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US President Donald Trump signs another Middle East peace agreement. “Another historic breakthrough,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Friday. “Our two great friends, Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain, agree to a peace agreement.”
In a joint communication from the United States, Bahrain and Israel, it is said that Bahrain and Israel would establish “full diplomatic relations”. This would advance efforts for peace in the Middle East.
Declaration is signed in Washington
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel intend to sign their agreement on the normalization of their relations announced in mid-August at the White House next Tuesday. Trump awaits Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Sajid in Washington.
The joint statement by the United States, Bahrain and Israel states that Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Sajani will also attend the ceremony and sign a “declaration of peace” with Netanyahu.
Israel wants to suspend the annexation of occupied territories
The agreements would make the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain the third and fourth Arab countries, after Egypt and Jordan, to 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.
Trump campaigned for rapprochement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The US president repeatedly hopes for further progress and even speaks of a possible “peace in the Middle East.” He told the White House on Friday that he had “high hopes” that other countries would follow the lead of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. He also assumed that the Palestinians would then show their willingness to speak again.
Netanyahu thanks Trump
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. Palestinians accuse Trump of unilaterally pro- Israel.
Netanyahu announced: “Citizens of Israel, I am delighted to announce that today we are going to reach another peace agreement with another Arab country, Bahrain. This is in addition to the historic peace agreement with the United Emirates. “Netanyahu speaks of” a new era of peace “that will bring investment in Israel. Years of intense behind-the-scenes efforts preceded the agreements. It is thanks to President Trump that they are now giving fruits.
Palestinians feel betrayed
The King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, stressed in a statement that it was necessary to achieve “a just and complete peace.” At the same time, he praised the “persistent efforts” with which the United States has advanced the peace process. The kingdom wants to stick with the two-state solution.
The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah has issued a statement expressing its “strong rejection and condemnation” of the new agreement. It is about “betrayal of Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Palestinian cause.” Hasem Kassem, a spokesman for the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, says that normalizing Arab countries’ relations with Israel is seriously damaging the Palestinian cause and supporting Israeli occupation policies.
Protests suppressed with help from Saudi Arabia
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.
In 2011, in the course of the Arab uprisings, protests also broke out in Bahrain, calling for democratic reforms and anti-discrimination measures against Shiites. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states later sent troops. They supported the ruling family when the protests ended with violence. It continues to crack down on members of the Shiite opposition with a heavy hand. (SDA)
