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For Arab Israelis, the New Peace Treaties Spell Opportunity
(Foreign Policy) Marc J. Sievers and Jonathan H. Ferziger - Mas Watad, a Hebrew University-educated diet guru, is one of Israel's Arab citizens playing to a vast potential market in the Arabian Peninsula, after commercial ties were initiated last year through peace agreements with Israel. Investment from the UAE and its neighbors should lead to greater economic opportunities and prosperity for Israel's Arab population. Palestinians in the West Bank may also benefit. Israeli Arabs - 21% of the population - have an emerging professional class concentrated heavily in the medical sector. Arab-owned businesses, which figure prominently in Israel's construction and trucking industries, are increasingly moving into the realm of technology start-ups. A large number of Arab Israelis are eager to enjoy the sights and sounds of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Manama. Besides sharing language and culture, they are able to circulate in these countries more freely than in, say, Egypt, where they are generally subjected to scrutiny and sometimes harassment. The mayor of Kafr Qasim near Tel Aviv, Adel Badir, who recently returned from the Cybertech Global conference in the UAE, said, "As Arabs in Israel, we've always been a bridge to encourage peace between Israelis and Palestinians. We are happy to play that role now with Arab countries that have opened to us through the Gulf accords." Marc J. Sievers is a former U.S. ambassador to Oman. Jonathan H. Ferziger is a former Middle East correspondent for Bloomberg. Both are senior fellows at the Atlantic Council.