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The foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain signed historic diplomatic normalization agreements with Israel in a ceremony at the White House.
At an event supervised by the president Donald trump, the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayan, signed the agreements with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu .
The deals, the details of which are still being negotiated, represent the first time in a quarter century that an Arab country has granted diplomatic recognition to the Jewish state. Jordan and Egypt signed agreements with Israel in 1994 and 1979 respectively.
The movements, signaling a significant shift in regional geopolitics, should see the opening of embassies in the respective countries, as well as flights, tourism, and trade ties.
Defense ties are also expected to be established quickly, with the possible sale of Israeli warplanes to the Persian Gulf nations.
The accords strengthen the regional alliance against Iran, a common enemy for both parties.
The three leaders facing the signing in the White House
The Abraham Accords, as they have been named, are framed by the Trump administration as a “path to peace” for the region and a test of Trump’s credentials as a negotiator.
Trump predicted that more Arab nations would soon follow suit by making their own deals with Israel.
Speaking from the balcony of the White House, he said: “We are here this afternoon to change the course of history. We will have at least five or six countries arriving very quickly.”
Another Gulf state, the United States’ close ally Saudi Arabia, would sign an agreement “at the right time,” he said.
The three Middle East leaders praised the agreements and Trump’s role in glowing terms, and Netanyahu said it gave hope to “all the people of Abraham.”
Images of the signings and the apparent shift in the regional alliances they represent are sure to be used by Trump and his re-election team.
There was a clear desire on the part of the Trump administration to hold today’s ceremony before the November election. As a result, many of the details of the alliances have yet to be finalized.
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The UAE, and later Bahrain, agreed to normalize relations and recognize Israel after the Israeli prime minister pledged to suspend plans to annex parts of the Palestinian West Bank.
The move by the Gulf Arab countries breaks a key Arab convention, outlined in the 2002 Arab Peace Agreement, that no Arab country would recognize Israel until it fully withdraws from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (Gaza and the West Bank) and allows the establishment. of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Palestinian leadership view deals as treason and Officials in the UAE and Bahrain tried to assure them that they were not abandoning them or their quest for statehood in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Mr. Al-Zayani said: “Today is a truly historic occasion. A moment of hope and opportunity,” he said.
Sheikh Abdullah: “We are already witnessing a change in the heart of the Middle East, a change that will send hope to the whole world.
“We are witnessing today a new trend that will create a better path for the Middle East.”
In a sign of continuing tensions, Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza into Israel during the ceremony, the Israeli army said, adding that two men were treated for minor injuries.
“This is not peace, this is surrender in exchange for the continuation of the aggression,” read a tweet posted on the Twitter account of the Palestine Liberation Organization. “There will be no peace before Palestine is free.”
The Donald Trump administration and the Israelis say the accords mark a turning point and will lead the Palestinians to accept the reality of the situation as it is now.
Trump’s peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, presented in January, envisions a future Palestinian state but on less land than it currently has, which would not be contiguous, and without East Jerusalem as its capital.
In the hours leading up to the signing ceremony, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told a Zoom conference with journalists that the Palestinian issue remained a central concern.
He said a two-state solution remained the goal and that his country’s decision to normalize ties with Israel had “broken the psychological barrier.”
He suggested that the Arab countries now have more influence against the Israelis on the Palestinian question.
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