Palestinian cause is not moderate Arab states’ top priority, ranking “toward the bottom” of the list. Gold says he hopes stronger ties with Arab states will help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but says the former will precede any sort of peace accord.

Of Israel’s discreet ties with Arab states, he says, “under the ice, a lot of hot water is flowing.”

“We have many new opportunities, primarily because many states fear Iran’s empowerment,” Gold says. “The Palestinian issue is no longer the number one [priority], it’s close to the bottom [of the list]. That doesn’t mean we don’t need to try and find a breakthrough with the Palestinians, but it is no longer the currency to forging ties with Sunni Arab states.”

“We hope to use our new ties in the Arab world, along with the ties in Africa and Asia, to build better relations with the Palestinians, too,” says Gold. “It’s part of Netanyahu’s vision and we hope to implement it.”

“Twenty years ago, people said that if we solve the problem with the Palestinians, then we will also have peace with the Arab world. Today it’s the opposite.”

Gold says the “stars have aligned as never before” and pledges Israel will “take advantage of all efforts and overturn every stone to ensure that we bring about a safer Middle East for Israel.”