One lesson that should be etched into the minds of all Middle East watchers is this: public statements must always be taken with a very large grain of salt. Words in this region often serve as cover for intentions and maneuverings far more complex than the slogans suggest.
The Arab states, including the UAE—the central pillar of the Abraham Accords—still publicly toe the line when it comes to “Palestine.” Official speeches continue to echo the decades-old rhetoric, even as realities on the ground have shifted dramatically.
Behind those statements, however, lies a much deeper concern: Iran and its network of proxies. For nearly half a century, the Islamic Republic has loomed as a destabilizing force across the region, threatening Arab governments, arming terrorists, and exporting its ideology of revolution. It is this threat—not the question of “Palestine”—that consumes the attention of Arab leaders in private.
The calculation is clear. If Israel, together with the United States, succeeds in crippling or even erasing the Iranian menace, then the Arab states know what the price will be: the end of the Palestine myth. For them, continuing to cling to that myth has long been a convenient shield—an excuse, a bargaining chip, a unifying slogan. But that shield will no longer hold once the Iranian threat is gone.