WHO LOST ISRAEL?:

The UAE, like Saudi Arabia, has yet to launch a successful foreign military venture or successfully impregnate its territory against attacks by foreign adversaries. The UAE partially withdrew from the seven-year-old Yemen war without achieving its military objectives despite leaving local proxies behind, while Saudi Arabia is looking for a face-saving end to the conflict.

The Saudi-led coalition on Tuesday declared a one-month ceasefire during the holy month of Ramadan during a summit of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council that groups Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. Yemen's Houthi rebels refused to join the meeting because it was held in Riyadh, the capital of one of the war's main protagonists.

Meanwhile, the two Gulf states have been unable to protect their infrastructure and oil facilities from missile and drone attacks by the rebels and potentially by Iran itself.

Israel's importance to the Arab states was highlighted by the fact that the first-ever such gathering, particularly on Israeli soil, was convened by the Jewish state rather than the UAE, for example, and held in the home of David Ben Gurion, a founder and the first prime minister of Israel.

To be sure, the Ukraine crisis has brought the Middle East's significance back to the fore, whether it relates to the diversification of the supply of oil and gas to Europe, the Middle East's impact on security beyond its borders, or stability in an era of defiance and dissent with the rise of the spectre of food riots in various Middle Eastern countries because of a spike in commodity prices.

By agreeing to attend a gathering in the home kibbutz of Mr. Ben Gurion, whom Palestinians hold co-responsible for their plight, Arab foreign ministers were further underlining Israeli power in the region.

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