Israels Arab neighbors : toward the normalization of relations

This chapter aims to describe the evolution of Arab-Israeli relations from 1948 until 2020, with a particular emphasis on the post-Arab Spring period. In the first decades of Israel's existence, Arab countries were an enemy of the new-born Jewish state. The first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel was Egypt (1979) which marked the end of the first period in Arab-Israeli relations, entering the new - intermediate - stage. The other two periods are the three post-1979 decades (determined by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), and the first decade after the Arab Spring - marked by the increasing need for normalization of Arab-Israeli relations, brokered by the United States.