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Emirates and Bahrain sign historic agreement with Israel
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Israel signs agreements with the Emirates and Bahrain
At the White House, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed a historic agreement with Israel. It is a step towards the normalization of relations between countries that have so far been hostile. The president of the United States, Trump, could also use this.
It is a historic ceremony at the White House: Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates sign an agreement to normalize their relations. For the president of the United States, Trump, the agreement is an important achievement.
reThe foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have sealed the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel at the White House in Washington. Under the presidency of US President Donald Trump, the two foreign ministers signed the agreement together with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We are here today to change the course of history,” Trump said at the beginning of the ceremony. “After decades of division and conflict, we are celebrating the beginning of a new Middle East.”
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu hailed his country’s rapprochement with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain as historic. The move could finally end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
“This is an incredible day for the world,” Trump said shortly before the signing.
Source: AFP / SAUL LOEB
Trump had campaigned for a rapprochement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. According to him, there are talks with other Arab countries that could join the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Talks with “five or six countries” are a long way off. Reporter Amichai Stein reported on Twitter that a representative from Sudan attended the ceremony at the White House. A representative from Oman was also expected. Neither country has diplomatic relations with Israel.
The United Arab Emirates and Israel had already decided to normalize their relations in mid-August. On Friday, Trump announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would also follow the example of the United Arab Emirates.
The Gulf states expect economic benefits from the deals, but forge an alliance with Israel against their common arch enemy Iran.
The Palestinian leadership called the rapprochement a “betrayal of Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Palestinian cause.” Iran and Turkey also voiced strong criticism.
Trump’s success before the November elections
As a result of the agreements, 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.
The Palestinians have boycotted the US government since Trump unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017 and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv in May 2018. He accuses Trump of a unilateral pro-Israel policy .
Trump announces his Israel-friendly Middle East policy in the election campaign, with which he particularly wants to score points with the evangelical electorate that is important to him. The normalization of relations between Israel and the United States’ Arab allies in the region is a central goal of Trump’s policy in the Middle East, which seeks to isolate Iran. The current president of the United States will compete against the Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, in the elections on November 3.
The Kingdom of Bahrain is a close ally of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. Bahrain also has close ties with the United States. The fifth US fleet is stationed there. Last year, the Gulf state and Washington hosted a controversial economic conference for the Palestinians in their capital, Manama.
While Bahrain, like its Arab Gulf neighbors, is ruled by a Sunni ruling house, the majority of the population is Shiite. Traditionally, the country has close ties to Iran, which is also Shiite.
Missile alert in southern Israel
Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated Tuesday against the signing of the agreement. In both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, people carried signs that read “Betrayal”, “No normalization with the occupiers” or “Agreement of Shame”. Portraits of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rulers of the Emirates and Bahrain were partially burned.
According to the Israeli army, two rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip during Washington’s approach ceremony. The “Iron Dome” defense system intercepted a missile, the army announced Tuesday night.
According to media reports, two people were injured in the city of Ashdod. A spokesman for the Israeli ambulance service said the two people were injured by broken glass. Four other people are in shock.
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