A recently leaked statement allegedly from an Arab diplomat, expressing entrenched hostility toward Israel, has reignited public debate over the durability of normalization in the Middle East and the obstacles still thwarting deeper cooperation. The message, translated as, “You were a snake, you will remain a snake… No one in the world will change my opinion about you…,” comes at a time of ongoing Israeli efforts to secure regional stability and foster open relations with its Arab neighbors, despite longstanding animosities and the persistent threat of Iranian-backed terror entities.
Lede and Context
The leak, widely circulated online and confirmed by diplomatic sources familiar with regional backchannel communications, emerged in the wake of continued violence involving Iranian-sponsored groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and their affiliates. The timing of the diplomat’s remark has been viewed by political analysts as a telling sign of the barriers that remain, even after landmark events like the 2020 Abraham Accords that brought Israel together publicly with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. While those agreements ushered in direct flights, economic exchange, and intelligence cooperation, the region’s older narratives of mistrust and hostility—often stemming from both legitimate grievances and decades of incitement—are not easily displaced, as the diplomat’s remarks illustrate.
Normalization’s Uneven Path
Israel’s quest for normalized ties with its neighbors has produced a patchwork of results. Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, maintains robust security coordination but has seen little translation of official partnership into public warmth. This is further complicated by the pervasiveness of anti-Israel sentiment in Egyptian media and education, a legacy of decades-long regional conflict and recurring violence involving groups such as Hamas in nearby Gaza.
Elsewhere, the Abraham Accords led to breakthroughs in bilateral relations with several Gulf states. The agreements were welcomed as a major step toward Middle Eastern integration, facilitated by the mutual interest in countering Iran’s aggressive policies and military entrenchment through proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Gaza. Yet, even in the Gulf, intellectuals and officials caution that normalization remains fragile—a process developing at different speeds within governments, civil societies, and the security sphere.
Iran’s Role and the Axis of Resistance
The central challenge to regional peace initiatives remains Iran and its creation of a network of ‘resistance’ forces: Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Islamic Jihad, and others. These groups are united by an explicit agenda to delegitimize and ultimately destroy Israel, carried out through acts of violence, regional destabilization, and anti-Israel incitement. The recent war between Israel and Hamas—triggered by the October 7, 2023, massacre in which over a thousand Israelis were murdered, raped, abducted, or mutilated in the deadliest antisemitic assault since the Holocaust—underscored the depth of the threat.
While the Abraham Accords states have denounced terrorism and deepened their security partnerships with Israel, their governments also navigate complex domestic environments where anti-Israel rhetoric and conspiracy theories still circulate. The leaked message, while not reflective of all diplomatic stances in the region, exposes the tension between political pragmatism and long-entrenched attitudes at every level of society.
Diplomatic Balancing and Security Realities
Israeli officials, in both public statements and confidential consultations, stress the necessity of ongoing military preparedness alongside incremental diplomacy. The persistent danger posed by Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza, Hezbollah’s arsenal in Lebanon, and Iranian-backed sabotage efforts remind Israel’s partners of the stakes. Egypt and Israel, for example, coordinate on the Sinai border to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza and to ensure mutual security against jihadi spillover.
UAE and Bahraini authorities, meanwhile, have directly benefited from Israeli security know-how—particularly missile defense systems and cybersecurity—while also facing internal debate over the pace and scale of social normalization. In all these countries, covert relationships and intelligence-sharing are increasingly routine, but officials remain wary of openly challenging public hostility to normalization, underscoring the gap between formal agreement and societal acceptance.
Hostages and Moral Distinctions
The October 7th atrocities and the subsequent hostage crisis—where over 200 Israelis and foreign nationals were forcibly taken by Hamas—have further clarified the moral divide between Israel and the terror groups determined to erase it. The abduction of innocents in those attacks, and the subsequent use of captives as bargaining chips, highlight persistent violations of international norms by Hamas. Israeli authorities have repeatedly been forced into painful exchanges, returning convicted terrorists for the release of non-combatant hostages, emphasizing both the cost of appeasing terror and the clarity of the moral distinction between the two sides.
Implications for Policy and the Road Ahead
The diplomatic furor over the leaked message comes at a time of reassessment within governments engaged in normalization with Israel. Security, economic development, and counterterrorism remain top priorities, but policymakers also contend with entrenched narratives of enmity promoted by Iranian propaganda and some domestic voices. While recent years have shown that pragmatic cooperation is possible—even likely—between Israel and major Arab states, genuine transformation will require more than agreements. It will demand a wholesale rejection of hate speech, disinformation, and incitement that fuel anti-Israel bias across the region.
Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, continue to emphasize military strength as a guarantee of national security and as a precondition for genuine negotiation. Their American partners, most recently under President Donald Trump, have championed the Abraham Accords and increased security assistance, affirming Israel’s right to self-defense. International advocacy and factual reporting play a parallel role in dispelling dangerous myths and building a foundation for lasting peace.
Conclusion
The hostile remarks of a single diplomat, while not representative of all, have spotlighted the unfinished work of normalization and the scale of deep-seated opposition that persists in parts of the region. As Israel confronts ongoing existential threats posed by Iranian-backed organizations—chief among them Hamas, whose atrocities remain a central obstacle to reconciliation—the diplomatic, political, and moral stakes remain extraordinarily high. Achieving meaningful coexistence will require vigilance, factual reporting, moral clarity, and—above all—a commitment to truth that transcends propaganda and incitement.
