US President Donald Trump's Gulf tour this week will take him to Saudi Arabia, which he would like see recognise Israel, and the neighbouring UAE which has benefitted from Israeli ties but also paid a price.

During his first term, Trump oversaw a series of normalisation deals between close ally Israel and several Arab countries, stunning public opinion in the Arab world and breaking with the long-held convention that a just resolution to the plight of Palestinians must precede relations with Israel.

Nearly five years since the UAE joined the US-brokered Abraham Accords, along with Gulf neighbour Bahrain and North African kingdom Morocco, these relations have endured despite outrage in the region over the devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

"If the Gaza war did not put an end to that, nothing will," said Emirati analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdulla.

While recognising Israel brought economic and strategic windfalls for the UAE, its standing in the Middle East took a hit, experts said.

And although the UAE and Saudi Arabia are both oil-rich Gulf states, reputational risks at home and across the Arab and Muslim worlds weigh heavier on Riyadh as Trump seeks to persuade it to........

© International Business Times