Tonight Israel and the Gulf States signed a normalization agreement – NRK Urix – Foreign News & Documentaries

700 guests are present during the White House ceremony.

Big words were not lacking as President Donald Trump attends the signing. The agreement aims to normalize relations between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to Trump, the signing of the agreement is “the beginning of a new Middle East.”

“We are here this afternoon to change the course of history,” Trump said as the signing ceremony began in front of the White House.

However, it is not clear whether the agreement implies full diplomatic recognition.

On Saturday, Bahrain announced that it would normalize relations with Israel. It was another feather in Trump’s hat.

At the same time the agreement was signed, the Israeli audience stated that two rockets had been fired from Gaza at Israel. Israeli media reports that one person is moderately and another slightly injured by splinters.

As early as August, he announced that with the help of the United States, an agreement had been signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s largest oil producers.

For Trump and Netanyahu, the deal is also a good opportunity to divert interest from domestic issues. Trump is struggling with the racial euro and high coronation rates. Netantyahu with accusations of corruption.

The Arab world is divided

Now another country has joined the agreement. This leaves the Arab world divided on how to deal with the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Instead of focusing on the conflicts of the past, people are now focusing on a future with limitless possibilities, writes Trump’s foreign policy advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kushner is central to American diplomacy in the Middle East.

– This is a black day in Arab history, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Monday.

Not least, there is great disappointment that the Arab League last week did not condemn the fact that several countries are signing bilateral agreements with Israel.

PLO General Secretary Saeb Erekat was central to the Oslo-negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993.

He says today’s agreement will not shake what the Palestinian vision has always been: the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967 is illegal and violates international agreements.

But Emirati Arab Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash said before tonight’s ceremony that the issue of taking the annexation of Palestinian land off the agenda is something that is important to his country, the United States and Europe.

What is Saudi Arabia doing?

Saudi Arabia will play a key role in this US-led “normalization process”. The country has already taken the first step by allowing Israeli aircraft overflights to and from the UAE.

But the situation is very delicate. Saudi Arabia is home to the holy stone of Kaba and the Al-Haram Mosque in the city of Mecca. Both are absolutely fundamental to the entire Islamic world.

If Saudi Arabia were to normalize relations with Israel, it is conceivable that countries like Iran and Turkey would demand the internationalization of these holy places. This is because they are sacred to all directions of Islam, including Shiite-dominated Iran.

However, several Arab countries may now choose to enter into similar agreements. According to a representative from the White House, Oman will also be present during today’s ceremony in Washington. It is not yet known whether they will also sign an agreement.

A diplomatic earthquake in the Middle East

Iran is furious

Iran has already used harsh words against the deal. The Revolutionary Guard in Iran issued a statement on Saturday declaring that Bahrain can expect brutal revenge from its own people.

The situation is particularly delicate because the majority of the population of Bahrain, like Iran, belongs to the Shiite religion of Islam.

However, Sunni Muslims dominate this small island state between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Is Israel renouncing the incorporation of occupied territories?

There is little indication that the agreements with the UAE and Bahrain will resume negotiations on a more durable peace solution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there is no basis for recording the talks, which broke off in 2014.

Since then, the Israeli settlement policy in the occupied West Bank has continued. Netanyahu has promised that more of this area, which Israel occupied during the 1967 Six-Day War, will be permanently incorporated into Israel.

But for now, it looks like this has been frozen. Netanyahu will likely see what the outcome will be of the agreements currently being signed in Washington.

Ahead of Tuesday’s ceremony, Trump declared that several deals are also imminent with five or six other Arab countries.

– We are very far from about five countries. We are already talking to them, he says.