Dubai, United Arab Emirates – President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to establish normal diplomatic relations in a development that will place Israel’s efforts to annex parts of the West Bank annexed by Palestinians.
The president posted a joint statement from the two countries and the United States on Twitter announcing the move. Leaders of the three countries spoke earlier in the day, according to the statement.
The news comes amid years of warming ties between the UAE and Israel, which so far have no official diplomatic or trade relations.
The UAE, as with many Arab countries, has had an economic boycott of Israel since its inception and does not formally recognize it. But collaborations between the two on issues such as security and the growing frequency of unofficial meetings by leaders, often supported by Washington, have been widely reported for some time.
The deal makes the UAE the first Gulf state to normalize ties with Israel and only the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have open diplomatic ties with the country.
US President Donald Trump receives applause after announcing that Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reached a peace agreement that will lead to full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations in an agreement that Trump helped broker, at the White House in Washington , FS, 13 August 2020.
Kevin Lemarque | Reuters
“HUGE breakthrough today! Historic peace agreement between our two BIG friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.
The agreement is a win for foreign policy for the president, who is behind in the polls against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for the November election.
Trump has made peace in the Middle East as a signature element of his first term, although his administration has not made much substantial progress.
UAE ruler Mohammed bin Zayed, in more subdued language, described the breakthrough primarily as an agreement to stop any further annexation of Palestinian territories by Israel and to direct a “roadmap” to a bilateral relationship. “
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on September 19, 2019.
Mandel Ngan | Reuters
“During a conversation with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop the annexation of Israeli peoples from Palestinian territories. The UAE and Israel also agreed on cooperation and the establishment of a roadmap for establishing a bilateral relationship. , “bin Zayed tweeted.
According to the joint statement, Israel and the UAE had also agreed to expand and accelerate ‘cooperation’ on the development of a vaccine for Covid-19.
“Working together will help these efforts to save Muslim, Jewish, and Christian lives throughout the region,” the statement said.
In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed cooperation on the fax as a sign of better ties between Israel and the UAE, although UAE officials downplayed the development.
The agreement for cooperation on vaccines between Israel’s Aerospace Industries and Rafael with Abu Dhabi-based Group 42, was the latest indication of the increasingly rapid approach between the two countries. The two also share a common adversary in Iran, and oppose regional security and commercial interests.
The move could pave the way for similar deals with Gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, according to Jessica Leyland, senior analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at political risk factory AKE International.
But it could also fight on some of the leaders involved, and introduce renewed volatility in the Palestinian territories and states that host a large number of Palestinian refugees.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discuss a proposal for peace in the Middle East during a joint news conference in the White House’s East Room in Washington, January 28, 2020.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lose political conversion with his right-backs, given the alternation between the historic peace deal and the suspension of West Bank annexation plans for now,” Leyland said.
“The agreement could provoke protests, especially in Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza,” she added. “Threats could also be made against the UAE by Iran which has been navigating a fragile relationship since volatility in the Gulf hit in 2019.
“Nevertheless, establishing a relationship with its third Arab country is a huge step forward in normalizing regional security for Israel.”
Natasha Turak reported from Dubai and Tucker Higgins reported from New York.
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