The town hall in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv will be illuminated on August 13, 2020 in the colors of the national flag of the United Arab Emirates.
Jack Guez | AFP | Getty Images
The United Arab Emirates’ peace deal with Israel is a “win-win solution” that addresses the “imminent threat” of annexation in the West Bank, according to the Gulf Foreign Minister.
“We were in the meetings of the Arab League … and the whole idea was, what are we doing to stop this annexation? Somehow, annexation seemed like a serious threat that would jeopardize any chance of a solution for two. states will undermine, “Anwar Gargash told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Thursday.
His remarks came shortly after US President Donald Trump announced yesterday that the two countries had agreed to normalize relations, making the UAE the first Persian Gulf state and the third Arab nation to have open diplomatic ties with Israel.
It’s a good day for Israel and for the UAE, they both get something out of this that they really want.
Thomas Warrick
Atlantic Council
“The UAE has been fairly diplomatically active and we have taken an unusual step from our ambassador … saying in principle that annexation will simply spoil the whole perspective of negotiations and peace, and will affect Israel’s perspective for relations with the Arab world,” said Gargash.
“I can not really determine a particular moment, but developed the idea that why we do not actually create a win-win solution,” he added.
Thomas Warrick, a non-resident senior fellow on the Atlantic Council, agreed with the sentiment.
“It’s a good day for Israel and for the UAE. They both get something out of this that they really want,” he said. “The UAE is showing its value as a strategic partner for both American political parties. Israel is getting out of its grip on the issue of settlements … This is giving it a valuable price, normalizing relations with the UAE.”
Gargash described the deal as a way to “smear a real threat” to a two-state solution and “hopefully” allow negotiations to resume, but not a “roadmap for peace” between Israel and Palestine.
“This is really up to the Palestinians, to the Israelis, to other traditional brokers like the Americans,” he said.
Criticism of the agreement
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the leadership “rejects and disregards the treaty”, while Turkey released a statement saying that history “will not forget and will never forgive this UAE hypocritical behavior,” according to a Reuters report. report.
Iran, a common opponent of Israel and the UAE, also condemned the deal. State news agency IRNA reported that the country’s foreign ministry on Friday called the decision a “strategic act of idiot” and said it was a “dangerous” move.
Prior to that statement, Gargash said he would not be surprised by statements by Iran, given that the Islamic Republic of Israel does not yet accept Israel as a state.
“The Arabs, I think, have gone that far, the Palestinians have gone through that,” he said. “The Iranian position on this issue is static.”
He added that there will never be a ‘perfect moment’ for the UAE to normalize relations with Israel. “As we wait for that perfect moment, it is truly a call to … stand still and let developments pass you by, and unfortunately this has historically been the case with the Palestinian problem.”
Asked whether the agreement would remain in place in the event of a Biden presidency in the US, Gargash said this “strategic change” would not be reversed.
“It will not be reversed for Israel, it will not be reversed for the UAE, and it will not be reversed for the United States. I think that comes as something can, I think all political systems will treat this as a positive development . “
– Natasha Turak and Tucker Higgins of CNBC have contributed to this report.
.
