Thursday, September 22, 2022
Elder of Ziyon
Diplomatic delegations from Pakistan and Indonesia are both in Israel for secret visits this week, according to Pakistani news reports on Monday.The Pakistani delegation is headed by Pakistani-American Nasim Ashraf, a former minister of state in former prime minister Pervez Musharraf 's government.During their visit to Israel, the Pakistani delegation was given tours across Israel. They are also scheduled to meet with President Isaac Herzog later this week, the report added.The Indonesian delegation in Israel is headed by a "senior official." Reports of a diplomatic presence of the two most populous Muslim nations in the world in Israel come amid recent warming of ties between Israel and Indonesia.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry denied any such visit.
Whether it is true or not, Arabs are taking the report seriously. This is especially in the wake of Turkish president Erdogan restoring relations with Israel and even saying he wants to visit Israel. Together with the second anniversary of the Abraham Accords, anything seems possible.
The combined Muslim population of Indonesia and Pakistan is higher than the combined population of Arab states, and having those two countries normalize relations with Israel would be a staggering psychological blow for the holdout Arab nations - they would be in the minority of Muslims worldwide!
And even if Indonesia and Pakistan only warm up relations without making them official, it points to a pattern that the anti-Israel crowd cannot downplay, much as they want to. Even unofficial relations and trade ensure Israel is considered a permanent part of the Middle East, and when countries stand to lose Israeli trade and scientific expertise they will think twice about trying to treat Israel as a pariah again.
The Abraham Accords broke open the dam, and the flood of new relationships with Israel cannot be easily stopped.
