As part of the deal, Israel will “suspend” plans to annex parts of the West Bank, according to a joint Israeli-UAE-US statement that Trump tweeted Thursday morning.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he had a conversation with the leaders from both countries who had agreed to exchange embassies and ambassadors and “begin cooperation across the board.” He said he expected other countries to follow the lead of the UAE on advancing relations.
“We’re already discussing this with other nations,” Trump said. “You will probably see others of these.”
Trump tweeted from a lengthy joint statement between the US, UAE and Israel, calling the agreement to “complete normalization of relations” between Israel and the UAE a “historic diplomatic breakthrough.”
The statement said that the normalization of relations “will bring two of America’s most trusted and capable regional partners” and the peoples will join forces with the US to launch a strategic agenda for the Middle East on diplomacy, trade and security cooperation. . “
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the announcement with a tweet, quoting Trump’s tweet and writing, “A historic day” in Hebrew.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman congratulates the President on the agreement in the Oval Office.
Trump said he wanted it to be called the Donald J. Trump Accord. He then asked Avi Berkowitz, a White House adviser and special representative for international negotiations, to speak. Berkowitz said, “Peace is a wonderful thing.”
Trump said his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner did a “great thing” and “people do not always understand what he can do.” Kushner then spoke, saying Trump instructed him to “take an untraditional approach.” He finally talked about the deal.
National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien added that the Middle East was a “mess” when Trump took office and this is another step in repairing that.
This story is broken and will be updated.
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