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US President Donald Trump received the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Foreign Ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Abdullah bin Sajid and Abdullatif al-Sajani, at his official residence.
Trump spoke of an “incredible day for the world”, while the Palestinian leadership spoke of “betrayal of Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Palestinian cause.” Iran and Turkey also voiced strong criticism. The Gulf states expect economic benefits from the deal, but they are forging an alliance with Israel against their common arch enemy Iran.
Trump was optimistic that other countries in the region could reach similar agreements with Israel. “We have many others who will join in shortly, and the Palestinians will finally join,” Trump said. “And you will have peace in the Middle East without being stupid and shooting everyone and killing everyone and having blood in the sand everywhere.” Under the agreement, there will be four Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan, and now the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which currently have diplomatic relations with Israel. In exchange for the deal, Israel wants to suspend the planned annexation of areas in the occupied West Bank, which the Palestinians claim for their own state.
