For years, Egypt and Jordan have exploited their peace treaties with Israel as a tool of extortion to prevent Israel from pursuing its security and political interests.
The coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout may rewrite the security as well as the political and economic map of the Middle East. The crisis will probably color Gulf attitudes towards the regionโs major external players: the US, China, and Russia. Yet the Gulf States are likely to discover that their ability to shape the regionโs map has significantly diminished.