Despite supporting Palestine in words since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, a number of Arab and Muslim states have been in fact helping Israel by increasing trade with Tel Aviv.
Since the war between Hamas and Israel started on October7, Israel has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. This unprecedented bloodshed by the Israeli military against Palestinians has provoked the international community in a way that except for a few Israel allies, most countries in the world have strongly condemned the violence against Gazans.
But when it comes to Arab and Muslim states, the expected policy is that they stand with all their hearts and might against Israel in support for their Arab Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine.
Egypt
Following Turkey, the UAE, and Jordan, Egypt stands in the fourth rank in regard to boosting trade with Israel.
Egypt was in fact the first Arab country to make peace with and recognize Israel long before the Abraham Accords.
Back in 1979, the US President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin established a framework for a historic peace treaty concluded between Israel and Egypt. Cairo’s exports to Israel reached to $198.37 million in 2023, a number which stood on $87 million just three years ago in 2020.
Notable export categories include inorganic chemicals, precious metals compounds, building materials, foodstuffs, and plastics. Egypt is also very much dependent on Israel for energy imports, especially gas. That’s why the suspension of activity at the Tamar Gas Field due to the war led to an 80% drop in gas exports to Egypt, causing a 15% increase in gas prices in the Arab country in less than a week.
Algeria
Algeria is the fifth biggest helper of Israel among Arab and Muslim countries in regard to increasing exports to Tel Aviv when Israel needs it the most.
Algeria’s exports to Israel was only $9.7 million in 2018, but in the last month of 2023, it multiplied and reached to over $29.19 million. Most of the goods that Algeria exports to Israel include inorganic chemicals, precious metals compounds, and isotopes.
The irony for Algeria is that this increasing volume of trade relations with Israel goes exactly the opposite of Algeria’s long-held stance against normalization, including its criminalization two years ago.
Morocco
Then it comes to Morocco to fill the sixth rank among top exporters to Israel among Arab and Muslim states.
In less than three years, Morocco increased its exports to Israel from $10 million to over 20 million, with exports to Israel predominantly composing of foodstuffs. Morocco established diplomatic ties with Israel back in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords.
Bahrain
And Finally, it comes to Bahrain, which occupies the seventh rank in the list. In 2023, Bahrain’s exports to Israel reached to more than $12 million, while the Arab country had zero trade relations with Israel only 3 years ago when Bahrain decided to normalize relations with Tel Aviv. Key exports from Bahrain to Israel include aluminum, iron and steel.
Thanks to these generous figures of exports increase to Israel by Arab and Muslim states, the combined exports of West Asian countries to Israel saw an unprecedented by $4,359.530,000 between 2020 and 2022, marking an increase of almost 111 percent in the time period.
