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It was in a joint statement by Bahrain, Israel and the United States that it was announced that another Persian Gulf country is establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. US President Donald Trump was quick to say that it was a historic breakthrough.
Welcome victory
For Trump, the agreements now being reached are a welcome political victory ahead of the November 3 presidential election.
– When I took office as president, the Middle East was in chaos, he told reporters after the deal was announced.
Now he promises that “more good things will happen in relation to the Palestinians”, without specifying this further.
It has been speculated that the United States has pressured Israel to moderate with a view to further annexing the occupied West Bank. In addition, there has been talk that a series of economic measures could be taken to alleviate the situation of the Palestinians, in exchange for the Arab countries agreeing to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a video statement that what has happened means “a new era of peace.” But it does not make concrete promises about what Israel will return so that now more Arab countries can establish diplomatic relations with them.
Palestinians in Kafr Qaddum with a coffin representing the Arab League, after another country is now willing to recognize Israel
Photo: JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP
“A betrayal of the Palestinians”
On the Palestinian side, several Arab countries are now breaking ranks and entering into an agreement with Israel seen as a betrayal of their cause. “This is a betrayal of the Palestinian cause,” said Wassel Abu Youssef, representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Ramallah, the unofficial Palestinian capital of the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority says it is calling its ambassador in Bahrain for consultations, in protest of today’s announcement.
Hazem Qassen, a spokesman for Hamas, which controls the Palestinian Gaza Strip, goes one step further. It says that the decision made by Bahrain supports the occupation.
Unsurprisingly, the Iranian authorities are also taking a hard line against the agreement, writing in a statement that the agreement Bahrain has entered into is a betrayal of the cause of Islam.
Signed in September
The plan is for the agreement to be formally signed at a ceremony at the White House in Washington, where representatives from the United Arab Emirates will also be present. This country announced in August that it would also establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
The authorities of the United Arab Emirates welcomed the agreement reached by neighboring Bahrain on Friday night. Thus, there are four Arab countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel. Egypt established relations as early as 1979, while Jordan did so in 1994.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says an important step has now been taken towards peace in the Middle East and towards a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian question.
